BROMSGROVE’S new civic head Coun John Ruck named Help for Heroes and Libby Mae’s Little Angels as his chosen charities for the coming year.
Libby Mae’s Little Angels was started by Bromsgrove couple Charlotte and Richard Sharratt in memory of their daughter Libby Mae who was born at Birmingham Women’s Hospital on April 26, but passed away two weeks later.
Libby Mae had a rare condition whereby a vein between her left lung and her heart did not develop properly.
Richard said: “What they did for us at Birmingham Women’s Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital was second to none and we wanted to do something for them and other families in the same situation.”
They started fund-raising to buy small items, such as comfortable chairs at the Women’s Hospital for families to use who had to spend a lot of time there.
But after Libby Mae’s funeral, £2,000 had been donated and now, since July, more than £60,000 has been collected.
Last week a cheque for £35,000 was handed over to pay for a ventilator – the device that kept Libby Mae alive for the two weeks.
Richard said: “We did every event we could think of, but we don’t know how we managed to raise £60,000 in less than a year.
“It’s amazing.”
Speaking about being selected as one of the civic head’s chosen charities, Charlotte said: “We were overwhelmed when we were told.”
For more on the charity, visit www.libbymaeslittleangels.com, ‘like’ Little Mae’s Little Angels on Facebook or follow the cause on Twitter: @libbymaesangels.
A representative from Help for Heroes talked about the charity and how it helped members of all three armed services – the army, air force and navy.
He detailed how Help for Heroes assisted in three ways.
The first was how the cause operated a quick reaction fund for when servicemen and women needed cash in a short space of time. That had seen £68,000 be distributed to 600 recipients in April alone.
The second was by running five recovery centres in the UK. These help injured personnel after they have come out of hospital.
As well as providing services, such as physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, they also help the individuals take their life forward.
And the third way was by helping other charities. Help for Heroes has donated cash to the Royal British Legion, SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families) association and another charity which helps former servicemen and women deal with combat stress.
Visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk for more on Help For Heroes.
