Gloucester heart charity finds furry way to raise awareness
By Sarah Wood | 15th September 2020
If you go down to the woods in Gloucester - or anywhere in the city for that matter - you are sure of a big surprise.
To raise awareness for the work it does, Gloucester charity Heart Heroes is leaving knitted teddies out and about around the city. Anyone who finds them can keep them and is encouraged to post on social media.
The teddies are all safely wrapped, and have been donated by two keen knitters in Gloucester. Each teddy comes with information about Heart Heroes, which supports families with children who have heart conditions. There is also a little poem inside:
You have found a Heart Heroes hug bear,
Please can you go onto our Facebook page and share,
We all need a hug during this crisis
These little things are priceless.
Amy said: "The teddies were all knitted by a friend of mine and her sister. When they found out I was joining Heart Heroes they asked if we would like them - we said yes please! They'd rather remain anonymous, but we would like to say a big thank you to them."
The keen knitters have donated around 70 bears to Heart Heroes. Most will be given to the heart families and children while they are in hospital. The rest are being left around Gloucester.
Kelly Cornish, who founded Heart Heroes, said: "We had a call from a jogger who had found a teddy and she said it had really made her smile. This is really about bringing a bit of awareness about what we do, and to share a little happiness in these difficult times."
Amy is not the only new addition to the Heart Heroes team. Also joining the charity, as patron, is Zoe Trotman, cardiac ward sister at Bristol Children's Hospital, which cares for many of the region's young heart patients.
Zoe said: "I was delighted to be asked to be part of Heart Heroes as their passion for improving the lives of children and their families who have to live with congenital heart disease is amazing. Heart Heroes is a great resource for me as a ward sister. I know I can contact them if there is anything the ward needs or I would like, to help bring a smile to a patient's face or just make their stay in hospital a little more fun.
"For many of the children I look after, they will have to come in to hospital many times in their lives and it's a key part of their journey, but the support needs to carry on once they go home. Being part of Heart Heroes helps me to build that link, as it's great to receive feedback and ideas on how I can make the hospital stays better."
For more information about Heart Heroes and the work they do to support families in Gloucestershire and throughout the South West, visit https://heartheroes.co.uk/ or email Kelly at email@heartheroes.co.uk .
Related Articles
Copyright 2024 Moose Partnership Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content is strictly forbidden without prior permission.