Niño’s Burritos, Santa Lucia

One couldn’t help but assume that Mexican restaurants offer more expensive meals compared to other cuisines. I guess this is caused by the rich display of flavors and ingredients. It was quite a treat to spot this Mexican fare that’s affordable – Niño’s Burritos Bistro in SM City East Ortigas.

Niño’s isn’t exactly a newcomer in the food business. Originally hailing from Mandurriao, Iloilo, they have launched their first branch in Atria Park in San Rafael District back in 2015. Then, they had a business expansion, later on, opening other branches in Robinson’s Place Jaro, SM City Southpoint, and SM Fairview. This branch here is somewhat small, but its neat interiors make up for its limited space.

Here, we were able to try a number of their specialties that were given a Filipino twist to it.

We actually had one of Niño’s bestsellers, which is their Calamares (Php 255). This plate of squid rings was an instant favorite for it was well-seasoned with various spices. The calamares can be enjoyed on its own or it can be paired with a serving of rice (such a Filipino thing though, right?).

You can tell that the squid rings are a crowd favorite as they get easily sold out. The best thing about Niño’s is that they don’t scrimp on its serving size and they provide a generous portion of it to its customers.

We had their Chili Con Carne (P185) which would have turned out to be a great pair for some crispy and warm tortilla chips. They used imported spices in it to give it its distinctive flavors, minus the use of unhealthy preservatives. This one is an ideal kicker before you start with your mains.

We also had Beef Quesadilla (Php 180). Although the taste isn’t exactly as authentic and as good as this Tex-Mex specialty, I found this pleasantly filling.

Nino’s is also known for their burritos. We had their beef variety, which boasted of the richness of the cheese and tasty ground beef in it. This had a good balance of protein and carbs, unlike other places that are usually flooded with rice. Note to the staff that they should griddle their tortillas on the pan longer. Doing such will make the burrito dining experience so much better.

We also got to try their Picanto Wings (Php 220). Staff claims that their customers are actually fond of this perfectly marinated chicken parts. This is their own take on the classic buffalo wing recipe. It was made with a great blend of seasoning, and I find its level of spiciness just right. I am as you know have low tolerance on hot stuff. The Chicken Barbecue with rice was also a treat as it gave it a tasty bite after another.

If on the other hand, you’re just in the mood to have your fill of French fries, you may ask them for a single order of it for only Php 70.

To cap this off, Mexican food is definitely hard to resist, especially since they bring in so much comfort to us foodies. So if you feel like having Mexican grub any time and you’re on a budget, you could consider visiting them in any of their opened spots.

Source: AlwaysHungry.ph | Where to Eat in the Philippines?

Pet Shop Donation Gets Crawley Family’s Children’s Charity Off the Ground

A Turners Hill family have been able to set up a new charity helping disabled children after a £6,000 grant from Pets Corner.

Sullivan’s Heroes is the result of months of work by Richard Smith – a long term supplier for Pets Corner – and his wife Fiona.

During the process of adapting their own property for their disabled son, Sullivan, they discovered there was little in the way of financial assistance for families and their disabled children who required the necessary adjustments to live comfortably and safely in their homes.

Tragically, after the family raised 90 per cent of the costs through various fundraising initiatives, which inspired them to set up the charity, Sullivan passed away in January 2015 shortly before the work on their home was completed.

 Since then, it has been his parents’ mission to build brighter futures for other families in their son’s memory through the vital fundraising work of Sullivan’s Heroes.

The £6,000 from the ethical pet retailer, Pets Corner with a further pledge from the company to donate £5,000 per year have enabled them fulfill their dream.

Mr Smith said: “It has taken us over 18 months to get through, over and around all the hurdles in order to get Sullivan’s Heroes off the ground.

“We are absolutely delighted that we have now been able to realise this incredibly important resource in our son’s memory for families who, like us, have nowhere to turn.

“We would like to thank Pets Corner for their generous donation, which will go towards helping families in the future.

“We don’t have the skills to save lives, but we certainly have the ability to change lives and that is what we are setting out to do, just like the many people who have helped us as parents and Sullivan throughout his life.”

Managing Director at Pets Corner Dean Richmond added: “It is particularly poignant that Sullivan was the son of one of our friends, and long term suppliers, Richard.

“I have worked with Richard for a number of years and I have seen first-hand the effort and determination he and his wife Fiona have put in to the charity not only fundraising to make things better for their own family, but for the lives of others.

“I am delighted that Pets Corner is able to contribute towards the work Sullivan’s Heroes is doing and to help make a difference to families in a similar position across the UK.”

The funds donated by Pets Corner will help provide ongoing financial grants for disabled children and their families.

———-

Source: http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/

Educator Runs Bake Sale to Fund Meals for Children in Charity Homes

It was Nisfu Syaaban, also known as the Night of Emancipation, in 2014.

Muslims believe this is the night when their fortunes for the coming year are decided. Among other things, they read their Quran and pray for blessings, salvation and forgiveness from Allah.

Ms Shereen Naaz Charles Syariff, 29, had just finished her evening prayers and was reading the Holy Book when memories of her late grandmother overwhelmed her.

“She died the year before. She used to do a lot of charity work and it always involved food. Every Ramadan, she cooked for needy people she knew and also donated food to mosques,” says the 29-year-old educator. “I thought of people who didn’t have a lot to eat during the fasting month. I thought of children in children’s homes who didn’t have parents to cook for them.”

A conviction seized her: Like her grandmother, she would help people with food.

That was how the foodie came up with the idea of Eiding The Feast, a charity bake where all the proceeds go towards providing meals for children in charity homes during the month of Ramadan.

In the first year, she rounded up 15 of Singapore’s most famous halal home bakers and raised more than $5,000 to provide meals for 20 days for the denizens of Pertapis Children’s Home.

Last year, 20 bakers joined her cause, raising more than $8,000 in just over three hours. The funds were spent on meals for children in homes run by Pertapis and Jamiyah, as well as food packs for 600 needy families.

It is obvious, from the sparkle in her eyes and the grin in her voice, that she is chuffed about Eiding The Feast, which she runs with her cousin, polytechnic lecturer Yasmeen Shariff, 28, and good friend, university lecturer Lye Kit Ying, 30.

It is her way of giving back to society and community; she also wants, she says, to be the best version of herself, both in this life and the Hereafter.

“I’ve been quite fortunate, I come from a very stable family and I’m better off than many people who really struggle,” says the eldest of three children of an operations manager and a nurse manager.

Her caring, empathetic side surfaced early. Her mother – now in gerontology nursing – had worked in different hospitals with stints in units ranging from intensive care to the cancer ward.

“When I was young, my father would pick her up from work and I would tag along. Sometimes, she would introduce me to some of the elderly patients.”

Even as a little girl, she realised that a smile and a handshake could help to make the sick and elderly feel a little better. That is why she kept going back to the wards although the speed at which the sick deteriorated sometimes spooked her.

“There has always been a part of me which makes me want to connect with other people,” says the former student of Yangzheng Primary and Ang Mo Kio Secondary.

Bubbly with an infectious congeniality, she held many leadership positions – student councillor, president of the drama club – in school.

“I’ve always been a leader. I like to take charge and plan things. I guess I’m a little bossy,” she says with a grin.

Hitting the books took a backseat to sports and other extra-curricular activities. She did very badly for her O level preliminaries, failing a couple of subjects and scoring a dismal 32 points for her six best subjects.

“My teacher told my father: ‘If Shereen does not pass her O levels and make it to junior college, her highest qualifications would be PSLE.’ That was the tightest slap I ever had.”

Her parents got her a maths tutor.

“Immediately, I got a distinction. And I passed the O levels with 14 points and made it to Yishun Junior College,” she said, laughing.

A bigger crisis of confidence awaited her in junior college. She had to repeat her first year when she failed maths again. The embarrassment was hard to shake off.

Her morale took a further hit one day when she did badly in an English literature test. A teacher spotted her sobbing alone in the canteen and came over to speak to her.

“He said: ‘It’s not the end. You have failed but it doesn’t define who you are. You just have to pick yourself up and make sure you don’t do the same thing again.'”

Shaking her head, she says: “He was so different from the teacher who told my parents that my highest qualifications would be PSLE if I didn’t pass my O levels.”

The pep talk did her good. Her A level results were good enough to get her into Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where she read English literature.

In NTU, a rolling apple helped to open the doors to a new world and new friends.

“One day, I saw an apple rolling on the floor. I picked it up and passed it back to the owner. We started talking and she introduced me to this group of girls who knew what they wanted and set high standards for themselves. They did not just limit themselves to the resources given to them, they went out and looked for more.”

They motivated her to be disciplined and taught her how to study and play smart.

“It’s not difficult to achieve what you want. You just have to know what your goals are and find the right environment to help you achieve them.”

She made the Dean’s List and was also chief editor of NTU’s student- run campus newspaper, The Nanyang Chronicle.

At the behest of her mother, she applied to join the teaching profession after graduation although she was hoping to become a reporter.

After getting her diploma in education, she became a teacher at a neighbourhood school in the north in 2012.

She came into contact with students from all backgrounds, including at-risk youths from dysfunctional families.

She had her share of challenging students, including a girl who refused to talk to her for a year.

“I would try to engage her every day but she just would not respond. She wasn’t rude, she just didn’t talk to me and I just couldn’t stand being ignored.

“I later found out that she had family issues and was very angry and because I was the newest figure in her life, she took it out on me.”

The teacher, however, did not give up despite the stony silence and even alerted another colleague to help the student.

“One year later, there was a complete change. She started answering questions, and carrying my books.”

Ms Shereen gets up, goes into the room of her four-room HDB flat in Yishun and brings out a laminated jigsaw featuring a photo of her and a young girl, and a handwritten message.

“That’s her,” she says.

Her voice grows shaky as she starts to read random sentences from the message such as ‘No matter how badly I’ve treated you, you’ve never left me hanging’ and ‘I can’t describe my gratitude…”

“That sums up why I love working with students,” she says, as tears start rolling down her cheeks. “There are days when they are terrible and make you want to tear your hair out. But when they are calm and not bogged down by their problems, they don’t forget to let you know how you made them feel.”

Now a polytechnic student, the girl has become firm friends with Ms Shereen and is a volunteer with Eiding The Feast.

“I keep in touch with many of my students and quite a few of them volunteer at my charity bakes,” says Ms Shereen, who was deployed to teacher-training a couple of years ago.

In many ways, Eiding The Feast was inspired by her students.

“While I’ve always liked the idea of giving back to society and community, the feeling became stronger when I became a teacher. Kids and youngsters have so much potential but they also have a long road ahead of them,” she says.

Food was a natural part of the charity equation for Ms Shereen who used to write a food blog with Ms Lye, a vegetarian, chronicling their love for food, coffee and cakes.

To get Eiding The Feast off the ground in 2014, she started trawling through Instagram accounts to suss out popular home bakers such as Hipster Bakes, @whyhellohid, Eihnaa Bakes, Tangerine Macaron and Grato.

“I told them what we were doing, I said we would provide the space and that they just needed to prepare their bakes and donate the proceeds. I told them not to bake more than what they wanted to give,” she says.

Next, she knocked on the door of nearly every establishment in Arab Street, asking them for a free space to conduct her charity bake.

Many turned her down but Working Title Cafe said yes to her request. More than 1,000 people turned up for the event, splurging more than $5,000 to snap up all that was on sale in just two hours.

“We initially planned to supply just 10 days of meals to Pertapis Children’s Home but raised enough to supply meals for 20 days,” says Ms Shereen, who forked out $1,000 of her own money to stage the event and on special thank-you aprons for the bakers.

Last year’s Eiding The Feast held at Al Qudwah Academy in Pahang Street was even more successful, attracting a long queue an hour before it opened and raising more than $8,000 in just three hours. As entry levy, shoppers brought a tin of condensed milk, which was later bundled with other daily necessities and distributed to 600 needy families.

“I hope to rally 30 bakers this year and raise $10,000. We would like to sponsor meals for five children’s homes,” says Ms Shereen, whose husband is an engineer.

Her dream is to turn Eiding The Feast into a twice-a-year carnival, where every baker will have her own table. She also wants to help other needy communities.

“For now, we focus on Muslim homes during fasting month. But my dream is to move beyond this and help other people in need soon.”

———-

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/

Ate Kimi’s Mural Workshop with Ospital ng Makati

It was another colorful morning as our team once again headed to Ospital ng Makati for our 11th event to date there. Our partnership with OSMAK started in December of 2014 where we had our first ever mural painting workshop. Time indeed flies fast as we are now on our 10th mural event. Here we are, two years after, almost finishing up filling the walls of the entire pedia ward with colorful and beautiful images.

For the past two years our artists, Robby and Blanca have been creatively coming up with themes for each room in the pedia ward. We’ve done different themes like hot air balloons, under the sea, carousel, cars, animals, and today, we eagerly prepared for: Outer Space.

Today’s event is organized by Ate Kimi Lu. She wanted to celebrate the birthdays of her friends Ate Zarra and Kuya Luis. She said every individual is made up of positive electric charge called protons. Together we can use this energy to create something wonderful. She gathered up friends in today’s Proton Meetup event to participate in our Mural painting activity with the patients of OSMAK.

The pedia was was filled with young children who’s suffering from different kinds of illness. Some were suffering from dengue, dehydration, and others were there for their chemo treatment. As some of the kids were fragile the volunteers had to handle them with care.

We grouped the volunteers and children into five groups and they got the chance to share with each other things about themselves. They talked about their favor color and animal. Then we had a dance showdown where each group picked a representative and they competed with each other. In the end Ana Marie was awarded as the best dancer.

To add to the fun we had two dragon mascots who came out and interacted with the kids. Ana Marie took the lead as she performed the dance steps of a Korean pop song while the 2 dragon mascots followed her lead and danced. In the end everyone stood up and joined the fun. The ates enthusiastically danced with their partner children. The dragon mascots also went around the other rooms so the other children who couldn’t go out of their rooms had the opportunity to play and take photos with them.

We then had a fun game called Raise the Ball. Each group was given two balls. As the song played the group members passed the ball around each other. Once the music stopped Kuya Harvard would give two numbers and the people who corresponded to those two numbers should stand up and raise the ball. It was a challenge to stand up as quickly as possible. Also, the team members had to be alert in identifying which person the ball had to be passed to. It was raise to three with team three emerging as the eventual winner.

We then moved on to the main event, the mural painting. Each group went to the paint station set up by our artist Ate Blanca. The images on the walls were already color coded to serve as a guide to our volunteers and kids. Everyone excitedly headed to the paint station to grab the different paint colors and brushes. The ates and kuyas bonded with the children as they painted with them. Vibrant colors filled the walls of the room. Today’s theme was Outer Space. There were images of astronauts, adorable extraterrestrial beings, planets, stars, spaceships, meteors, and others. The children painted happily as you could see them trying their best to paint within the lines.

After all the activities we did in the morning it was time to let the children rest. We had our early lunch as the volunteers ate with the children and their parents. We then gave out prizes to the winners the morning’s activities. We also gave school supplies and gifts to the children. Ate Kimi’s friends brought books, coloring materials, clothes, toys, and educational magazines to be given to the children in the ward. The children hugged their ates and kuyas as they said their goodbyes and thankyou’s. The children’s parents were also happy to see their children happy. Some of the parents kept taking photos of the event.

It was heartwarming to see the smiles on the children’s faces. They are going through a lot at a young age. We won’t be able to take all the pain away but in our small way, we were able to create an experience which uplifted their spirits. As they say, “Creativity takes courage.”

Charity Boxer to Raise Cash for Sheffield Children’s Hospital in Bout at Ponds Forge

By day, Karl Southwood is a media sales executive; but he hopes to be a knockout success when he enters the ring for a charity boxing bout next weekend at Ponds Forge.

Karl -who won his first two charity fights, one in the first round after breaking his opponents’ nose – is searching for a hat-trick of victories but has a bigger goal in mind – raising money for The Children’s Hospital Charity.

“A former colleague of mine’s son has been cared for there for the last four months, so I wanted to do something to help them,” Karl said.

“My last two fights have been rewarding for me – improving my fitness, picking up a new hobby and, of course, winning – but they’ve also been rewarding for the charities I fought for.

“This time, I wanted a different charity which helps different types of everyday people.

“Through donations, Sheffield Children’s Hospital buy life saving equipment, fund vital research and create a comfortable, engaging environment for our children, I’m sure this is a charity that everyone cares about.”

Karl’s last fight raised over £600 in memory of his grandmother, who passed away from Alzheimer’s. He has currently raised over £350 – smashing his original target of £250.

Karl, who trains at Sheffield Boxing Centre with Glyn Rhodes and Sam Sheedy, has recruited three colleagues to also box on the night and is being sponsored by Wake Smith Solicitors.

———-

Source: http://www.thestar.co.uk/

AIESEC DLSU’s Global Village

“One thing we all have in common is the desire to belong.”

We may look or speak differently, but what connects all of us is our desire to belong. For over 42 years, AIESEC in De La Salle University has enabled young people cross-cultural leadership experiences for Peace and Humankind’s Potential. In order to continuously reach this vision, AIESEC in De La Salle University hosted its annual event, Global Village, on 2​4​ February 201​6​ at De La Salle University.

Global Village provides us the opportunity to deepen our understanding of cultural diversity, on how accepting different traditions and beliefs can benefit us that we can all live better together. This year, Global Village will focus on the theme “Bringing Worlds Closer.” This aimed to:

To engage Lasallians with our exchange participants that will help promote cultural diversity, understanding, and global citizenship and to showcase in the De La Salle community our exchange participants’ relevance in re-building the Philippines through their social projects.

We were able to participate with 3 of our own exchange participants from Japan to showcase their culture in the De La Salle student body through food, art, and music; along with a representation of the current project they are in, which fostered an atmosphere of social awareness, harmony, unity, and peace.

The exchange participants brought their cultural food, clothes, decoration items, banners, flags, or anything that would represent their home country. I on the other hand, encouraged and shared our advocacy and organization to the De La Salle community.

———-

U! Happy Events

How One Group Is Using Music & Art To Empower Street Children In Uganda

Bosco Segawa was living on the streets of Kampala, Uganda, when he heard a local school’s brass band playing 20 years ago. He was 12. Segawa was captivated and began to see music as a possible way out of street life. After much convincing, the school agreed to teach Segawa and his friends how to play donated instruments on weekends and holidays. Soon, the boys were able to support themselves and even found a sponsor who paid for their housing, which they opened up to other street children like themselves.

Since then, their organization, called M-Lisada(short for Music Life Skills and Destitution Alleviation), has grown to accommodate scores of young people who would otherwise be homeless and vulnerable on the streets of Kampala. And it has support from people far beyond Uganda, including Rochelle Zabarkes, president of the New York-based M-Lisada Africa Foundation.

Child homelessness is a major issue in Uganda. Nonprofit Human Rights Watch reports that children who live on the street are often also victims of police brutality, emotional and sexual abuse, drug use, and addiction. M-Lisada emphasizes the power of both music and friendship, recognizing that getting children off the streets is just the first step in the longer process of rehabilitation. Many children are psychologically traumatized by their past experiences, but M-Lisada provides a supportive place where they can start over.

M-Lisada offers a plethora of programs for the approximately 50 children it houses at a time, as well as for the additional 80 children to whom it provides services and basic comforts, but cannot yet house. Music is the main focus, but dance, acrobatics, sports, and further education in life skills, instrument repair, HIV awareness, and sustainable farming are also available.

Longtime M-Lisada volunteer Gesa Teigelkötter, who is based in Kampala, says that music and the arts “play a very important role in the children’s lives, because first, they don’t get bored so quickly…they are also able to forget their traumatic experiences from the past, and most important, gain a lot of self confidence.” Referring to the artistic and athletic choices offered to the children, Teigelkötter says: “I can also see that they really enjoy what they are doing, because they can choose what they like.”

The children are also eager to give back to the community that helped them. They perform free concerts and raise funds for worthy causes, such as buying a wheelchair for a disabled peer, and even clean the streets in the surrounding area. They visit the elderly and perform outreach to children who are still on the streets, returning to where they used to live to convince others to turn to M-Lisada for help.

As for Segawa himself, he is still there, continuing in his mission to bring music and a better life to Kampala’s homeless youth. Helping him achieve that ambitious goal is Zabarkes.

Ahead, Zabarkes shares her thoughts on music and empowerment and gives Refinery29 a look inside the inspiring program.

———-

Source: http://www.refinery29.com/

Calgary Kids Send Message of Hope, Transform Stephen Avenue to Happiness Avenue

Frowns were turned upside down on Stephen Avenue Saturday as dozens of youth volunteers marched through downtown Calgary to spread messages of joy and encouragement.

About 50 people, between the ages of 12 and 18, waved signs bearing compliments such as “you’re beautiful” and “have a nice day,” which garnered supportive honks from passing vehicles and brought smiles to shoppers and brunch-goers along the 8 Ave. walkway.

The teens are members of Youth Central, which is part of the Youth Volunteer Corps, an international youth service organization with programs across Canada and the United States.

Groups in each municipality were tasked with coming up with a special event for the annual Get Happy Project Saturday to bring happiness to locals in their community.

And in Calgary, volunteers chose to march from city hall and up and down Stephen Avenue with smiles, laughter and messages of encouragement, in hopes of making spirits rise in the wake of the economic downturn.

“This was our way of bringing happiness to the city,” said Sylvia Galica, outreach co-ordinator with Youth Central.

“We’ve done the Get Happy Project numerous times around the city. This is the biggest one we’ve done.”

Steering committee members Katja Lemermeyer and Sanchit Chopra, both 16, said they chose to gather along Stephen Avenue because it’s one of the busiest streets in Calgary.

“The cars on the road, they’re all honking, they’re all cheering with us. When they see the posters, there’s a smile on their faces. It’s really nice to see,” Chopra said.

“A lot of people have been taking photos and videos too,” Lemermeyer added.

During the year, the teens work with more than 100 organizations including the Salvation Army, Winsport, and agencies that support children and seniors.

Last year, volunteers put in 37,000 hours to help the community.

The Get Happy Project, however, is unique because it relies on the volunteers to come up with their own project, for which they are responsible for planning, co-ordinating, and coming up with their own materials.

Both Chopra and Lemermeyer say it’s important to foster a sense of volunteerism in Calgary’s youth.

“It’s about meeting new people, meeting new friends, and getting out into the community,” Chopra said.

“It creates a broader experience than just the extra-curricular programs you might have at your high school or through a sports program,” Lemermeyer said.

“You meet all sorts of people, all parts of Calgary, and it’s really about fostering a connection.”

———-

Source: http://www.calgarysun.com/

Ate Ritz Celebrates with UNO Kids

The 3rd weekend of February again featured the kids of UNO Manila for a day filled with three (3) things – games, games and some more games. It was 1 of only 2 events for the Saturday but it certainly was not going to lack in activity.

Ate Jam organized the event with U! to celebrate the birthday of her friend Ate Ritz. A number of friends and some eager volunteers also joined them on what was going to be a very lively gathering.

The day got started with the volunteers breaking the ice by introducing themselves in front of the entire group. A 5-sec-dance-step highlighted the introductions as the kuyas and ates gamely (excruciatingly for some though J) showed off to the kids.

The volunteers and kids finally got together (with their kids) and enthusiastically named their groups while getting acquainted. The Beliebers, Paloma, Maalden, Hokage and Cheerleaders composed the competing teams for the day.

Following the dance-filled introductions, the groups played the Dance Showdown game. The game played some popular songs which the teams had to dance to, trying to beat the other teams in a straight up showdown. Some popular tracks played while the teams busted their moves. Team Paloma, apparently having all dancers in the group, turned out the winner being head-and-shoulders above everyone else.

The next games that followed involved a couple of relays – the Hula Hoop Relay and the Pass the Charades. These games have become favorites in U! events and it was once again a hit among both the kids and volunteers. Both contests were neck and neck and a different set of winners came out here.

The next game had the groups settle down in their circles for a mental challenge with the ‘How High Can You Go’ Game. From the categories being given out, the teams had to bid the highest number they can enumerate. The categories included round fruits, green vegetables and even Disney characters. It was a game that saw the teams ‘think’ their way through. In the end, everyone had fun shouting their bids and egging on their teammates enumerating the category items out loud.

Lunch soon followed with a delicious serving of a kid-favorite fried chicken meal. It was some needed nourishment after a highly active morning. The volunteers and kids also shared a good laugh throughout this time while recounting the earlier activities of the day.

The final game of the day was another favorite – the Stack Me Up Game. This game made use of paper cups which the teams had to assemble into perfect pyramids. The size and number of these pyramid cups though were specific and the teams had to figure out how many cups were needed in each of the triangular shapes. It was a game to allow more collaboration and stimulation of the minds as the teams raced to build their pyramids.

Before sending them off, Ate Ritz gave out the gifts for the kids. Another volunteer likewise contributed some items for the UNO community.

Thank U! to Ate Ritz, Ate Jam and all the volunteers for matching the kids excitement bit by bit. U! Happy Events can’t wait to be reunited with all of them again soon.

New Name for Yorkhill Children’s Charity

The rebrand to Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity was announced at the launch of an appeal to raise £150,000 for new equipment

Yorkhill Children’s Charity has rebranded as Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

The charity made the change after the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, which it raised funds for relocated from Yorkhill to the Royal Hospital for Children, next to new The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow in Govan.

As part of the process, the charity has maintained its logo of two plasters crossed over and purple lettering but has changed its website to glasgowchildrenshospitalcharity.org.

Shona Cardle, chief executive of the charity, officially announced the rebrand by launching an appeal to fund a £150,000 surgical microscope which can be used in a range of procedures including facial reconstruction, cleft surgery, tumour removal and lower limb reconstruction.

Although our name has changed, our commitment to providing the best possible care for Scotland’s children remains resolute

“We’ve been at the heart of the Royal Hospital for Children since it opened its doors in June last year and although our name has changed, our commitment to providing the best possible care for Scotland’s children remains resolute,” she said.

“The hospital treats children from across Scotland, and this microscope will make a huge difference to outcomes for young patients and their families.”

According to a senior surgeon at the new hospital, the potential impact of the surgical microscope on the lives of patients cannot be understated.

The level of detail provided by the microscope, which would be the first of its kind in a children’s hospital in Scotland, gives surgeons the ability to make more informed decisions, reducing the psychological distress children often experience as a result of multiple operations.

Craig Russell, lead for paediatric plastic surgery, said: “Having a reconstructive, surgical microscope with fluorescence will enable surgeons like myself to know that the tissue they are moving around the body, has a sufficient blood supply before and after the ‘move.’

“This will be a great benefit to our surgical procedures, and often minimise the need for repeat surgery.

“We would like to encourage and thank everyone across Scotland for supporting Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and their appeal to help support babies, children and young people treated at Scotland’s largest children’s hospital.”

———-

Source: http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/