WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO AND WHO WE HELP….
Ted’s Big Day Out! is the annual fundraising day for The Forever Friends Appeal. People from all over the Royal United Hospital’s catchment area take their teddies to work or school and engage in a variety of fundraising activities, to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the Appeal in just one day!
The festivities first began back in 1999, when supporters made donations to take their teddies out and about for the day. Local people from across the region quickly got on board with the event, so much so that in 2001, over 70,000 participants from across Bath, Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire joined in the fun! Over the years, celebrities including Ross Kemp, Jamie Cullum, Jason Durr, Gemma Bissix and even Oscar winning actor Nicolas Cage have all taken their bears out for the day in support of the Appeal.
On Ted’s Big Day Out! wherever you are in the catchment area of the Royal United Hospital, (and much further a field) you will be surrounded by fundraisers! From businesses to schools, friends and family to community groups, there are ways for absolutely everyone to take part. Your support enables The Forever Friends Appeal to provide state-of-the-art medical equipment and facilities for key departments across the hospital, allowing us to help the 500,000 people who rely on the RUH for acute care.
Thank you to each and every one of you that took part in Ted’s Big Day Out! 2010 Be silly in stripes. Every penny raised on the day helped complete the NICU ‘space to grow’ Campaign – for a pioneering and sustainable new Unit for our sick and premature babies. Thanks to your support, the sensational new Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care opened its doors to sick and vulnerable babies from across the catchment area in July 2011.
Ted’s Big Day Out! 2011 will raise funds for the new RUH space for Cancer Care Campaign. The first phase of this Campaign was launched in May 2011 and is for a state-of-the-art Gamma-CT Scanner – a high-tech piece of medical equipment that is particularly effective in detecting cancers. Please take part in our fundraising day and help us raise enough funds to purchase this vital piece of medical equipment.
