CHFT Charity has been shortlisted for Charity of the Year in the Calderdale Community Spirit Awards. The shortlisting nomination focused on the Charity's contributuion to kit out the newly-opened Rainbow Community Hub in Elland, and how donations have made a difference to families within the Calderdale area.
CHFT Charity were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to bring the Rainbow Community Hub to life when they needed to be moved from Calderdale Royal Hospital as part of reconfiguration that's happening between both sites. The Rainbow Child Development Service supports children and young people ages 0-18 years who have complex needs, development delay and disabilities. CHFT Charity wanted to make sure that the team secured the right building to carry out their amazing work for many people and families across Calderdale and Huddersfield. The Clock House Building in Elland is a more central position across our locality. This building also has enough space to accommodate other support services required by families such as specialist nursing teams and community therapy services; this reduces time, travel, and stress on our patients.
The old building at CRH didn't have a lot of space for certain sessions/group, it wasn't very colourful, bright or relaxingm neither was it suitable to have all the different support services in one building. CHFT Charity managed to bring the new centre to life by funding just over £80K into resources, equipment, and items such as the garden space (accessible to all), a sesnory room and play and distraction toys. We were lucky enough to attend the Grand Opening of our new Hub on the 20th of April where we got to see many patients using the items we funded.
Thanks to our generous donors and supporters, the Rainbow Team host a total of 371 patients a month at the centre where they can support, look after, advice, and distract their patients.
We asked a few patients and family members for some feedback once they had attended the new centre for the first time:
- "Fantastic! We could not have asked for more! Superb staff and facilities. The new building is fabulous to suit many needs!"
- "The group sessions are amazing. It helped me to understand my child's needs more, I was listened to and understood."
- "My daughter has really enjoyed the play sessions; they helped build her confidence and helped her development!"
Patients have recently explained to us that the new centre is comfortable and welcoming which helps to calm down a stressful and sometimes difficult appointment. Many children hate attending hospital appointments which is understandable, our main task was to make sure that this centre was a friendly and approachable environment, away from a clinical view. We believe we achieved this and can't wait to hear many more stories about our younger patients thriving and actually enjoy attending their appointments.
The Charity Team have formed a longstanding and impactful relationship with the Rainbow Community Hub Team and can't wait to work with them again in the future to continue to enhance our patient care and experience.
Katie Booth, Clinical Nurse Manager at the Rainbow Community Hub, said: "Our CHFT Charity absolutely deserves to be a finalist in the Charity of the Year in the Calderdale Community Spirit Awards. What the Charity and its supporters do to enhance our facilities is immeasurable. We have been so lucky at Rainbow Child Development Service to have their support. They have provided us with so much to ensure our families have the best experience they can."
Watch the Rainbow Community Hub Video to gain an insight into how welcoming and relaxing the Hub is.
The awards ceremony is on Thursday 23rd November 2023.
