Regulars at a pub in Farlington, Portsmouth, have been spreading more than a little sunshine to help disabled and terminally ill children.
Pub-goers at appropriately-named The Sunshine were so touched by the plight of baby Lily Brummel when her grandmother Tina Brake told them about her that they all joined together and raised a fabulous £950.
The money has been donated to Newlife Foundation, the charity for disabled children which helped little Lily, who was born with Exomphalos, a defect of the abdominal wall which causes the bowel and liver to grow outside the body.
In addition, Lily was born prematurely, and heart problems have resulted in a tracheostomy; she was in hospital for the first eight months of her life.
She needed a specialist pram before she was allowed home, and the family turned to Newlife, who fast-tracked an equipment grant of £655 in order to get little Lily home for Christmas.
It was a really special Christmas gift for Lily’s family. Grandmother Tina said: “She is doing fantastically well now she is home, but she wasn’t allowed out without it.”
As a way of saying thanks, The Sunshine pub landlady Kathy Proetti put on a number of raffles and charity events including a penny raffle, which raised lots of money, and I was able to hand in £950 to Newlife.”
Now the pub will have a permanent reminded of how they’ve helped – with a special certificate for them to put up next to a photograph of Lily.
Newlife Foundation has helped 223 families in Hampshire to get equipment they cannot get by any other means. It has cost in the region of £382,213. The charity is currently working with a total of six families in Hampshire, with equipment needs totalling over £27,226, but is experiencing hugely increased demands on its resources; calls to the Newlife Nurse Helpline – 0800 902 0095 – have shot up and there are thousands more hits on the charity’s website https://newlifecharity.co.uk
Nora Smith, head of fundraising for Newlife Foundation, thanked Tina, Kathy and the pub-goers for their marvellous generosity on behalf of the charity, adding: “We are always looking for local heroes to help us raise money as there has been such a huge increase in demand for our services, particularly in the current economic climate.
“If any individual or organisation wants to help they can contact the community fundraising team who can offer support and guidance on freephone 0800 988 4640.”
Pictured: The Sunshine pub in Farlington, Portsmouth.
Web: https://newlifecharity.co.uk Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/newlifecharity Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/newlifefoundation YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/NewlifeFoundation
