Member Article

LNOF raise £1,500 for CHUF

LNOF raise £1500 for CHUF

Last Night of Freedom today presented a cheque for £1500 to the Children’s Heart Unit Fund at the Freeman hospital.

Staff at LNOF’s Gateshead office spent Friday 20th March taking part in a 24-hour Salesathon while wearing their pyjamas. For every sale during this period a percentage was donated to CHUF.

LNOF managing director Matt Mavir said “2015 saw us look to support a local charity through a variety of events and we are delighted with the staff’s efforts in helping raise £1,500 for CHUF.

“Having visited CHUF before our 24-hour Salesathon we saw the great work that the Unit does and it really motivated our staff to help raise as much as we can. This is just our first event and we are really looking forward to raising more funds throughout the year.”

Matt started Last Night of Freedom from his bedroom while still a student in 1999, and has grown the business to a multi-million pound operation, booking more than 22,500 stag and hen parties and employing over 45 staff.

Chris Gray, head of fundraising for CHUF added: “We’re immensely grateful to the entire Last Night of Freedom team. Not only did they take time out of their schedules to personally visit the heart Unit at the Freeman, but their incredible 24 hour efforts in the office has raised a tremendous sum for the charity.”

The Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital is one of only two centres in the UK offering paediatric heart transplant and bridge to transplant, with transplant numbers increasing to the point where the unit now provides almost half of the UK’s paediatric transplants.

Recently, charity efforts by CHUF supporters have helped to raise enough to fund the creation of a vast new indoor and outdoor play area for the children on Ward 23.

In addition, CHUF patrons Ant and Dec and Alan Shearer were on hand late last year to officially open Scott House, a brand new accommodation facility being operated by the Sick Children’s Trust. CHUF was able to contribute more than £1.5m towards the building’s costs, which sits adjacent to the Freeman Hospital and serves as a crucial ‘Home from Home’ for families of those with children on the ward, especially those from outside the North East.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Last Night of Freedom .