Books and buckets help raise £60,000 for Stars Appeal

Paul JonesFebruary 19, 20240 Comment0

BOOKS and buckets helped raise more than £60,000 for the Salisbury Hospital Stars Appeal last year.

Volunteers in the Stars Appeal Bookshop and through bucket collections at the hospital raised a total of £62,653.53 during 2023.

They were joined by staff from the Pembroke Cancer Unit and Dr Anna Barton, who is also one of charity’s hospital ambassadors, for a special presentation to celebrate the achievement.

Last year, the bookshop, which is in the Main Entrance of the Hospital, raised £43,035.04 – up from £36,481.30 in 2022. Bucket collectors at the hospital raised a further £19,618.49.

Helena Sinclair, of the Stars Appeal, said: “We are hugely grateful to our fantastic volunteers for their continued support and commitment. They not only make a fantastic contribution to our fundraising but are also a friendly face to support patients and visitors who may be going through a tough time.

“We want to say a big thank you to our volunteers and to everyone who supports us through the bookshop and bucket collections for their generosity. The money raised will help us to do even more for patients, their families, and staff across Salisbury District Hospital.”

In 2023, the Stars Appeal funded projects across Salisbury Hospital totalling £1.5 million, including an additional echocardiogram for the Cardiac Investigation Unit, a 3D ultrasound machine for the Gynaecology Department, virtual reality headset for the Children’s Unit, and the latest baby heart monitors, as well as ongoing projects like Stars Appeal Wi-Fi and wellbeing support for patients with cancer.

The charity is aiming to raise £1m to continue its ongoing work and fund a variety of state-of-the-art equipment including videoscopes for head and neck cancer patients, a mechanical chest compression machine, and specialist cots for newborn babies on the labour and postnatal wards.

To find out more about the charity’s projects visit www.starsappeal.org.