A charity set up to further enhance the care and support offered to patients at West Suffolk Hospital has undergone a rename and rebrand.
The My WiSH Charity has today been launched to support fundraising and donations for every aspect of the Hospital.
Formerly West Suffolk Hospital Charity, the new-look charity will be run in exactly the same way and with the same emphasis on supporting every single donor.
One difference will be the introduction of a new mascot – Dr Edmund.
Sue Smith, fundraising manager for the My WiSH Charity, explained: “The support we have received for West Suffolk Hospital Charity from our generous local community has been phenomenal.
“We now feel it was the right time to give the Charity a facelift and also to give a sense of ownership to donors as it is their local hospital.
“It might be ‘My Wish’ to support the Hospital’s Macmillan Unit, or Rainbow Ward or Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign.
“We are quite unique compared to many charities in that we support so many different areas of health and wellbeing. Funds can be raised to support the youngest members of the community to the oldest and our fundraisers and donors can choose to support wherever they wish. And we are here to support that wish.”
Sue admitted the role of a charity supporting a local hospital was becoming more crucial.
She explained: “The hospital costs £500,000 every day to run – that’s £5 a second. The Macmillan Unit alone costs £1.5 million a year to run.
“West Suffolk Hospital will always give you the best care but by fundraising we can help to ensure that the equipment and facilities are the best they can be and help to provide specialist equipment that make lives easier for both patients and staff.
“Every single person in our community has either needed the hospital in their lifetime or knows someone who has. We are not here to bridge any gaps, we are here to enhance the care and support we can offer to the community.”
With the likes of a world record attempt and It’s a Bury Knockout on the horizon, My WiSH Charity will continue to organise a number of events to support the hospital as well as helping people who want to fundraise every step of the way.
Sue added: “We have over 90 funds within the charity supporting not just the main areas such as Neonatal or the Macmillan Unit but also the stroke unit, paediatric diabetes, critical care and orthopaedics to name just a few. This is the legacy for anyone who chooses to support My WiSH Charity.”
