Rainbow Day challenge by Answer-4u supports Nottingham Hospitals Charity

Staff at Nottingham telephone answering service Answer-4u brought a splash of colour to their workplace by helping to launch a new charity challenge to help young patients at Nottingham Children’s Hospital.

The company got behind Nottingham Hospital Charity’s Rainbow Day – with staff dressing up in all sorts of colours to raise money for Nottingham Children’s Hospital which treats young patients from across the East Midlands and beyond.

The Charity is currently raising £500,000 to provide first class facilities for the cancer and neurosciences wards at Nottingham Children’s Hospital, which are currently undergoing a major upgrade. This redevelopment is the first project in the Charity’s Building the Best Appeal for the Children’s Hospital.

Nottingham Children’s Hospital treats children and young people with cancer from across the East Midlands. Together with University Hospitals of Leicester it is a Principle Treatment Centre for childhood cancer and a Centre of Excellence. The Hospital also provides the only unit in the East Midlands for neuro- diagnostics and neuro-surgery.

And now companies across the region are being invited to stage their very own Rainbow Day and help support the appeal.

“We recognise that the cancer ward is very dear to lots of people’s hearts and it’s something that many people here at Answer-4u are very excited about getting involved with and supporting. It’s a local charity and a lot of us have children,” said Answer-4u marketing manager Darren McCowan.

“We are delighted to be one of the first companies in Nottingham to stage a Rainbow Day and hope it will inspire others to do the same.”

The firm previously supported the Children’s Hospital by collecting more than 50 Easter eggs for the youngsters earlier this year. Now it has become one of the first companies to stage a Rainbow Day and raise money for the Building the Best Appeal.

Staff at the firm, which is based in Talbot Street, Nottingham, has around 120 employees and offers a telephone answering service to small and medium enterprises, gave a donation to wear bright garb during Rainbow Day, and also staged a colourful cake sale. The company also donated a number of raffle prizes.

Lizzie Wright, Corporate Fundraiser at Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: “We are very grateful to Answer-4u, for kick-starting our Rainbow Day initiative. We hope over the coming weeks and months that companies and businesses across the East Midlands region will take up this event and host a Rainbow Day of their own to brighten up the lives of seriously ill children who are being cared for at Nottingham Children’s Hospital.”

The new development at Nottingham Children’s Hospital will provide:

·         A ward that is child-friendly, colourful, positive, fun and welcoming.

·         Facilities for children with particular needs caused by neurological disease

·         Facilities for parents to stay overnight with their children

·         New furniture and interactive play equipment for the playroom.

·         An improved ventilation system to reduce the risk of infection for the most vulnerable patients

Hosting a Rainbow Day involves asking staff to choose a colour of the rainbow to wear all day and making a donation to the Charity in return.

Nottingham Hospitals Charity exists to benefit patients, staff and facilities at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s City Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Hayward House Palliative Care Centre and Ropewalk House.

Your gifts help us provide the added extras that make a real difference to patient care at Nottingham’s hospitals, such as specialist equipment, improved facilities, medical research and staff development programmes.