Who we are - a community, not just a charity
The Friends of UCLH have been supporting UCLH for many years, before that supporting the individual hospitals that came together to form UCLH. We’re a registered charity with objects which our strapline summarises as funding extras for patients and staff. ‘Extras’ are things the NHS doesn’t fund but which make life and treatment more comfortable – anything from coffee machines to fleeces, staff room furniture to supported shopping for patients without money or visitors able to bring them what they need. And because we’re a charity run mainly by volunteers, 97% of what we spend goes into grants.
Most of our grants are small but we sometimes make large donations. We gave £30k to a recent appeal by UCLH Charity to redecorate the children’s emergency department, a sixth of the cost. We also give £30k each year to the UCLH Arts and Heritage team, a donation which UCLH Charity matches.
Let us say 'thank you' for you!
Helping the Friends is a way to say ‘thank you’ to UCLH. Giving us £2 a month for three years would pay for an Easter egg hunt for a unit looking after long stay patients. Or for £4 a month for three years – the cost of a monthly cup of coffee – we could buy a ward fridge for food treats brought in by patients’ families. Or for £20 a quarter for five years – a fraction of a gym membership – we could buy fleeces to keep a staff team of thirty warm on night shifts.
We especially need regular donations because they help us plan our spending. But we welcome all donations, large or small, one off or regular. We think of our donors as a community. We keep in touch through quarterly newsletters. We love to hear your ideas on how we should be spending the money you give us. And donors who make regular payments, whether monthly, quarterly or annual, are offered votes in the election of our trustees. We would be delighted to welcome you into membership of the Friends. Members and supporters are also invited to our AGM each November.
So will you help us?
There are three ways to send us donations – online, by post, or by making donations direct into our bank account.
Donations made online are convenient for us because the ‘Enthuse’ system collects supporter details and deals with Gift Aid, where applicable.
Or, if you don’t like to use online systems, you could post a cheque to the Friends, c/o UCLH Charity, 5th Floor East, 250 Euston Road, London NW1 2PG. Make the cheque payable to Friends of University College London Hospitals. If you’re a tax payer, please also send a Gift Aid declaration. That also tells us who you are so we can thank you and keep in touch.
You can also pay donations directly into our bank account – sort code 18-00-02, account number 08798893, account in the name of Friends of University College London Hospitals. That way, we will not know who you are unless you tell us. So please think about doing that with a letter to the address above, because we really do like to know who our supporters are.
Special appeals
We sometimes run special appeals too. In 2021 an appeal helped us buy the RNENT Hospital an MRI-safe DVD player for £19k. We've just closed an appeal to raise funds to restore a historic organ in the multi-faith chapel at NHNN in Queen Square. We funded the £120k restoration jointly with The National Brain Appeal and the organ is now being played again, with an inaugural recital in April this year. Tell us, if you have an idea for another special appeal. But don't wait for an appeal to make a donation!
