Lea Ziff, the widow of legendary Leeds businessman and philanthropist Paul Ziff, is continuing her late husband’s support of the city’s congenital heart unit.
To mark the third anniversary of Paul’s passing, Mrs Ziff has chosen to support Children’s Heart Surgery Fund: a charity that has its roots at Killingbeck Hospital in Leeds, where Paul, his Variety team, and Dr Gordon Williams, worked so hard to help establish the original Children’s Heart Unit.
Paul Ziff receiving the Silver Heart from then Prince Charles in recognition of his charity work.
Mrs Ziff said “Paul dedicated so much of his time to Killingbeck – a project that he was so passionate about. In recognition of this and in his memory, I wanted to support Children’s Heart Surgery Fund to continue his legacy.”
Paul was a lifelong advocate and champion of young people and children in particular.
His fundraising work, through Variety: The Children’s Charity during the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s was instrumental in helping to boost Killingbeck Hospital’s pioneering work for children with heart disorders.
The Killingbeck service predates that which is now known as the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit (LCHU) – now based at Leeds General Infirmary.
In 1975, Paul Ziff was Chairman and Chief Barker of the Leeds Committee of Variety Club of Gt. Britain, and then again for a second term in office in 1981. He and his team were responsible for numerous original, star-studded, and hugely successful events, attended by royalty and politicians, in aid of the Unit at Killingbeck, throughout those years and beyond.
Events in 1975 including Sportsman of the Year fronted by Ted Heath, and prime minister Margaret Thatcher each raised over £10,000 and Paul received a silver heart from future King and then Prince Charles to “commemorate a magnificent year in office.”
Paul Ziff (centre) with wife Lea (Left) – Lea recently visited the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit and made a donation to CHSF, continuing her husband’s legacy.
His fundraising continued in the 1980’s with a fashion extravaganza attended by Prince and Princess Michael of Kent which raised £11k for the heart unit.
The Leeds Committee’s Women of the Year Dinner and Auction in 1981 raised a further £9k for the fund.
Between 1981 and 1983, Paul Ziff chaired the building committee for the extension to the Variety club of Gt. Britain non-invasive Heart Wing at Killingbeck, first opened by Lord Mountbatten in 1979 and then by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
And in June 1987, Paul was instrumental in a major fundraising effort for new hi-tech equipment to help the children’s heart unit at Killingbeck. The Variety Club, for which he was now running his second term in office, contributed over half the funds required for a pioneering ultrasound imager.
Dr James Oliver, Lead Clinician for Congenital Cardiology at Leeds General Infirmary and CHSF Trustee said:
“We can’t over emphasise Paul’s contribution to the development of the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit. Back in the 1970s, the majority of children born with congenital heart disease died in childhood, many before their first birthday.
Today, thanks to the ground-breaking work of specialist services like the LCHU, around 90-95% survive to adulthood. The service in Leeds is renowned as world-class because of people like Paul who helped fund the pioneering research, and equipment to put the LCHU up there amongst the very best.”
Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) began in 1988 and has contributed more than £10 million to the LCHU and the region’s outreach congenital heart services. CHSF spearheaded the ‘Save Our Surgery’ campaign in 2013 and funded the innovative equipment within the hospital’s hybrid heart theatre, which was opened by Sophie, Countess of Wessex in 2018.
Mrs Ziff has funded personal monitoring devices for 37 families, giving them peace of mind away from the unit and enabling them to achieve greater independence and quality of life.
Mrs Ziff recently visited Leeds General Infirmary to meet families who have been helped by the devices. Families like Bella, aged 8, and her mum Rebecca.
Rebecca told us “Having an INR Kit has made such a positive difference to our lives. It’s a small, battery-operated meter that enables Bella to measure her body’s response to Warfarin (a blood thinning medication that Bella needs daily, that requires careful monitoring).
It comes with test strips, and we can see Bella’s result instantly on the screen. It helps us keep our beautiful daughter safe and well.”
Lea Ziff (centre) met with young heart patient Bella Rodgers (right) and ACHD patient and CHSF Trustee Colin Clewes (left) to find out more about the difference personal monitoring devices such as INR kits and Kardia devices make.
During Mrs Ziff’s visit, Heidi Watson, CEO of CHSF said Mrs Ziff’s contribution would continue Paul’s legacy, in making a huge difference to the lives and prospects of the future generations of congenital heart disease patients and their families.
She said “Paul helped pave the way for CHSF in his approach to fundraising and the projects he consequently helped to fund. It is wonderful and also very fitting that Lea is helping the CHD patients whom CHSF supports, to safely monitor their conditions whilst having more freedom to enjoy their lives.”
The charity is now looking to expand its family support services as 1 in 125 babies continue to be born with congenital heart disease, with the backdrop of a continuing cost-of-living crisis.
CHSF currently fund two Family Support Workers who look after heart parents within the hospital itself, with emotional, practical, and financial help.
You too can help CHSF continue our life-saving work for generations to come
A regular donation will make a huge difference to our families right now, while also allowing CHSF to plan for the future.
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