North Midlands team raises vital funds for Leicestershire children’s charity

A children’s heart charity based in Leicester has received a cash boost of over £3,750 over the course of a year’s fundraising, thanks to charity events held by the team at North Midlands.

Founded in 1981, Heart Link Children’s Charity works to give support to families who have a child with a heart condition. Over the past 42 years, Heart Link’s work has funded vital facilities in Leicester’s hospitals to ensure the best care can be given to young patients and their families.

Members of the Leicester-based team have taken part in several events in the past year for the charity, including dress down Fridays and the Garendon Gallop 10k race in July 2023. The team will continue to fundraise for Heart Link throughout 2024. 

Graeme Williams, Trustee at Heart Link said: “Everyone at Heart Link is always humbled by all our amazing fundraisers. Working regularly to support parents on the paediatric ward, we see the true value of all their hard work. The team at Persimmon North Midlands has gone above and beyond, raising a truly fantastic amount. Thank you!”

Alicia Pyatt, Construction Secretary in the North Midlands team has recently benefitted from Heart Link’s services following the birth of her son Joshua.

Alicia said: “I was already aware of Heart Link when Persimmon nominated them as our charity for the year, however when Josh was diagnosed with congenital heart disease in March 2023, we learned first-hand just how invaluable they are and continue to be. From the toys in the Cardiac Outpatients department, the playroom on the cardiac ward, the nurses’ desks in the intensive care unit and the parents’ accommodation on the cardiac ward allowing us to stay close by when we weren’t able to be by Josh’s side.

 “Josh will need regular check-ups for life and future operations but knowing that we aren’t on our own and there is always someone there to talk to that understands means a lot to us as a family. We’re still new to the Heart Link family, however we can’t wait for Josh to be old enough to attend the numerous events that they hold so that he can meet other children just like him.”

 Dan Endersby, Managing Director at Persimmon Homes North Midlands said: “We’re delighted to continue to support Heart Link this year. We felt it important to raise funds for a heart charity due to the tragic loss of one of our Site Managers last year, and so wanted to help those in the early stages of heart conditions, such as Joshua.

 “The work that Heart Link does is so vital when families are going through incredibly challenging times. We’ll be planning a calendar of activities throughout the year to support this excellent cause and we’re very excited to get stuck into fundraising.”