We are delighted that our official charity for 2015 is Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. We will be encouraging our guests and team to raise funds as we try to help bring hope to Great Ormond Street Hospital's young patients and their families.
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) was founded in 1852, and is one of the top five children's hospitals in the world. It has more than 240,000 patient visits each year, ranging from new-born babies to 18-year-olds, often caring for patients with rare or complex conditions, who are too ill to be treated locally or who need particular specialist care.
The hospital's charity raises money to fund redevelopment of buildings, pioneering research, vital equipment and essential welfare services.
However, our relationship with GOSH started many years ago: back in 1938 Butlins day visitors were charged a shilling to come onto resort, with all that money going to the hospital, while in 1965 The Variety Club - sponsored by Sir Billy Butlin - donated a hydrotherapy pool to the hospital's Department of Physical Medicine. And in 1977, Sir Billy donated funds to purchase the UK's first paediatric CT scanner at Great Ormond Street Hospital. We are delighted to be able to continue his legacy and have the opportunity to put a modern spin on this incredible tradition.
As well being able to donate by text, online or when booking a break, our guests will also have a chance to get involved with the partnership as we will be hosting fundraising activities on resort during the year. At Butlins we pride ourselves upon helping hard-working families rediscover their sparkle - by working together, we will be helping to bring a bit of sparkle to Great Ormond Street Hospital's patients and families, from across the UK.
If you would like to donate you can do so very easily by text. Simply text BUTL60 followed by £2 to donate £2, £5 to donate £5 or £10 to donate £10 to 70070. So, to donate £2 you would text the following to 70070: BUTL60 £2. Alternatively, you can donate securely online via the charity's website. Simply go to https://donate.gosh.org/