Friends of Neo Issue 1

ISSUE 1

Friends of Neo Supporting Aberdeen Maternity Hospital's Neonatal Unit

Support our new Neo appeal Friends of the Neonatal Unit, alongside our parent charity The ARCHIE Foundation, have launched an appeal to deliver the difference to the brand new Baird Family Hospital, set to open in 2021.

The hospital will be located on the current site of the Foresterhill Health Centre and will include a state-of-the-art Neonatal Unit, modern maternity wards, gynaecology care, breast screening and breast surgery services as well as a fertility centre, operating

theatre suite and medical research facilities.

The fundraising team are working hard to raise the £2 million that will make the difference to the £162m NHS capital build.

The money will be used to upgrade equipment, design terrace areas as well as making the new palliative care and transitional care rooms the best they can be.

You can read more about the appeal inside.

Inside: * Chester Hotel raises £239k for Baird Appeal * Meet our committee *Ways to help us

Spotlight on Kirsty 'My name is Kirsty Mills-Bishop and I became part of the friends committee in 2012.

'My surviving twin Kai was born at 25 weeks, 1lb 10oz, and had many difficult times in the Unit before coming home and I wanted to be able to give something back.

New neonatal unit plans

'Having a dedicated charity that supports the babies, families and staff at the unit for 34 years is amazing and I am proud that we still have the same values as we had at the start.'

Once open, The Baird Family Hospital will have direct links into the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, allowing seamless specialised care when needed.

The new state-of-the-art Unit will provide improved facilities for babies, families and for staff and we look forward to delivering the difference on this important project for the North East of Scotland.

With fundraising already under way, the groundwork begun in November 2018.

You can find out more about the Baird Family Hospital appeal on our website - friendsofneo.org - and you can donate there too.

The hospital is scheduled to open in 2021.

Supporting babies born too sick or too soon is our priority and we will continue to support the current Neonatal Unit while we plan for the new one.

Your support, as always, is hugely appreciated.

We simply couldn't make the difference for babies and families without you.

Thank you.

Meet the Friends Committee Our committee meets every three months to discuss how we allocate funds, as well as to plan our fundraising events and talk about new initiatives.

Made up of parents who have had babies in the Unit and staff who work there, the committee has a broad range of experiences and skills to support babies, families and staff. Pictured, from left: Fiona Willox, Brenda Clark, Julie Wilson, our mascot Neo, Colleen Angus, Irene Bruce, Kirsty Mills-Bishop (chair) and Louise Adams.

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Chester events raise £239k

Beverley Knight sings at hotel's Signature Food Festival The Chester Hotel's Signature Food Festival raised an incredible £239,000 for Friends of the Neonatal Unit.

The money will be spent on accommodation for families at the new Baird Family Hospital.

Chefs who took part in the 12-day fine dining event included Glynn Purnell and Michelin-star Edinburgh chefs Martin Wishart and Atul Kochhar.

Master chocolatier William Curley also attended and there

was entertainment from British soul sensation Beverley Knight.

Chester Hotel owner Graham Wood said next year’s instalment will be “bigger and better” and we can't wait! Thank you to everyone involved.

Did you know?

Around 1 in 8 babies born in the UK will need some sort of specialist care in a neonatal unit The average length of stay in a neonatal unit in Scotland is eight days Around half of all babies admitted are full term and have been born sick 95,000 babies are cared for in neonatal units in the UK every year

Birthday fundraiser

Charlie and his grandchildren handing over the iPads at the Unit.

Charlie Tawse, from Keith, generously provided eight iPads to Friends of the Neonatal Unit, to allow staff to film babies and share with parents when they're not at the Unit.

Mr Tawse’s three grandchildren all received special care at the Neonatal Unit, and he decided to raise money for the charity as a thank you.

He said: “My wife Fiona and I cannot put into words our respect and admiration for the Neonatal Unit staff and the work they do.

Friends Newsletter

'I decided that, instead of having a 65th birthday party, I would have a fundraiser for Friends of the Neonatal Unit.”

Our Head of Fundraising Katie said: “We’re so grateful to Charlie and his family and friends for this incredible donation.”

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Speedcast support raises over £5,000 Speedcast have been supporting us since the beginning of 2018.

They have worked tirelessly to raise funds for the Unit by organising events such as a race night and bake sales.

They also took part in The Great Aberdeen run - with one of the team running it dressed as our mascot Neo! They have raised over £5,000 - thank you so much Team Speedcast.

Ways to support us Fundraise Bungee jumps, skydives, raffles, auctions, craft sales, sponsored swims, walks, cycles and silences - the possibilities are endless.

We can support you if you'd like to plan an event, just get in touch.

Or join in one of our events listed at friendsofneo.org

Volunteer We always need volunteers! If you can spare a few hours regularly or occasionally, please get in touch.

We have plenty of different jobs to suit you, whatever skills and available time you have. Call 01224 559559 or email hello@friendsofneo.org

A marathon effort in NYC

Donate

In November we took a team of runners to New York for the world-famous marathon.

The team worked so hard in training to be ready for the event and they did amazingly well on the day.

Give online Altogether, they raised £45,000 which will be spent making the difference for babies, families and staff at the Neonatal Unit.

Say hello!

We want to hear from you! @friendsofneo

@friendsofneo

hello@friendsofneo.org

Friends of the Neonatal Unit is part of The ARCHIE Foundation family of funds, a charity registered in Scotland Number SC039521 Friends Newsletter

You can donate online at friendsofneo.org

Give in person Pop into the Friends office at the Maternity Hospital.

Give by post Send a cheque made payable to Friends of the Neonatal Unit to: Friends of the Neonatal Unit, Ashgrove House, Ashgrove Road West, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZA. Page 4