Premier Inn hits £7.5m fundraising target for GOSH a year early
Melanie May | 5 January 2017 | News
Premier Inn has announced that it has now raised £7.5m for Great Ormond Street Hospital, a year ahead of schedule.
Premier Inn pledged in 2012 to raise the sum to fund a medical wing. The Premier Inn Clinical Wing will open in Autumn 2017 as part of the hospital’s Mittal Children’s Medical Centre, and will house a surgery centre and inpatient wards for children with infectious diseases, skin conditions and heart disorders, as well as those who have problems with their breathing, mobility or nervous system.
Every bedroom will have an en-suite bathroom and room for a parent to stay, while the wards will also have room for the children to play, and for parents to take a break. GOSH is expecting to treat up to 20% more children once the facility opens.
Premier Inn celebrated the achievement late last year when its top 25 fundraisers were invited to meet patients from the hospital along with Dame Barbara Windsor (pictured) on a specially designed float that then took part in the Lord Mayor’s Show.
Premier Inn and Restaurant’s Simon Ewins said:
“We are delighted to have raised £7.5million for GOSH and I would like to say huge congratulations to all our team members who have made this happen through personal challenges and team activities over the last few years. Our focus now is continuing our fundraising efforts and hopefully unveiling some more exciting plans for the partnership next year.”
Premier Inn will continue to raise funds for GOSH, through sales of Bernard Bear, which is available in its hotels for £10 with all profits donated to the charity.
Image: Dame Barbara Windsor at the annual Lord Mayor’s Show with GOSH patients Becky Parkin, 12, and Harvey Spanner 10.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.