St John's Children's Fund

17/11/2023

01/08/2023

Take a sneak peek 👀 at these beautifully redesigned maternity spaces, ready to welcome new parents and their babies at St John’s Hospital. 🍃🌺

For soon-to-be and new parents, emotions, excitement and exhaustion levels are high, so being as relaxed and comfortable as possible during time spent in hospital is so important.

Thanks to funding from our wonderful supporters, we worked with designers at Staunch and LouiseKirby to transform the maternity spaces, providing welcoming environments to reduce stress and support families’ first moments together.

We asked parents who had given birth at St John’s, staff and a local antenatal group to be involved in the makeover. They suggested a nature theme with neutral, calming colours and comfortable furniture to give the spaces a cosier, more homely feel.

We hope the redesign will make the experience of visiting the labour and maternity wards positive for new parents and their families for many years to come! Let us know what you think. ❤️

If you would like to support projects like this which make a real difference to children and families in hospital, you can make a donation at www.echcharity.org/stjohnschildrensfund

17/03/2023

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us in the Tesco blue token vote. We're thrilled to announce we WON the £1500! 🔵👏

This funding will help to make time spent in hospital better for children and families at St John's and other healthcare settings across West Lothian. We are hugely grateful for your continued support. ❤️

31/01/2023

Take a sneak peek 👀 at these playful new paediatric spaces, ready and waiting to welcome children and families at the St John’s Hospital Emergency Department! 🌳☀️

Thanks to funding from our wonderful supporters, we worked with the designers at Staunch to transform the designated ED children's areas into comfortable, calming environments for visitors.

We loved involving children and young people in the redesign too! When asked what they liked most about their West Lothian landscape, the unanimous answer was the green hills, trees, birds and fresh air - all of which have been incorporated into the awesome new artwork. 🐦🍃

Waiting in ED can be a stressful time for children and families, so the design is focussed around the children's idea of bringing the outside in. We can't wait to see how the new spaces help to calm anxiety and encourage children to play and explore. Let us know what you think! ❤️

27/10/2022

We are thrilled to have been chosen for Tesco's blue token customer vote! 🔵

You can vote for St John's Children's Fund in store from now until mid January. If we get the highest number of votes, we receive £1500 to help children and young people in hospital! 👏

All you need to do is put your blue token in the St John's Children's Fund box in one of the following stores:

🔵 Bathgate - Blackburn Road Superstore
🔵 Livingston - Main Street Express
🔵 Broxburn Express

It only takes a second and every token counts, so please do take a moment to vote to help seriously ill children and families across West Lothian the next time you're out shopping! Thank you so much. ❤️

14/10/2022

We have been selected to be part of the Asda Foundation Green Token Appeal and we need your votes! 🟢

The vote is now being held ONLINE rather than in store. All you need to do to is visit www.asda.com/green-tokens, select Livingston from the drop down box and vote for St John's Children's Fund.

The charity with the most votes by Saturday 31 December will receive £500! We're a little bit behind at the moment so your help is very much appreciated. 😊

You can vote once every 7 days, so please do return and revote in the following weeks and encourage all your family and friends to do the same. If you would also like to like and share, we would be very grateful. Thank you so much! ❤️🤞

11/10/2022

An enormous thank you to Livingston FC for inviting us along to shake our buckets during Saturday's game. We raised a fantastic £188.44! 🪣👏

Thank you to everyone who popped by to say hello and who spared their pennies. Every donation will be used locally to help ill and injured children and their families in hospital in West Lothian. ❤️

If you would like to help, there are lots of ways to get involved! If you could shake buckets, volunteer, fundraise or simply spread the word, we would love to hear from you. Contact fiona.brian@echcharity.org or call us on 0131 668 4949. 🙂

08/09/2022

🪣 Bucket shakers needed! 🪣 Could you spare a couple of hours on Saturday 8 October?

We are seeking volunteers to help with bucket collecting at the Livingston vs Ross County game at Almondvale Stadium from 1pm – 3pm.

If you would like to get involved, please email our Volunteer Coordinator Rebecca: rebecca.mcdonald@echcharity.org

All funds raised will go towards supporting seriously ill children and their families at St John's Hospital. ❤️

30/05/2022

Calling all creative geniuses! 📢🎨

Do you have experience of bringing clinical spaces to life with exciting, interactive installations like these?

We are looking to commission an inspirational team to design a programme of enhancements for the Paediatric Emergency & Maternity Departments at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, creating an environment and experience that supports children, their siblings and family.

If this sounds like something you could help us to do, read the full project design brief and find out how to apply on our website: echcharity.org/join-our-team

We look forward to hearing from you! ❤️

20/05/2022

TEAM EDINBURGH - Lap the Map is BACK and this time we're going down under! 🌏🏃👩‍🦽

Join us from 13-26 June for a 35,000km virtual fundraising race around Australia. Walk, wheel or run and raise funds for seriously ill children in hospital. SIGN UP NOW: bit.ly/lapthemap

It’s currently one-all for Team Edinburgh and Team Glasgow – and we need YOU to help us take the trophy for 2022! 🏆 🥇

From Sydney Opera House to Bondi Beach, The Gold Coast to The Great Barrier Reef, every kilometre you walk, wheel or run over the two weeks is clocked as we try to be the first to cross that finish line.

By fundraising as you go, you make sure the real winners are the children and families who use our hospitals every day. ❤️

Come on Team Edinburgh, we’ve got this. Straya, here we come! 💪

SIGN UP NOW 👇
bit.ly/lapthemap

11/05/2022

Hats off to all the entrants in this year's ever popular Easter Bonnet Competition! 🐣👒

There were so many amazing, colourful and creative entries and our Royal Patron HRH Princess Beatrice had a very tricky time deciding who to crown as the winners! 👑

We are delighted to announce that 1st prize goes to Sapphire, 2nd to Amelia and 3rd to Izzy. 🥇🥈🥉

A HUGE thank you to everyone who took part from St John’s Hospital, RHCYP, Sunndach and Calareidh. You are all awesome!

21/04/2022

We would like to say an enormous thank you to the PJ Foundation who have made an incredible donation of £4000 in loving memory of PJ Cockburn. 🌟

Paul James Cockburn, known as PJ, was just 12 years old when he sadly passed away from organ failure as a result of Short Bowel Syndrome. PJ was born with the condition and, despite his health steadily improving during his childhood, he died in June 2017 while awaiting a transplant.

PJ's mum Jill says, “We are honoured to make this donation to St John’s Children’s Fund. We’ve seen first hand how the charity’s work can help youngsters in hospital to be a child and forget they’re a patient. PJ spent so much time in hospital and used to like all the activities and games that they provided.

“PJ had a smile that could light up a room, and now donations made in his memory are helping to put smiles on so many more children’s faces – an incredible legacy for our brave boy.”

PJ’s family are dedicated to educating people and raising awareness about organ transplants and organ donations. If you have thought about becoming a donor, why not sign up today in PJ’s honour:
https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/donate/

We are hugely grateful to PJ’s wonderful family and friends for their extraordinary kindness – a truly fitting way to celebrate the life of such a special boy. ❤️