by Anne | Sep 27, 2014 | Notices
Our annual Ball of Hearts gets bigger and better each year. This time we are returning to the Crowne Plaza on the waterfront at Liverpool for a sparkling evening of fun and entertainment on Saturday 15th November.
We’ll be starting with goats cheese & red onion tart or melon, followed by chicken breast in red wine and thyme sauce with dauphinoise potatoes or mushroom stroganoff and rice. All finished off with toffee and raspberry meringue.
£45 per person – but our heart youngsters go for free with a paying guest. Minimum age 14 please as this is an adult event to which we invite our older children.
Tickets are selling fast so contact Val soon to book your places.
Now the only problem is which ball gown to choose!
by Matthew | Sep 27, 2014 | News
Our Association was selected as part of the One Stop and Mondelez (formerly Cadburys) ‘Happy Summer Dayz” campaign which ran from 15th July 2014 to 13th August 2014. During this time, those who won the One Stop store family days out competitions could nominate a charity to receive a donation to the same value as their prize.
In all, there were five charities that could be nominated, including the Children’s Heart Association, and we received an super total of £278. Thank you to all those who supported us! We look forward to using the money towards family events in the near future.
by Anne | Jun 14, 2014 | News
A big thank you to 4 lovely ladies in Haslingden who run regular coffee mornings and aim to raise funds for different charities. We were fortunate to be chosen in January so for the last 6 months they have been busy having raffles and meeting together to raise money and socialise.
On the 7th of June we were invited to collect a cheque for £1000 – so I was joined by Gill with her grandchildren, and Rachel with Martha. We showed them what CHA have been doing recently to let them know the sorts of things we will be spending their money on. Several people were delighted that our pictures showed heart children doing very normal things – even if they did need the occasional assistance of a wheelchair or big buggy.
A huge thank you to Maureen Jackson, June Lennon, Caroline Thompson, Beryl Abraham and all the generous people of Haslingden. Your gift is very gratefully received.
Anne
by Matthew | May 8, 2014 | News
The Children’s Heart Federation (chfed.org.uk) have been campaigning for all babies to receive the Pulse Oximetry test at birth to detect Congenital Heart Disease. This quick, painless and cheap test measures oxygen levels in blood and can detect over 90% of critical heart defects in newborns.
The UK National Screening Committee has now recommended the use of Pulse Oximetry Screening on newborns and has announced today there will be a national pilot. Here are links to the announcement:
http://www.chfed.org.uk/babies-are-set-to-receive-heart-test-to-save-lives/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-national-screening-committee-recommends-new-test-for-newborn-babies-with-heart-disease
The announcement is receiving some media interest and has appeared on the Telegraph online:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10813377/All-newborns-to-undergo-heart-tests.html
by Anne | May 1, 2014 | Notices
by Anne | May 1, 2014 | Notices
We’re holding this year’s Annual General Meeting at Chester Zoo on 14th June 2014. Members can also get discounted admission to the zoo following the AGM.
For more details see our poster below.
by Matthew | Apr 28, 2014 | Notices
The Children’s Heart Federation are giving away a friends and family place at their exciting Dragon Boat Race day in London on Sunday 18th May.
Your group of family, friends or colleagues will enjoy a fun day of rowing down the river Thames (no experience necessary). As well as a BBQ and a bar there is a full day of entertainment with magicians, street performances, face painters, and much more!!
Details on how to enter the competition can be found here but note that the closing date is 5pm, Wednesday 30th April. Winners will be drawn at random.
If you are not a lucky winner, you can still register for their fantastic Dragon Boat Race Day and get more information by visiting the CHF Dragon Boat page.
Good luck!
by Matthew | Apr 28, 2014 | News
There was a recent and sad storyline in Hollyoaks where a character’s baby died before her heart condition was recognised. The Children’s Heart Federation were involved in the writing of the storyline and asked us to get involved too.
A recent event involving the cast and CHF had a massive impact on Stephanie Davis, who played the mother of the baby. Stephanie has pledged to support the CHF’s Think HEART campaign to raise awareness about the early detection of congenital heart disease.
Read more about the event and the campaign on CHF’s website, and there’s another article on the DigitalSpy website.
by Val | Apr 13, 2014 | News
As part of our 40th year celebrations we went to Boreatton Park in Shropshire for the weekend. The centre is run by PGL and provides adventure breaks and holidays. We all arrived Friday night in time for our evening meal, checked into our log cabins and unpacked. Our coordinator from PGL was called Callum and he was a star all weekend. Thanks for the extra time you put in for us.
A camp fire in the woods was arranged for Friday 8.30pm to toast marshmallows. It had been teeming all Friday night but as soon as we were ready to go down into the woods the rain stopped, we had to use our torches as it was very dark. We all had fun singing together and toasting marshmallows. Later some of the families decided to head back to the bar where it was warmer while the families with young children turned in for the night. At the camp fire the rest of us stayed to have a drink and listen to music, thanks to Jenni and Sammy and the IPod. It was very enjoyable just socialising together.
On Saturday morning we went to breakfast and we split into groups and we started
our activities with each group doing 8 activities over the 2 days. We had a dry day, which is always a blessing when we do any event, even more so when it’s outdoor activities. After 2 morning activities we had lunch then did another 2 activities. It was lovely to hear the stories of how some of the older ones encouraged some of the younger ones on the activities. Myles encouraged Luke to try the zip wire with a magic wand – well done you were fantastic. Well done Jo for doing the zip wire, I didn’t tell you at the time but
even the instructor said he had never seen anyone so scared and he had been doing it for 3 years.
In the evening we had tea, then some of us went swimming and some adults
went to a cheese and wine event put on by PGL. Later we met at my cabin at 8.45pm to go in the woods for an easter egg hunt. Will and Ella had hidden them about 1hr 45 mins earlier with our PGL rep Callum. Thank you Will & Ella. We had our wellies on and torches lit. All the children found an egg but what nobody had thought of was that squirrels may also eat our eggs – oops – thankfully we only lost one egg, all the others were untouched. At 9pm Joanne and Jay had arranged a Family Fortunes quiz for us so we went to a social room and enjoyed that till 10.30pm. Thanks Jo & Jay.
On Sunday we had breakfast, 2 more activities and then lunch. It started overcast but dry and soon it was warm and sunny for the whole day. After we completed the last 2 remaining activities we finished our adventure with an evening meal and then it was time to leave. Thanks to everyone who came and made it a family fun weekend with great memories made to last and new friendships formed. Thanks for the fab comments, it was such a superb weekend, lots of fun had by all and with great lasting memories.
Here a just a couple of photos from the day, hopefully more to follow (meanwhile check out our Photo Gallery for pics from last year, just to give you a taste of the events we got up to!)
by Anne | Apr 13, 2014 | News
We had a great time during Heart Week this year. We had a display on the corridor at Manchester Children’s Hospital, and gave the hospital some of the lovely story books we’ve bought.
Thanks to Luke who works with me at Trafford General and has raised lots of money for CHA from colleagues at Trafford and at Manchester Royal infirmary where he used to work.
The children had a great time at the Build a Bear workshop.
