The Children's Foundation is launching The Great North Baton Challenge to enhance the facilities for children at the new Great North Children’s hospital.
The NUTH Foundation Trust has invested over £100m to develop this facility, the largest project of its kind ever undertaken in the North East.
Due to be fully completed by 2010, this landmark development will be a focal point for excellence in children’s healthcare in the north of, similar to Great Ormond Street in the south. For the very first time, children's services will be available under one roof, including a dedicated accident and emergency department, imaging suite and outpatient area.
The new children's hospital will be a fantastic resource for the whole region, where children with life-threatening and life limiting conditions, from the North East and beyond, can attend for critical treatment and services.
The support of The Great North Baton Challenge will add considerable value, so that children and young people attending will have the best possible experience to aid their recovery and improve their wellbeing, but also reduce the stresses and strains impacted on the whole family at a very difficult time.
This multi-player project involves the development of a three dimensional real-time interactive rehabilitation model that will give patients visual rewards for their performance on an exercise bike. The system is intended to provide visual motivation for patients to carry out physical exercise and thereby promote their rehabilitation. The systems will also provide enjoyable distraction during periods of normal exercise for patients who are spending long periods in the Children’s Hospital. The Children’s Foundation is issuing five official fundraising ‘batons’ to a school, business, health professional, community representative and sporting individual or team. Each person will have one month in which to raise money for the appeal before passing the baton over to a colleague or similar organisation and launching the fundraising baton relay. Anyone who receives a baton has one month to raise money any way they like! You don’t have to wait for the fundraising baton to come to you – why not start your own fundraising batons? You could start your own baton challenge with work colleagues, neighbours or school friends. You can do anything you want to raise money for the appeal; the important part is that you don’t drop the baton! For information on The Great North Baton Challenge, where to send your money or simply how to get started, visit www.thechildrensfoundation.co.uk or call 0191 282 0888
Our fundraising theme for the Great North Children’s Hospital is the Baton Challenge. It draws on the success of Team GB in the Beijing Olympics and the anticipation of the country as a whole for London 2012.
