[A] rocking show of support for the Bayb’s Maternity Appeal is how Barrow’s nursery supplies store Baby Bitz is celebrating its own special event.
The shop in Cavendish Street is marking its 25th birthday with the donation of a £250 Mamas & Papas rocking horse and a dolls pram with a £120 price tag, which are being put into the charity’s Valentine’s Day Maternity Raffle to be drawn next Wednesday, February 14th, when the new South Lakes Birth Centre at Furness General Hospital is officially opened.
Proprietor Mike Coward has also given the appeal a full size, white Prestige pram, worth £760. It will be kept at the birth centre.
Mike, who runs the shop with help from his niece Victoria White, said: “The community has supported us over the years and this is a way of us giving something back as a thank you for that support. Having been in Barrow for 25 years, I have had mums coming into the shop to buy things for their babies, who are now all grown up and shopping with us for their own little ones.”
Appeal co-ordinator Heidi Bowron, who is selling Valentine’s Day Maternity Raffle tickets from the Bay Hospitals Charity office in the foyer of Furness General, said: “We are very grateful to Mike and Victoria for their donation of goods, which have a combined value of more than £1,000.”
The Bayb’s Maternity Appeal launched almost exactly a year ago to fund “extras” for the new South Lakes Birth Centre at Furness General Hospital with the aim of making it second to none in country. These “extras” fall outside the remit of what the NHS is able to fund. The appeal, which is set to close at the end of next month (March), now stands at £203,106.12 towards its £250,000 target.
The Bayb’s Maternity Appeal has also received a £500 donation from Barry Robinson (pictured with appeal co-ordinator Heidi Bowron) on behalf the approximately 300 BAE Systems staff, who pay into the BAE Platers’ Benevolent Fund.
Annual interest accrued on the money saved is shared between retired members and a worthy local cause, with members this year deciding to support the Bayb’s appeal.
To find out more about the appeal and make a donation, visit Bay Hospitals Charity’s website at www.bayhospitalscharity.org
