£5,000 Gardens Appeal boost from long-time supporter of Prince Philip Hospital

Above: Eleanor James presents a cheque to staff on Bryngolau ward.

Fundraiser Eleanor James has given the Prince Philip Hospital Gardens Appeal a boost by donating a fantastic £5,000 to the cause on behalf of the Air Raise group.

The Appeal aims to raise £100,000 to create new therapeutic gardens for patients on Bryngolau and Mynydd Mawr wards.

In addition to the £5,000 donation to the Appeal, Eleanor also donated £5,688.47 to the Prince Philip Hospital Respiratory Fund.

The Air Raise group was set up 25 years ago by the late Diane James and Rona Williams.

Both had asthma and wanted to give something back in appreciation of the care and support they received from the Respiratory team at Prince Philip Hospital.

Eleanor joined them as an Air Raise supporter and took over as organiser of the group when Diane and Rona sadly passed away.

Air Raise accepted donations of items from the local community including books, jewellery, knitted/crochet items, etc., and had a stall in the reception area of the hospital where they sold the items to patients, visitors and staff.

Over the years many donations were made by the group to the Respiratory team.

Covid sadly brought the stall to an end and Eleanor decided to retire and close down the Air Raise group.

Eleanor said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my many years of being involved in Air Raise, it’s been so satisfying and rewarding to support the local hospital and meet so many lovely people along the way.

“I’d like to thank the original organisers of Air Raise, the late Diane James and Rona Williams, along with their supporter, the late Sheila Thomas, for all they did.”

Daniel Jones, Ward Manager at Bryngolau, said: “We are so grateful for this donation which will make such a positive difference to patients and staff on Bryngolau and Mynydd Mawr wards.

“A sincere thank you to Eleanor and the Air Raise group for their incredible support for the hospital over the past quarter of a century.”