Our Story:

On 27th April our family’s world was flipped upside down when Erin’s waters broke 9 weeks early whilst on a nice Sunday Stroll. Fast forward a whirlwind of 22 hour and 6 minutes and our beautiful little boy Jude Arthur Williams was introduced to the world but it didn’t end there.

Due to Jude being 9 weeks early and weighing 3lb 3oz he required medical observation and support for a variety of different needs such as his breathing, feeding, and regulating his temperature among other things.

The weeks following Jude’s arrival were challenging for many reasons—among them, the helplessness we felt for our little boy, the pain of not being able to bring him home to our family and friends, and the overwhelming uncertainty about what lay ahead.

However, throughout it all the team at the Colchester Neonatal Unit made it that bit easier, offering us support throughout and understanding and ensuring we were involved every step of the way as much as we could be! The team were empathetic, compassionate and just outright amazing in the care they provided Jude and the support they gave Erin and I. We can honestly never thank them enough, but we felt a good way to start is to try and raise as much money as possible for the unit to help in any which way to aid them in delivering the same amazing care to many other babies and their families.

All money raised will specifically go to the Colchester Hospital Neonatal Unit through the Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity.

Events & Activities:

As detailed above the plan is to raise as much money as possible for the Colchester Hospital Neonatal Unit which means we need plenty of events for you to support!

Here are a list of the following planned events, challenges and activities:

• Rugby Club Tropicana 80’s Anthems, Harwich & Dovercourt Rugby Club, CO12 3TA, 8 til late (31/05/2025) - Organised by Josh Edwards

• Harwich Indoor Bowls Club Table Top Sale (14/06/205) - lots of yummy baked goods up for sale! - Erin Williams, Liane Whiffing & Natalie Whiffing

• Team Jude vs H&DCC Charity Cricket Match, Harwich and Dovercourt Cricket Club, Raffle | Bar | Cake Sale (25/07/2025) - Organised by Brandon Carter, Natalie Whiffing & Helen Payne

• Sponsored Superhero themed phonics class (aimed at 1-5 year olds), Phonics with Robot Reg Tendering (17/08/2025) - Completed by Zachary John (Age 3) who is Jude’s cousin.

• Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity Run, Christ Church Park, Ipswich (06/09/2025) - To be completed by Erin Williams, Natalie Whiffing & Brandon Carter

• Harwich Half Marathon (07/09/2025) - To be completed by Cameron Clark, Curtis Franklin, Jack Mulligan, Guy Williams & Lewis Williams

• Larking Gowen Ipswich Half Marathon (21/09/2025) - To be completed by Curtis Franklin, Jack Mulligan & Lewis Williams

• Hospital Hero Hike 2025, 21 miles from Colchester to Ipswich Hospital (04/10/2025) - To be completed by Erin Williams, Natalie Whiffing & Brandon Carter

• Charity Afternoon Tea + Raffle (18/10/2025) @ Harwich & Dovercourt Cricket Club, 12 - 3pm (POSTPONED UNTIL SPRING)

• Nuclear 35km+ Race, Brentwood (01/11/2025) - To be completed by Cameron Clark, Curtis Franklin, Jack Mulligan, Jacob Parker, Samuel Parker & Lewis Williams

• Colchester Half Marathon (08/03/2026) - To be completed by Cameron Clark, Curtis Franklin, Jack Mulligan & Lewis Williams

• Brighton Marathon (12/04/2025) - To be completed by Curtis Franklin & Lewis Williams

• Sato vs Durite Charity Football Game 2026, to be held at Harwich & Parkeston Football Club FC (Date & Time TBC)

Plus a variety of bake sales, pop up stands and much more, keep an eye out for updates!!!

Charity Description:

Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity raises money to improve facilities, fund new equipment, provide additional services, support staff development and initiate local medical research and innovative projects at The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

We always ensure that your kind gifts and donations benefit the area of the hospital or community service that you choose.

Every donation is greatly appreciated and makes a real and positive difference to the experience of being in hospital.