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Tag: Sick Kids Foundation
Neil faces gaming challenge for Sick Kids
The things you’ll do for kids: Dad’s ready to face My Little Pony and Dora the Explorer!
A big-hearted dad-of-three is taking on a 24-hour video gaming marathon in aid of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation (SKFF) after his 5-year-old son Conor was treated at the Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RSHC).
Neil Gow (38), of South Queensferry, will be raising funds as part of the sixth annual Sick Kids Save Point – a 24-hour video gameathon and biggest charity games event in the UK, which will take place between 9 and 11 October.
Neil said: “My son Conor was just 18-months-old when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and during the subsequent time spent in hospital, our family received tremendous ongoing support from hospital staff and the wider hospital community, including the SKFF. The calm environment the Foundation helps create in the RHSC is so important and we especially noticed it in the days when Conor was seriously ill in the high dependency unit.
“When Conor is sick, having diabetes can have a big impact on his overall health as it’s much harder for him to get the glucose he needs. This has resulted in him being admitted to the RHSC on several occasions and put on a drip in order to help him get the nourishment he needs. When this happens Conor must have bloods taken regularly – something which can prove to be extremely traumatic for him.
“There have been times when he had to be sedated in order to take the sample which is really distressing for everyone involved so it was fantastic to hear that the Foundation have funded some vein finding machines to help put needle phobic children at ease.”
The SKFF has funded a number of state-of-the-art AccuVein devices in recent months. Costing more than £3,500 each, this equipment shines a special light over a child’s body to reveal the veins located underneath the skin, allowing nurses to carry out any needle-based procedures more quickly and accurately than ever before.
Neil continued: “Conor is now a fairly regular visitor to the RHSC, attending clinics there or at St. John’s Hospital in Livingston once a quarter, so I really wanted to give something back to those do so much to care for him. As a big video game fan, I felt the SKSP is the perfect way for me to raise some money from my own home.”
Over the last five years more than 300 gamers from across the globe have completed the Sick Kids Save Point challenge, helping to raise more than £70,000 for the SKFF.
Having taken part in the unique fundraiser twice before, this year Neil’s fundraising will see him take on family-friendly games only in a bid to get some extra support from his three children. Evie (8), Conor (5) and Maya (1) look set to help Dad Neil tackle everything from Super Mario Kart to Hello Kitty and Dora the Explorer!
Data analyst Neil explained: “I love Sick Kids Save Point as it’s such a unique fundraiser that you can make as elaborate as you like. This year I’ve decided anything with a rating of 12 or more is off limits, so for 24 hours I’ll be taking on some of my childrens’ favourite games. I imagine concentrating on My Little Pony in the middle of the night is going to prove somewhat difficult so I’m going to make sure I get plenty of sleep the night before and eat well throughout the day to help keep my concentration up!
“I’m always blown away by people’s generosity when I fundraise for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation and I’m sure this year will be no different. I’d especially like to thank everyone at gaming forum GRcade who continue to selflessly support my efforts and the wider SKSP mission.”
The SKSP event continues to grow in popularity, having gathered support from a number of Scotland’s top games companies including Rockstar North and Blazing Griffin, as well as industry giants Codemasters UK, Playstation Access, Paradox Interactive and Capcom UK, who have donated prizes for entrants.
Edinburgh actor Tom Freeman, organiser of the event, said: “With plans afoot to transfer services to a flash new hospital in Little France, the work of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation will be vital in smoothing the transition from a building many people across the country will have strong emotional ties to. That’s why this year Sick Kids Save Point is pushing to have our best year ever.
“Sick Kids Save Point is the biggest charity gaming marathon in the UK. I’m proud we’ve raised around £72,000 for our local children’s hospital. This year we want to get that figure to £100,000 and show the world games are for everyone.
“Don’t believe the naysayers. Playing games for 24 hours is not easy. It’s not too late to sign up and take on this unique marathon challenge, playing games past the fun barrier and raising money to support sick children and their families.”
Rachel McKenzie, head of voluntary fundraising at the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many gamers like Neil take part in this year’s Sick Kids Save Point event – now the biggest charity games event in the UK.
“Thanks to our hardy participants, Sick Kids Save Point has helped raise a tremendous amount of money over the last five years and we’re extremely thankful to the individuals – and teams – who are getting involved this year as we try to raise a further £30,000. I would encourage any ambitious gamers out there to get involved.”
For more information about Sick Kids Save Point visit www.sickkidssavepoint.org or follow the event on twitter @SKsavepoint or on facebook at @SickKidsSavePoint.
App-solutely fabulous support for Sick Kids charity!
Game on for Sick Kids Foundation
App development company NN4M has decided to celebrate its 10th anniversary by raising funds for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation (SKFF) – the charity which provides £1.5 million each year to support the work of Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
Edinburgh-based developers NN4M will take part in the sixth Sick Kids Save Point – the biggest annual fundraising games event which will see volunteers take on a 24-hour video game marathon between 9 and 11 October.
The team of NN4M gamers will participate in this year’s event in a relay-style, playing both online and board games from 8am to 8pm on Friday 9 October. All 30 employees will take part, with employees gaming every 30 minutes in between their usual work tasks.
Harriet Phimister of NN4M, said: “We wanted to do something really special to celebrate our 10th anniversary and felt this is something that would get everyone excited whilst raising money for a fantastic cause. One of our developers participated in the marathon previously and so suggested that we all give it a go.
“We thought we would combine our love of traditional board games and computer games to bring an added dimension to the challenge and can’t wait to complete the marathon. We’re all very excited to participate and raise funds for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.”
Since it was established in 2010, the 24-hour video gameathon has raised more than £70,000 with more than 300 gamers completing the challenge from all around the globe.
This year, funds raised will allow the charity to fund KIDSnet Wi-Fi throughout the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
KIDSnet is a safe internet provider within the hospital that allows to keep in contact with each other, as well as family and friends. SKFF invests £25,000 each year in this service to help children feel less isolated in hospital and ensuring their lives are less interrupted by illness. The Wi-Fi also provides a distraction in the form of games and films – essential to combating the boredom children experience in hospital.
The event continues to grow in popularity, having gathered support from a number of Scotland’s top games companies including Rockstar North and Blazing Griffin, as well as industry giants Codemasters UK, Playstation Access, Paradox Interactive and Capcom UK, who have donated prizes for entrants.
Edinburgh actor Tom Freeman, organiser of the event, said: “With plans afoot to transfer services to a flash new hospital in Little France, the work of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation will be vital in smoothing the transition from a building many people across the country will have strong emotional ties to. That’s why this year Sick Kids Save Point is pushing to have our best year ever.
“Sick Kids Save Point is the biggest charity gaming marathon in the UK. I’m proud we’ve raised around £72,000 for our local children’s hospital. This year we want to get that figure to £100,000 and show the world games are for everyone.
“Don’t believe the naysayers: playing games for 24 hours is not easy! It’s not too late to sign up and take on this unique marathon challenge, playing games past the fun barrier and raising money to support sick children and their families.”
Rachel McKenzie, head of community fundraising at SKFF, said: “I’m thrilled that the developers at NN4M have decided to join our community of fundraising gamers and taking part in our sixth SKSP gameathon.
“Sick Kids Save Point has helped raised a tremendous amount of money over the last five years and we’re extremely thankful to the individuals – and teams – who are getting involved this year as we try to raise a further £30,000 for our KIDSnet equipment.”
To support NN4M visit https://www.justgiving.com/GameathonNN4M/.
For more information about Sick Kids Save Point visit www.sickkidssavepoint.org or follow the event on twitter@SKsavepoint or on facebook at @SickKidsSavePoint.
It’s official: Memorial match at Spartans sets new world record
Craig Gowans memorial match smashes world record
The team behind the Craig Gowans Memorial Fund have officially become Guinness World Record Holders, smashing the record for the Longest Marathon Playing Football – in aid of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.
The group of enthusiastic football fans played out of their skin at The Spartans Ainslie Park home last month, completing a 105 hour-long football match which finished with an impressive final score of 774 – 707!
The game, hosted in memory of the late Falkirk defender Craig Gowans, who tragically died exactly ten years previously, originally hoped to raise £37,000 for the SKFF – inspired by Craig’s professional number at Falkirk, number 37. With donations still coming in, however, the final total is set to reach around £100,000!
The money raised will be used by the Sick Kids Friends Foundation to fund enhancements to the new Sick Kids hospital at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France, specifically a state-of-the-art Snoezelen room in Craig’s name. The space will be a calming room with multi-sensory equipment providing a relaxing and stimulating space for children with sensory impairments.
Ex-Rangers, Hibernain and Scotland boss, Alex McLeish attended the landmark fundraising event, as well as the current Scottish Cup holding manager, John Hughes. Footballers Scott Arfield and Thomas Scobbie were also there to cheer the players on.
Dario Alonzi, a member of the Craig Gowans Memorial Fund organising committee, said: “We’re over the moon to have been officially granted Guinness World Record Holder status – the football match itself was an epic challenge and one that pushed us all to the very limit.
“To come away from the experience with official recognition of our efforts in the form of a World Record, as well as putting Craig’s name in the history books and raising £100,000 to gift to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, is just priceless.
“Again I would like to thank absolutely everyone who played a part in making this match possible, as well as everyone who has donated so generously.”
Roslyn Neely, chief executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: “We have been blown away by the funds raised by the Craig Gowans Memorial Fund Football Match. The heroic lengths they have gone to in order to raise this money is something that will never be forgotten.
“Congratulations to the entire team, I’m absolutely delighted to hear that they have become official Guinness World Record Holders – and deservedly so. The money they have raised will help us transform the experience of the young people who visit Edinburgh’s new children’s hospital when it opens its doors in 2017.”
Finlay’s FUNdraising at Ainslie Park this Saturday
Wee Finlay Thomson’s family have organised a charity fundraising event to support the Sick Kids Foundation as a thank you for the excellent treatment they gave Finlay during his battle with cancer …
Most of you know about the football tournament taking place at Spartans this coming Saturday (see yesterday’s post, In Memory of Frankie).
Well, the lovely staff at Ainslie Park Leisure Centre have given us use of one of their halls along with the bouncy castle from 3pm to 5pm.
Other activities for the kids include Beat the goalie, Hook the duck, Splat the rat and Arts & crafts.
There will also be face painting from 3.30pm to 4.45pm courtesy of the very talented Brenda of Bubbly Bees & Co.
We will also have a Bake Sale, Guess the number of sweets and Guess the name of the cuddly toy.
Hopefully you can make it along to either/both the charity events.
Hopefully see you Saturday.
Anna, Bryan & Finlay. Xxx
The link to the event is