£142,000 donation to Addenbrooke's at WRVS birthday celebration

Profits from the WRVS coffee shop and trolley service at Addenbrooke’s have been handed over to the hospitaly – and the £142,330 cheque is going towards new purchases that will directly benefit patients.

The WRVS is 70 this year, and the NHS is 60 – and at Addenbrooke’s, the two have worked together closely for over 40 years. To celebrate that relationship, all volunteers from both organisations have been invited to afternoon tea, with hospital staff serving refreshments at the David Rayner Centre at Scotsdales in Great Shelford.

“This afternoon is an opportunity for me to say thank you to our volunteers," says Helen Neale, who manages the WRVS at Addenbrooke’s. “It is a pleasure to give the money they have raised to the hospital, and to know that it will help. Over the last 40 years, WRVS volunteers have made a real difference to patients, their families, and hospital staff."

Hospital departments can bid for funding to buy new equipment with the WRVS money. This year, purchases will include tools to help with speech and language therapy; a new play area safety surface for children; a specialist dental X-ray unit for the Emergency Department; and money to establish a bereavement suite in the Rosie Delivery Unit for families who have lost young babies.

“We’re extremely lucky to have the WRVS at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie – and we are very grateful for their donations. This money will make a real difference," says Brenda Hennessy, Director of Patient Experience at the hospital. “I’d like to thank everyone for their work. Together with the hospital’s own volunteers, they do a fantastic job of making time in hospital easier for patients and their visitors."

As well as the volunteers, dignitaries will include Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire Antony Pemberton, MPs Andrew Lansley and David Howarth, County Council Chairman Jim Stewart and Vice Chair Charles Nightingale. The Trust’s Chief Executive and Chairman will also attend.