Countdown to Christmas Day 2 - A year of charity fundraising
This year has been a year of fundraising thanks to some of our amazing staff, who have raised thousands of pounds for their chosen charities.
They have taken part in events such as mountain climbing, cycling, running, walking and donating toys to help make a difference to the lives of other people.
Here is a reminder of some of the things our staff have been doing in their personal time to raise money.
In September one of our safeguarding administrators, Kirsty-Ellen Whitfield raised more than £1,100 in memory of her grandmother. She cycled 55 miles from London to Brighton in eight hours for the British Heart Foundation.
Kevin Crabb, senior support officer and safeguarding lead at the Poplar Adolescent Unit, and his wife Yolanda are sending out food parcels and hundreds of Christmas presents to families who are struggling financially.
They set up their charity Bobby’s Big Heart after being inspired by their son Bobby, who is autistic to help struggling families with Christmas presents for their children.
In October, Emma Trueman, a team leader at our call centre, ran the 5km Ribbon Run on Canvey Island seafront for SANDS, which supports families who have lost a baby.
She ran with her relative Aimee Butler and friend Lucy Jolly. Aimee’s daughter Lillie was born in April and sadly died just before she turned five months old.
She raised £706.
Project support officer Isla Sinclair completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London for Rethink Mental Illness in October.
Isla, who completed the 13.2 mile run in under two hours, has been fundraising since 2018 after losing her brother-in-law and a number of friends and colleagues to suicide.
In September Daniel Shepherd, his husband James Trott, and seven friends and family, climbed up Wales’ tallest mountain - Mount Snowdon - to raise more than £7,400 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
James has primary lateral sclerosis, a rare form of motor neurone disease, which he said has changed his life forever.
Daniel, an intelligent client function admin support officer, hopes the money they raised will help towards research to find a cure for the disease.
In July, medical secretary Katherine Gower raised nearly £400 for Cancer Research UK after completing the Colchester Race for Life - her first fundraising event since being diagnosed with cancer.
Katherine, who works for Gosfield Ward at The Lakes in Colchester, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2019. She also cares for her mum and grandmother, who both have cancer.
In May seven staff from the Specialist Community Forensic Team completed the Race for Life in Brentwood to raise £950 for Cancer Research UK.
In May one of our psychiatry trainees raised £425 for the Alzheimer’s Society by completing the Hackney Half Marathon.
Olufemi Talabi chose the charity because of his experience training in two of our wards for older adults and our memory clinics in Southend.
One of our district nurses who was declared cancer-free last year took part in a mammoth five-day 100km trek across Northumberland to raise money for a breast cancer charity.
Emily Blackburn, who works for North Uttlesford Integrated Care team, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 when she was 33.
She joined celebrities including Giovanna Fletcher and Emma Willis in a bid to raise as much money as possible for CoppaFeel!
The head of our Op COURAGE Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service marched 54 miles in less than 24 hours along the Cairngorm Mountains to raise money for a military charity.
David Powell and a team from Op COURAGE took part in The Cateran Yomp, one of Scotland’s toughest endurance challenges on 3 June.
In May this year one of our nurses took on the Rome Marathon and raised more than £600 to benefit the children and young people she works with.
Paula Hinds, who only started running four years ago, completed the course to raise money for additional improvements to the lounge area at Poplar Ward at Rochford Hospital.
The money that Paula raised was spent on ideas suggested by the young people on the ward, including new games, comics, beanbags, pictures and murals.
Next year Sian Elmy, an administrator at Rochford Hospital, is putting her best foot forward and taking part in the 2024 London Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support. The charity supported her family after her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she has so far raised £377 of her £2,500 target.
One of our assistant psychologists who is passionate about women’s health is running next year’s TCS London Marathon to raise money for a charity that funds research into reproductive and gynaecological conditions.
Freya Richards, who works for our perinatal mental health service has never run a race before and is running for Wellbeing of Women.