Airedale Shopping Centre in Keighley has recently raised £1,514 for Airedale Hospital and Community Charity. The funds raised will be used to support Airedale’s Neonatal Unit: an important cause for the shopping centre team. With the funds raised, the team from the neonatal unit purchased a SoundEar and some privacy screens to improve experiences for families on the unit.
Every year, the shopping centre chooses a local charity support. The late Danny Carter, who was the Maintenance Supervisor at Airedale Shopping Centre for over 30-years, chose Airedale Hospital’s Neonatal Unit as the team cared for his family and grandchildren over the years.
Airedale Hospital and Community Charity raises funds to support patients and staff at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. The Neonatal Unit (also known as the special care baby unit) provides care for babies who need special observation, monitoring, investigations, and treatments. Babies may stay on the unit for only a few hours or up to 16 weeks depending on their age and how much care they need.
The team from Airedale Shopping Centre organised a range of events and activities to raise the funds, including: a family fun day with a raffle, tombola, cake sale and craft fair with collection buckets for donations, a coin spinner in the mall, a wishing well in their annual Christmas display, a Santa’s Grotto which was free with a suggested donation to the charity, a Christmas gift wrapping service, and a seasonal craft fair.
Steve Seymour, manager at Airedale Shopping Centre, said:
“Danny Carter our M&E supervisor chose Airedale’s Neonatal Unit due to his family’s experiences and the excellent support and help that they received with their children and grand-children over the last 40-years.
“Every year we select a local charity to support and everyone in the Centre Team welcomed Danny’s choice. Danny has since passed away so won’t be here to help us celebrate this and see where the money goes but his wife Wendy and all the family are so proud of him.
“We hope that this money can help the Neonatal Unit continue in its great work.”
The new SoundEar will bring down noise in the neonatal unit by visually making people aware of the noise level in the unit. It has a display with an ear that lights up green, yellow, or red, indicating the current level of noise in the room. The idea is that staff and families will become aware of their noise levels and change their behaviour accordingly.
Kirsty Randell, Matron for Children’s Services at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We’re really grateful to the Airedale Shopping Centre team for raising so much, and especially to Danny for nominating us.
“We decided to buy a SoundEar with the money raised as it will make a real difference on our neonatal unit. It is important for the babies’ development that they hear sound such as their parents and siblings talking and singing to them. Having a visual representation of the sound will help to make more people aware of the noise levels, reduce unnecessary noise, and protect babies on the unit.”
(Photographed: Airedale Shopping Centre colleagues and family presenting the total raised to Airedale Charity)
