Here at Whitbread, we’ve been proudly supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) since 2012 through donations across our hotels and restaurants as well as fundraising activities taken on by our team members. So far, we’ve raised an amazing £22 million for the charity, which has contributed to some milestone achievements.. Our fundraising was instrumental in the opening of the Premier Inn Clinical Building in 2018, as well as the Sight and Sound Centre in 2021. In 2022, our teams across the business voted overwhelmingly in favour of continuing our partnership with GOSH Charity, so now, we look forward to raising even more money for the cause!
As part of our renewed partnership, we’ve committed to raising £20 million over the next five years towards GOSH Charity’s Build it. Beat it fundraising appeal, which is all in aid of building a world-leading Children’s Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
How we’re supporting Build it. Beat it – Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity’s new fundraising campaign
Three-year-old Yumna
What is Build it. Beat it?
Build it. Beat it is the GOSH Charity’s biggest ever fundraising appeal, and this life-changing organisation is hoping to raise £300 million towards transforming children’s cancer care and saving more lives. To kick start their appeal, GOSH Charity has announced that all the runners taking part in the TCS London Marathon as part of Team GOSH will be raising money towards the appeal.
The Team GOSH runners, including a number of Premier Inn and Restaurant team members, have been training for months in preparation, and will be taking on the challenge to help fundraise for the new Children’s Cancer Centre at GOSH.
GOSH Charity has been named the 2023 TCS London Marathon Charity of the Year, and hopes to raise £3.5 million for the Build it. Beat it fundraising appeal through this partnership. The marathon is just the start of what will be the biggest fundraising appeal in GOSH Charity’s history!
Why this is so important
Every day, five families in the UK receive the devastating news that their child has cancer, starting the most challenging journey they’ll ever have to face. The Children’s Cancer Centre at GOSH will be a state-of-the-art building, caring for children with some of the most complex and difficult-to-treat cancers. Designed with the needs of children and families at its heart, the centre will support every aspect of care for those affected, from diagnosis to remission.
The centre will have new inpatient wards, intensive care units, operating theatres and a cancer day care centre where children can receive their chemotherapy treatment, allowing the hospital’s specialist teams to work more closely together in the same part of the campus. Alongside the clinical services, the Children’s Cancer Centre will also feature a new hospital school and outdoor spaces including a roof garden, to make sure that children can still be children while they’re going through treatment.
GOSH already treats the highest number of children with cancer in the UK, with a long history of pioneering medical advances and breakthroughs in cancer care. While investment in research and treatment has significantly improved survival rates, cancer remains the most common cause of death in children aged one to 14, with some forms of cancer only having a 2% survival rate.
Three-year-old Yumna
Three-year-old Yumna was diagnosed with stage four high-risk neuroblastoma in December 2021, just days after her second birthday. She immediately started intensive chemotherapy treatment before having surgery in 2022 to remove the tumour. Yumna is now having targeted immunotherapy – a treatment which aids the body’s immune system in fighting the cancer – until April.
Three-year-old Yumna
Salma Bibi, Yumna’s mum said:
“When Yumna was diagnosed, I just felt numb. Cancer hadn’t touched our family before, so we didn’t really know anything about it – we were just in complete shock.
I had always heard about Great Ormond Street Hospital but didn’t know much about it – you hope you’ll never have to. But the support Yumna and my family has received has been amazing, the staff see you through the toughest times and do everything they can for you.
The treatment has been gruelling for Yumna, but we are hoping for the best and are so grateful for everything the hospital has done for us. The Children’s Cancer Centre will be incredible. Speaking from experience, you spend a lot of time in the room with your child, so even things like having more outdoor space to have a five-minute breather would make a huge difference.”
Louise Parkes, GOSH Charity’s Chief Executive, said:
“GOSH has been at the forefront of children’s cancer care for years, but it needs a new home for breakthrough treatments and pioneering research to benefit children from all over the world."
“It is devastating that cancer is still the leading cause of death in children, but building on decades of research and clinical expertise, the Children’s Cancer Centre has the potential to help change this. That’s why we are thrilled to be launching the Build it. Beat it appeal to help build a game-changing new facility that will help beat childhood cancer. As someone taking on the TCS London Marathon myself, it is so motivating to be running for such an incredible cause, but to make our vision of the Children’s Cancer Centre a reality, we need your help. We are calling upon the public to support the appeal and help us save more children’s lives.”
Simon Ewins, Premier Inn and Restaurants Managing Director, said:
“We are proud to be a part of this momentous campaign that will make such a life changing difference to so many families across the UK."
"Our partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity has gone from strength to strength over the last 11 years and with our latest pledge to raise £20 million over the next five years towards the Children’s Cancer Centre, our teams across our hotel and restaurant business are immensely excited to start fundraising.
”Actor Sophie Okonedo, CBE, who provided the voice-over for the film, said:
“Great Ormond Street Hospital has already done so much to improve outcomes for children with cancer, but needs more space to continue finding pioneering treatments and cures. That’s why I am so proud to be supporting GOSH Charity’s Build It. Beat It appeal to help build a new Children’s Cancer Centre.”
GOSH Charity’s Build it. Beat it fundraising appeal is already being supported by the Grayken family, Premier Inn & Restaurants, and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), along with a number of other incredible Founder Partners and Patrons.
Find out more about the Children’s Cancer Centre at GOSH and help save lives, and learn about how we’ve been proudly supporting GOSH since 2012.