Sellebrity Soccer will host a special charity football match on Sunday afternoon (19th) at Elland Road, with all funds raised being donated to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and Leeds Mind.

The celebrity football fixture will take place on Sunday 19th May at the Whites’ stadium with kick-off scheduled for 3pm; the turnstiles will be open from 1.30pm.

A number of new names have been added to the celebrity line-up, including members of British band Rudimental, Locksmith and Kesi.

Please see the list below for all of the stars currently set to take part in the game, subject to work commitments – with a host of names still to be announced.

General admission tickets for the match are on sale now and priced at just £14 for adults and £7 for children, with VIP hospitality packages available for £45.

To book general admission tickets, please click here.

To book VIP tickets, please click here.

The celebrity line up for the match, so far:

Danny Dyer (Soap Star), Jake Wood (Soap Star), Calum Best (Celebrity Big Brother), James Argent (Towie), Dean Gaffney (Soap Star), Danny Boy Hatchard (Soap Star), Tubes (Soccer AM), Jack Fowler (Love Island), Dom Lever (Love Island), Keiran Nicholls (Love Island), Sam Gowland (Love Island), Chet Sket (Ex On The Beach), Dan Osbourne (Celebrity Big Brother), Liam Gatsby (Towie), Marc Bircham (Ex Player), Lee Cook (Ex Player), Martin Rowlands (Ex Player), Jimmy Constable (911), Matt Lapinskas (Dancing On Ice), Ben Jardine (Celebrity Big Brother), Kevin Cooper (Sellebrity Soccer) Joshua Ritchie (Love Island) Locksmith (Rudimental) Kesi (Rudimental)

For more information, please visit Sellebrity Soccer here.

Money raised from a new charity single will be donated to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice .

Pigeon Detectives lead singer Matt Bowman and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Micky P Kerr are part of Phat Chants.

They are looking to raise money for the charities with their unique Leeds United themed take on the Elton John classic ‘Rocket Man’.

‘Bucket Man’ is available to download from iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and Google from 99p.

Leeds United manager Marcleo Bielsa famously opts to sit on an upside down blue bucket in the technical area during matches instead of the usual dug-out seats.

Take a listen below – we think you might like it!

Watch video

#FundraisingFriday is a chance to not only celebrate our incredible supporters, but the brave Heart Warriors that inspire them! This week is no exception…

O2 Capita

Saeed said:

CHSF is a cause that is very close to my heart as my daughter Safaa who is 9 now, has had two major heart operations.

These were incredibly difficult times for my family and we are eternally grateful for the support given to us by everyone involved at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit.

I was especially thankful for the accommodation provided by CHSF at the time of the operations as it gave us the support we needed allowing us to be close to Safaa whilst she was recovering.

After benefiting first hand from the good work of Children’s Heart Surgery Fund I wanted to do my bit and help.

We had a fundraising week at work and I selected CHSF as our team’s charity. We made Samosas and Pakoras to sell.

My wife Sadia was up early making the samosas which went down really well. We also did a super six for the football fans in the office and the person with the most points for correct results won a hamper of Easter eggs.

I enjoyed putting all this together and hope to do more for the cause in the coming future

Sasha White – Young Hearts Ball

Sasha said:

Children’s Heart Surgery Fund supported our family through Emmeline’s three heart surgeries, the first of which kept us in hospital for most of October 2017 when she was first born.

The room at the hospital enabled us to be by her side day and night and made all the difference during those first few weeks.

To say thank you to CHSF and to enable their amazing work to continue I organised the Young Hearts Ball – a charity ball including dinner, disco and a raffle of great prizes.

The Young Hearts Ball was a real celebration of CHSF and all of their work and was a fantastic success in raising money for the charity.

Waters Edge Nursery

Waters Edge Nursery sold teas and coffees to parents for a week and organised a collection across the Nursery. There was also an appearance from a very special visitor to say thank you…

Carl, Nursery Manager said:

We helped raise this money as a way of a thank you for helping two children that attend our nursery – one being Reggie pictured below.

Thank you as well to Katie Bear for coming to visit the nursery, spending time with the children and helping them understand more about the charity.

Julie and Sarah Dixon – Sheffield Half Marathan

Julie said:

My daughter Jo was born with Transposition of the Great Arteries 11 years ago. We have raised money in all sorts of ways through the years for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund – just to say a big THANK YOU for the love and support that was given to us while we stayed at the LGI ❤️❤️❤️.

Jo is a runner herself and is doing really well at sprinting short distances rather than long and we do sometimes train together with our coach Adam Rogers.

Feeling inspired to give something back and raise much-needed funds for a great cause? Get in touch with Lisa Williams, on lisa.williams@chsf.org.uk | 0113 831 4810 or download our events calendar here for inspiration and to see other ways to get involved.

Launching in 2020, our three year plan will cost the charity £490,000 and we are desperately seeking support from trusts and foundations to help make the following amazing vision a reality for our families.

Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) recently conducted a survey of its supporters to help frame the charity’s future. The feedback showed the tremendous physical, mental and financial impact congenital heart disease has on the whole family. Our vision to increase our support for the family unit is a big one, but with help we are confident we can achieve our goal.

We will provide welcome packs to the parents and families of children who come to the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit for emergency admission open heart surgery.

We will offer complimentary therapies and wellbeing treatments such as massages and yoga, two days per week. This helps families cope with the immense strain of having a child undergo heart surgery.

Our ‘Family Weekend Getaway’ will enable 40 families to spend time together as a break from hospital. Taking part in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities this in-turn develops confidence and coping strategies.

We will give more support to families than ever before by recruiting a Family Support Worker. This role will help with financial and emotional assistance whilst a family’s child is under the care of the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit.

Please get in touch if you think you could help with this exciting project.

This exciting new area of our work will help many more families affected by congenital heart disease. With your help we can make this vision a reality.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Ellie Brown, Fundraising Manager

Email: ellie.brown@chsf.org.uk
Phone: 0113 831 4810

This Friday is not just GOOD, it’s FANTASTIC and that’s because of all our amazing supporters. This week’s #FundraisingFriday celebrates all your incredible Easter generosity and we can’t thank you all enough!

Melanie & Jayden

Melanie popped in to CHSF HQ with Jayden and a donation of Easter treats for Ward L51. Melanie remembers Jayden being in hospital at Christmas time and how kind people were to make that time special and so they wanted to give something back.

Charlotte & Isabelle

Charlotte collected Easter Eggs at School and in her community to donate to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. She was supported by her sister Isabelle and mum Julie.

Thank you so much girls, and everyone who donated! Your eggs have been allocated across the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and will make a real difference to children in hospital at Easter.

Kimberley Sara

Kimberley is a teacher at Greasbrough Primary School and students have been busy collecting eggs for the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit.

Kimberley said:

All the children love donating the eggs and all get very excited about it. It’s been brilliant this year as I’ve been off having treatment at the heart unit so they’re all very motivated. Although I have been informed by several of the kids that I am not allowed an egg!

Joey & Harley Watts

Thank you Joey & Harley for your kind donation of this giant teddy bear. This will help to raise funds for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund at the next Superhero Walk in September.

Heart Warrior Harri, age 9, came from Sheffield last week to deliver eggs for the children who will be staying at Leeds Children’s Hospital over Easter.

Harri was born with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) – a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. He has so far undergone three surgeries – his first at just six days old.

Harri’s mum, Jen said:

Harri always comes up with ideas because he remembers what it’s like to spend time in hospital over a festive season.

This year Harri asked if we could get eggs for children spending time in hospital over Easter.
Harri packing up eggs for delivery!
I put a tweet out telling my followers about his idea…and it went viral! We have strong connections with our Sheffield United family and they just picked up the tweet and ran with it.

Harri only expected maybe a 100 eggs but when they all started flooding in he asked if we could help other hospitals that he had been treated at.

A few Blades and Norwich fans asked if we could set up a JustGiving page as they were too far away to donate an egg. Another Sheffield United fan offered to help set it up for us and the donations came rolling in.

Harri generously donated 295 Easter eggs to Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and Leed’s Children’s Hosital. And as if that wasn’t enough he also presented Children’s Heart Surgery Fund with a cheque for £875!

Harri with CHSFs Lisa and a big cheque!

Jen continues…

All the thanks has to go to all the football fans from many different clubs. Harri has become a little celebrity at Sheffield so he has a lot of people that follow him to check on how he’s doing and want to help him however they can.

He says his motto is “He’s here to make people smile” and that is what he tries to do whenever he can.

Lisa Williams Community Fundraiser had the pleasure of meeting Harri and his Mum Jen to receive the amazing donation and Easter eggs. Lisa said:

Harri you should be so proud of this fantastic achievement in supporting Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. You really are a very kind and thoughtful young man, and your efforts will make such a difference to so many Children. WELL DONE and a huge thank you from everyone at CHSF!

This #FundraisingFriday we celebrate even more incredible supporters who are out there flying the flag for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. We are jam-packed this week so let’s get started!

Janina School of Dance

Linda Pearson said:

For our annual show each year we ask our dancers to nominate a charity they’d like to donate to and year they voted for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

The charity has been a wonderful support to one of our dancers’ family after their youngest daughter was born with a heart defect.

They told of all the wonderful things CHSF has done for the whole family. It’s our way of saying thank you.

Our children had an amazing day performing two shows for their families and friends. It was a huge success!

Matt Lunt

Matt’s daughter Iris was diagnosed with Coarctation of the Aorta in 2018, and she had heart surgery just last week.

She is currently on Ward L51 recovering from her op, and her Dad, Matt ran the Greater Manchester Marathon on Sunday in 3 hrs 49 mins in support of CHSF. To date he has raised approx £2.5k, and friends and family are still donating.

Matt said:

Iris has had a tough time but we’re incredibly grateful to Leeds Children’s Hospital, Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and CHSF for giving her the best possible treatment.

I signed up for the marathon in November last year and when Iris’s operation was scheduled for the same week as the run, I thought about pulling out.

It was my wife Cath who persuaded me to do the run and set up a JustGiving page to rise money for CHSF.
Matt mid-marathon!
We set a target of £200 to start with, and are amazed that people have donated so much.

We know the money will go towards the best medical equipment and ward facilities to help other children like Iris.

Rossette Acre School

The school said:

Rossett Acre Primary School have proudly supported Children’s Heart Surgery Fund in school this year.

The charity have supported one of our pupils in school and have been a huge support to him and his family.

We have held a disco and non-uniform day to raise funds for the charity.

Beloved CHSF Ambassador and legendary umpire Dickie Bird donates £20,000 to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

Dickie Bird, who umpired dozens of international matches, presented a cheque for £20,000 to the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) this week.

Video courtesy of Yorkshire Evening Post.

His donation will help pay for life-saving equipment, accommodation for parents visiting children in hospital, clinical research and ward facilities at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit (LCHU).

Dickie with nurses, Laura and Leila

Dickie came to Leeds Children’s Hospital to pay a visit to the LCHU where he met youngsters including five-year-old Iris Lunt, from Menston, who is recovering from surgery.

Iris was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta last year and her dad Matt has raised around £2,500 for CHSF after running the Greater Manchester Marathon.

He said:

It was great to meet Dickie today and I’m pleased he has donated to such a fantastic cause.

Iris has had a tough time but we’re incredibly grateful to the children’s hospital here in Leeds and Children’s Heart Surgery Fund for giving her the best possible treatment.

Dickie previously donated £30,000 to CHSF in November 2017 and became an ambassador for our charity.

Dickie with Ruben and Mum Laurie

Dickie said:

I can’t think of a better use of my money than helping babies and children in my home county who need heart surgery to survive.

Every time I visit the heart ward, I’m humbled to meet youngsters and their families facing the huge battles ahead with smiles on their faces.

Their incredible bravery underlines why everyone should get behind this tremendous cause.

Dickie’s first donation went towards specialist equipment for the state-of-the-art hybrid cardiac facility at Leeds Children’s Hospital which was opened by the Countess of Wessex earlier this month, and will treat its first patient very soon.

Dickie Bird with Julian Hartley and CHSF CEO Sharon Milner

We were also joined by Julian Hartley, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and he said:

This is a fantastic donation that really goes a long way to supporting the great work of CHSF and directly helps the young patients cared for by our dedicated teams.

I’m very grateful to Dickie for his generosity towards this important cause.

#FundraisingFriday is a fantastic opportunity to sing our incredible supporter’s praises and this week is no exception. Read more to find out who has inspired this amazing fundraising!

Emma Hebdige & Jackie Abson

Emma said:

We are supporting Children’s Heart Surgery Fund because in June 2016 my daughter Ava (who was 5 at the time) had open heart surgery to repair her mitral valve.

The diagnosis of Ava’s condition was completely out of the blue as she was symptom-less – we were therefore in complete shock.

During Ava’s time in hospital we relied on CHSF to provide parent accommodation meaning we could stay close to Ava at all times.

Ava really enjoyed the play room and the range of activities it had. She grew fond of Gemma the Play Specialist and did lots of crafting with her – especially during times where she was having a procedure and needed to take her mind off what was ahead.

Ava’s Nanan, Jackie, decided to organise a raffle to raise money and she had previously done a sponsored walk for this important charity close to our hearts.

We sold tickets to school mums, work colleagues, friends and family and rallied round to ask local business for prize donations. We raised a massive £1,170 which we were so proud of!

Ava continues to have annual check ups with Dr Thompson at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and is doing great!

South Yorkshire Pensions Authority

SYPA said:

The one hundred or so staff at South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, who are based in Barnsley, raised funds for CHSF in memory of Lucas Brook Tewson who sadly passed away on 18 July 2018, aged 4 months, having undergone three open heart surgeries at LGI.

Lucas’s Dad, Simon Tewson (who works at SYPA) and his Mum, Samantha Ryan, are incredibly touched and humbled by the thought and generosity of SYPA staff.

They had a whip round while Lucas was in hospital and over the Christmas 2018 period, they raised further funds via an office move furniture sale, donations in lieu of Christmas cards, a Christmas jumper day, an auction of donated gifts, and a weight loss competition.

The total raised was an incredible £655. Thank you SYPA and bless you Lucas, you will always be remembered.

UNISON, Barnsley branch

Ben from UNISON said:

The Barnsley branch of UNISON, the public sector union, has donated £500 in memory of Lucas Tewson.

Lucas’s dad, Simon, has been a UNISON rep for many years and we were very moved to hear about the support provided to Simon and Sam, Lucas’s mum, by CHSF and many others during Lucas’s stay in hospital and afterwards.

We wanted to donate so we could help in some small way to make a difference to parents who are facing similar situations to Sam and Simon during the most difficult of times.

The total amount raised shows just how many people have been touched by Lucas and we are glad that we are able to contribute.

Spring has sprung and with the arrival of April comes our most recent Fundraiser of the Month, Tanya Melnyk! Keep reading to see how Tanya has been supporting CHSF and what inspires her to keep doing what she does!

Tanya said:

Fundraising for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund is our way to pay something back for my little boy, Lewis’ lifesaving surgery at just five days old – and his ongoing treatment til his next operation.
Tanya’s son Lewis after his open heart surgery
Children’s Heart Surgery Fund were so supportive when we were at Leeds Children’s Hospital. We didn’t know where to turn as we were not from the city and they helped us find accommodation and things we needed locally.

I always remember when CHSF came to see Lewis after his open heart surgery.

They brought him a Katie Bear and a certificate. That was a very thoughtful touch at a very tough time.

Lewis on Wear Red Day

We asked Tanya about all the things she had been doing to raise money for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

My family, friends and I have done a few raffles and tombolas. We took part in Wear Red Day at work this year. We took on an inflatable run and Lewis even did a Superhero Walk!
Tanya with a tombola at her local ASDA Lewis conquered the Superhero Walk!
My family and I would like to thank Children’s Heart Surgery Fund for everything they have done for us. We really don’t know what we would do with out you all.

Are you feeling inspired? If you think you or an organisation you are part of could raise money for CHSF get in touch with Lisa Williams on lisa.williams@chsf.org.uk 0113 831 4810 for more info!