Local celebrity mum, Danielle Lloyd has shown her support for Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s festive jumper day on Friday 16 December by pulling on its charity pullover. The annual day, this year known as Star Jumper Day, will raise money for the charity’s £3.65 million Star Appeal to build the UK’s first Rare Diseases Centre for children. Danielle, who recently made a surprise visit to the hospital with her family to help raise awareness of the appeal, is hoping locals will join her by putting on a sweater to make things better for over 9,000 children treated at the hospital living with over 500 rare or undiagnosed conditions.
Treatment for the hospital’s patients with rare diseases is world-class, but many families have to spend a lot of time seeing different specialists on different days in different departments. To change this, the £3.65 million appeal will build a brand new centre that will provide a single place within the hospital for all assessment, diagnosis, treatment and research.
Danielle, mum to three boys Archie, six, Harry, four, and George, three, said: “I am delighted to be supporting this campaign and would encourage you all to put on a festive jumper on Friday 16 December to support our local children’s hospital.
“I feel very humbled to have spent time with the children at the hospital and it was great to see first-hand the amazing work that goes on.
“I can only imagine how tough it must be for a family to have a child living with a rare condition and not knowing what their future holds. This new centre will make a huge difference to them, but none of it will be possible if we don’t all show our support.”
Annie Eytle, Acting Events and Regional Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Our Christmas Jumper Day is something silly that everyone can get involved in but it will raise money for a really important cause.
“With your support for our Star Appeal we can reduce isolation, improve diagnosis, ensure our patients are at the forefront of research and medical advances and, for the first time, bring a team of experts from all the specialities at our hospital all under one roof.
“We’re almost at the £2 million mark with our fundraising but we still have a long way to go to make our patients and families dreams a reality. By supporting our Star Jumper Day you will help us build a much-needed centre for our brave children – which for them, and us, might just be the best Christmas present of all.”
To take part in Star Jumper Day, simply do your bit in a festive knit on Friday 16 December and donate £2.
