It’s that time of the week again where we take a moment to give a huge pat on the back to some of our hardworking supporters. Happy #FundraisingFriday everyone!
The Cook Family: Coffee & Cake Afternoon

The Cook Family presenting their donation to CHSF
Children’s Heart Surgery Fund is a charity very close to this family’s hearts as Martha was born with a large hole in her heart and was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary at just 12 weeks old. Martha had her first open heart surgery a couple of days later, and the family got to see the amazing work the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit does.
Matt Cook said:
While we were in Leeds Hospital we experienced first hand the work the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund does in both the support for the families and the equipment they help fund on the ward. Earlier this year Martha had her second round of open heart surgery, and the amazing surgical team led by Miss Van Doorn managed to repair Martha’s heart. We now have a happy, healthy four year old with energy to burn.
We decided to raise money for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund by organising a Coffee & Cake afternoon and held a prize raffle alongside other games and stalls. We contacted local companies for prize donations and were overwhelmed by the generosity that we received. Our sister-in-law Vicky works for Barclays Bank and they agreed to match whatever we raised on the day.
Even though it was miserable, wet and rainy the day of the fundraiser the turnout was fantastic and the whole village and our friends came out to support us.
We will never be able to repay the LGI for what they have done for our family and the future they have given Martha, but by supporting Children’s Heart Surgery Fund we hope that the hospital and other families will also benefit from this amazing charity’s hard work.
B&M Waste: Charity Truck Pull

LEFT: CHSF Ellie giving out medals RIGHT: Truck pull in action
CHSF dedicated supporters B&M Waste Services continue to demonstrate their commitment to the communities they service with their latest initiative; the Annual Charity Truck Pull.
With teams of 8 made up of B&M staff from each depot, the challenge was to pull a famous B&M Waste REL truck – weighing a whopping 14.7 tonnes – 20m in distance.
Team Leeds took on the challenge for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and came third with a time of 17.62 seconds.
CHSF Fundraising Manager, Ellie Brown said:
It was such a pleasure to be included in the B&M Waste Truck Pull. Such a fun and different event – what a great idea! It was great to see the team get stuck in and I was impressed by how quickly the Leeds team managed to pull such a massive truck!!
Managing Director for B&M Waste, Neil Curtis, said:
The Charity Truck Pull is a fun and innovative way to raise money for all of the charities that B&M Waste supports. I’m really proud of all the teams for getting involved – it’s no easy feat!
Andrea Kitchen: Vintage Tractor Run
Andrea said:
After being transferred to the LGI from Hull, my 15 year old daughter ended up having emergency open heart surgery and saving her life. We then spent 6 weeks in hospital on ward 51 over her birthday, Christmas and new year.
We had a party earlier in the year to raise money for CHSF but it just didn’t seem enough so we decided to do a 28 mile tractor run! It was so much fun – can’t wait for the next one in spring now.
Thank you to all of this week’s fundraisers – as a wholly self-funded charity we truly couldn’t do what we do without your support. #BecauseofYou