In all, on Friday 3 December over 30 stars of all shapes and sizes lit up across the buildings which make up Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH). In order to comply with current Covid-19 restrictions, the switch-on was undertaken during virtually, with short films and snaps shared on social media.
The festive campaign has been made possible due to the support of 30 local businesses, organisations and families, who have paid between £300 and £1,500 to sponsor a star.
The headline sponsor, DFS, have for the second-year running committed £10,000, and in the process have helped to raise over £30,000 which will be directly reinvested into patient care, treatment and facilities, and the ‘Serenity Suite’ a bereavement area for those who have experienced the loss of child within the hospital, campaigning for which will begin shortly.
Speaking about the Trust’s Christmas Stars, Suzy Brain England OBE, Chair of the Board, said: “After the hard work of caring for our communities throughout the 22 month-long Covid pandemic, we felt that lighting up our Christmas Stars was a fitting tribute to our NHS and social care heroes, as well as those we have sadly lost to COVID-19. I hope this will bring a little bit of light, positivity and optimism to people as we head towards to the holiday period.
“Each star tells its own story, and hopefully, for those who have donated an illumination in memory of friend, family member or loved one, this will bring a degree of comfort this Christmas time.”
The Cross family decided to sponsor a star to say ‘thank you’ to the staff who cared for their mum, Karen, throughout the festive period last year, and this year they will be sponsoring the star in her memory.
Sarah Dunning, one of Karen’s daughters, said: “Mum sadly passed away on Boxing Day, having enjoyed one final Christmas day with her family. Every time we visited my mum at that time, the Christmas stars were always shining on the hospital buildings and they brought so much comfort making that visit that little bit easier. My mum adored her grandchildren and great nephews and having to tell young children, especially toddlers that she had passed away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. We decided to tell them that Nanny is now the brightest star in the sky so continuing to sponsor a star in her memory just feels the right thing to do”.
Sponsors for this campaign include a number of generous local families, individuals and schools, as well as the following businesses and organisations: Morrison’s at Retford, Worksop, Armthorpe and Balby, Amazon, Retford Oaks, Rossington All Saints, Hall Cross Academy, NHS Professionals, Traffic Management GB, Dearne Valley Swimming World, OLS LTD, RJ Electricals, Doncaster College, Polypipe, NHS Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS Bassetlaw Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), XPO Logistics, Concorde BGW, DFS, Bladeroom Group and Doncaster council.
Nick Smith, Chief Executive at DFS, said: “The whole team at DFS is honoured to once again support our local hospitals this Christmas. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, we are extremely thankful for the efforts of our NHS ‘stars’ and we feel this is a wonderful way to pay tribute to extraordinary care they’ve given our local community in these extraordinary times.”
Suzy added: “We know that many local people have asked how they can support us throughout the festive period as well as get involved with this star campaign. As such, we have also provided the opportunity for individuals and families to sponsor and dedicate a digital star, for any sum, brightening a cyber night sky – to do so just search ‘DBTH Visufund’ on your search engine of choice.
“Finally, and on behalf of everyone at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.”
To sponsor a virtual star visit https://visufund.com/dbth-christmas-stars-2021
If you have any questions about how you can support DBTH, you can contact the Fundraising and Communications Team on 01302 644244 / dbth.charity@nhs.net
