Pictured above: Nurse Jackie Clinton, ward manager and Gateley partner, Ruth Armstrong

Staff in the Birmingham office of national law firm Gateley have donated over £5,300 to the Birmingham Children's Hospital, Children's Heart Appeal. The appeal is aiming to raise the £2 million needed for a new 'hybrid' cardiac theatre, the first of its kind at a UK children's hospital.

Over the last year the firm has taken part in a series of fundraising initiatives to support Birmingham Children's Hospital, the local charity chosen by Gateley staff last year. 

To help raise money for the appeal some of the team completed the Birmingham Half Marathon in October and the annual Dragonboat Race in Brindleyplace last Summer, encouraging people to sponsor them for both events. In addition the firm's Birmingham staff have been donating money through a variety of internal fundraisers including dress down days and charity raffles.

Partner Ruth Armstrong, who heads up the Regulatory team at Gateley and is the firm's CSR champion, said: "As a firm we have raised over £1.5 million in the last 10 years and this money has been pledged to a host of worthy causes. We have a strong focus on supporting our local communities and charities, and here in Birmingham we have enjoyed taking part in the fundraising for the Children's Heart Appeal. I'm proud of the enthusiasm the Gateley's team have shown in all of our charity events and we've raised a great amount of money which we're delighted to present to Birmingham Children's Hospital today."

 Shahaji Begum, Business Development Associate for Birmingham Children's Hospital added: "We are very grateful to Gateley for the support they have given to the Children's Heart Appeal through the variety of fun activities they have got involved in. The donation of £5,369 is hugely appreciated and will go towards our new cardiac operating theatre, which will enable us to perform surgical procedures and keyhole techniques simultaneously, offering exciting new horizons for the conditions and children we treat.'  

Birmingham Children's Hospital has one of the busiest Children's Heart Centres in the UK. Its internationally renowned Cardiac Unit sees over 10,000 children a year, with approximately 80 per cent of surgeries being open-heart procedures, and around 60 per cent performed on children under 12 months old.