Shirley Ballas marks her birthday by celebrating £2m fundraising milestone at Alder Hey
Liverpool, United Kingdom
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September 06, 2021 10:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time
BBC One’s Strictly Head Judge Shirley Ballas celebrated her 61st birthday at Alder Hey in Liverpool after helping to achieve a £2m fundraising milestone for the world-famous children’s hospital.
Shirley, a long-time supporter of Alder Hey, launched the Alder Hey Children’s Charity ‘7in10’ Appeal in April 2020. The appeal, which is raising funds to help enhance mental health services offered by Alder Hey, has now successfully achieved two-thirds of its £3m target total.
Shirley, alongside actor Daniel Taylor and her mum Audrey Rich, visited Alder Hey ahead of the launch of this year’s new series of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One.
Shirley, Daniel and Audrey met Alder Hey’s Chief Executive Louise Shepherd CBE and Chair of Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Graham Morris OBE. They were shown progress against the development of two new facilities to house Alder Hey’s mental health services for children and young people, which the appeal is helping to fund.
Sunflower House will provide inpatient mental health care for under 13s, whilst other mental health services provided by Alder Hey will be located in the adjacent Catkin Centre.
Shirley said:
“I’m always delighted to come into Alder Hey, and to celebrate my birthday here is truly lovely. It’s such an amazing place and holds a special place in my heart. It’s brilliant to see the work that’s been done. The impact of the new facilities will be amazing.
“It’s never too early for a thank you from Shirley! So thank you to all those lovely people who have already donated to the appeal, you are making a massive difference to children’s mental health services in this country.”
Louise Shepherd, CBE, Chief Executive of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said;
“It was really wonderful to welcome back Shirley and Daniel and to show them the progress we have made with our new mental health units.
“We would like to pass on our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Shirley for all her help and support in reaching the £2m milestone.”
The new buildings will provide vital services to children and young people who have complex needs and have been designed around the needs of the children and young people being cared for. The 7in10 Appeal will help the Catkin Centre to be very sensory focussed and to create a feeling of safety, security and be very welcoming to the children and young people who visit.
Sunflower House will be the new 12 bed, tier 4 mental health inpatient unit for children under the age of 13 and will replace the current Dewi Jones unit.
You can still support the appeal by donate here www.alderheycharity.org/don
For more information about Alder Hey please contact: media@alderhey.nhs.uk
Photo caption; (l-r) Audrey (Shirley’s mum), Shirley Ballas and Daniel Taylor with birthday cake at Alder Hey
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More information about 7in10 Appeal: https://www.alderheycharity.org/7in10-appeal-spring/
About Alder Hey Children’s Charity
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital treats over 330,000 children every year – that’s more than 900 children each and every day, more than any other children’s hospital in the UK.
Alder Hey Children’s Charity supports the work of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust by raising much needed funds that are spent directly on initiatives in the hospital to benefit patients. Without the support of charitable donations, many of the outstanding facilities and innovations at Alder Hey could not be achieved.
Alder Hey Children’s Charity has raised over £56m since April 2013 for a range of life-saving medical equipment and facilities that are making a real difference to families every day.
For more information visit www.alderhey.nhs.uk and www.alderheycharity.org
Contact Details
Alder Hey
Phil McNamara
+44 151 252 5742
Company Website
