Isabelle attends 1st Allerton Bywater Brownies. She wanted to earn her ‘Charity’ badge and so chose to fundraise for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
By doing so she would also earn her Gold Award before moving up to Guides.
Isabelle wrote a lovely letter to the charity to tell us all about her ideas for raising money for CHSF. In the letter she said:
“To help raise money, me and the other Brownies are doing a sponsored silence. I have organised the evening in order to earn my Gold award badge as I move to Guides soon.
“We are all dressing up as our favourite book character, and bringing along a book to read. We will try to stay silent for around 15 to 20 minutes. I hope we can do it! After the event we are playing games as a treat.
“I wanted to thank you on behalf of all the Brownies for all of the kind work you do in making sick children better, by mending their hearts. I know it is important for everyone to raise as much money as possible for your fund.”
Isabelle also found out lots of information about heart defects and made a collage of all the facts she found. This helped her to earn the ‘Charities’ badge.
Isabelle organised a sponsored silence at Brownies to earn her ‘Charities’ badge. The Brownies dressed as their favourite book characters – Isabelle chose Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series.
Eagle Owl at the Unit, Nikki, said she would also donate £1 per Brownie herself to their total.
Isabelle and the Brownies picked CHSF as their chosen charity because Nikki’s granddaughter, Olivia, was born with a congenital heart defect.
Pic 1: Isabelle and heart warrior Olivia with Katie Bear. Pic 2: Brownie Unit taking part in their sponsored silence. Pic 3: The Unit playing games afterwards as a reward.
Eagle Owl, Nikki told us a bit more about Olivia and her heart condition:
“When Olivia was born with Turner syndrome in October 2023 our lives became very complicated. She had, and still has, complex heart problems, amongst many other issues.
Turner syndrome (TS) is a female-only genetic disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,000 baby girls. Studies show that 25-50% of patients with TS have some form of congenital heart defect.
“At just 9 weeks old, a couple of days before Christmas, Olivia underwent open heart surgery to recreate her aortic arch. The support the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and CHSF gave and still gives us is priceless.”
CHSF Fundraising Officer, Keely went along to visit the Brownie Unit, collect their amazing fundraising and celebrate with Isabelle as she moved up to Guides…
“I had so much fun visiting the 1st Allerton Bywater Brownies. They have blown me away with their support and enthusiasm for our charity – raising an incredible £520!
“A huge thank you to Eagle Own Nikki and of course to Isabelle. Good luck and have fun in Guides!”
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Feeling inspired? Check our ‘Get Involved‘ page to see how you can start raising money for CHSF!
Got some questions? The team are on hand to help – email info@chsf.org.uk or call 0113 831 4810
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