Lloyds rounds off children’s hospital fundraising with annual carol service

LLOYDS Bank Commercial Banking rounded off its 2012 fundraising effort for Birmingham Children’s Hospital by hosting the annual carol service at Birmingham Cathedral.

Almost 400 guests from across the Midlands’ wider business and professional community attended the service, which featured an evening of festive readings and Christmas carols.

The festive service was the final event in the bank’s busy 2012 fundraising programme for BCH, which has seen the Colmore Row-based team raise more than £40,000 for the charity after completing various challenges throughout the course of the year, including a 192 mile coast-to-coast walk.

Most recently, staff from the bank visited the hospital to help decorate the wards.

The service was sponsored by Poundland; the Black Country-based discount retailer is a long-standing customer of Lloyds Bank. It made a large donation of toys and games for the event.

The children’s hospital is one of the best supported charities in the area. It provides paediatric care to some of the sickest children from across the UK, and is heralded for its specialist medical staff, who are dedicated to improving the lives of sick children and their families.

David Richardson, regional managing director of Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Once again, our annual Christmas Carol Service has proved to be a fantastic success and I would like to thank all our colleagues, associates, friends and family for their support and generous contributions this year.

“We are pleased to have raised such a substantial amount of money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which is a truly exceptional charity.”

Fidelis Navas, partnership manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, added: “Lloyds Banking Group has been one of our most loyal supporters in recent years and their commitment to the hospital is appreciated by us all. During 2012, they have been an active champion of our ‘Children’s Cancer Centre Appeal’, supporting our quest to provide better communal areas for families and generally improve the hospital outpatient’s area which is always extremely busy.”