We are urging our supporters, old and new, to ‘Remember Rockinghorse’ in our new campaign.
Over the last couple of year Rockinghorse, the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, have seen fundraisers supporting the charity despite facing the struggles associated with the covid pandemic.
Whilst things have remained uncertain, the one constant we have had has been our supporters. Regardless of their own difficulties, they have continued to support us, recognising the importance of being able to support some of the most vulnerable in our community.
So we are asking you to carry on this amazing support in any way you can by remembering Rockinghorse.
Don’t forget to remember Rockinghorse!
The ‘Remember Rockinghorse’ campaign aims to remind people to continue to support us, so we are able to carry on the invaluable work we do for thousands of babies and children across the county. Without ongoing support, we will find it increasingly difficult to provide the life-saving equipment and services we are best known for.
Theo in HDU
Theo’s story
Equipment such as paediatric ventilators that helped Theo Gartside survive. Three-year-old Theo, from Worthing, was born in 2016 but at only 18 months old developed cold-like symptoms and a high temperature that wouldn’t drop. His mum May explains more: “Like many young children, Theo developed coughs and sneezes, but this was different. He became so hot that he wasn’t breathing properly, and we had to call an ambulance. They rushed him into the HDU and put him onto one of the ventilators as he was so congested that he couldn’t breathe on his own.
“That machine was the only thing that could keep his lungs open and breathing properly as he just didn’t have the strength in his muscles to breathe for himself. Without it he would have had to be airlifted to London or Southampton and might not have pulled through.”
It turned out that Theo was battling three separate infections, all quite common on their own but difficult to fight off all together, especially when you’re so young. After three days on the ventilator and a course of anti-biotics, Theo gradually came round, to the great relief of May and Mike: “There is absolutely no doubt in our minds that Rockinghorse saves lives. If they hadn’t donated that ventilator, Theo might not still be here with us. You never know when you might be in a position to need this kind of help and the support that Rockinghorse provides certainly doesn’t go un-noticed.”
Theo with parents Mike and May
About the campaign
So, we are asking our supporters to ‘Remember Rockinghorse’ and help in any way they can. This could be anything from holding a garage sale, setting up a Facebook fundraiser in place of a birthday party, or taking on a challenge like stopping drinking or smoking for a month.
In you want to fundraise at your school, why not give your teacher a rest by having a sponsored silence? Or you could arrange a ‘Wear Red for Rockinghorse’ day or a sponsored ‘Read for Rockinghorse’ to see how many books your class can read over a set time.
And for business owners, there are lots of ways to offer support. If you’re a fitness instructor you could hold an online class with the profits coming to Rockinghorse, your company could set up their own Just Giving page or Rockinghorse could provide you with a branded collection tin to leave in your shop or office.
Why we need your help
Janella Merritt, Head of Fundraising at Rockinghorse, is keen to encourage people to think about what they can do to help:
“We are always amazed at the ways people find to raise money for us; their creativity is boundless! But we also recognize that life certainly is challenging but it’s exactly at times like this that we need people to remember us.
“We aren’t a big charity; there are currently only seven of us in the charity and we don’t get any government support. But the difference we can make greatly out-weighs our size, however we can’t do this without your help.
“Whatever you can do, however small, every single penny makes a difference. We want to continue to help more families like Theo’s who may suddenly find themselves in need of life-saving support. That’s what we do best. And that’s what we will continue to do with your help.”
Got some ideas?
So, if you have a brilliant idea to raise some funds, just ‘Remember Rockinghorse’! You can find out ways to raise money by looking on our Just Giving fundraising page here or our events page here. Or to speak to the us about how we can support your ideas, call: 01273 330044 or email us at: enquiries@rockinghorse.org.uk
