Matron Audrey Elmore, Clinical Director Dr Paul Crawshaw, 2009 Wentworth Lady Captain Joy Garvey, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals Chief Executive Andrew Liles, Tania Gallagher, Wentworth Chief Executive Julian Small and General Manager Helen Sibley in front of the neonatal cooling and brain function monitoring equipment.
 

 
Tania and Joe first became aware of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 2001 when their triplets, Ryan, Luke and Olivia, were born prematurely. Sadly, only Olivia survived and the couple has worked tirelessly since to raise money for the unit and support other babies. They have already donated £30,000 in 2003 to pay for “The Gallagher Suite” - a separate area for parents which includes overnight accommodation for local mothers and those travelling from further afield to be with their babies.

Said Tania: “Olivia is nine now but I still clearly remember what it was like to spend so much time in the unit and how wonderful the staff were. Since then, the number of cots has increased and there have been many developments in neonatal care, but there is always a need for new facilities and equipment and it’s nice to be able to help other babies for years to come.”

Wentworth Golf Club held a variety of fundraising activities to reach the grand total of £36,000 and split the proceeds of the sale of 400 square metres of turf from the West Course across the Early Birth’s Fund and other charities.

Joy and Tania also organised “The Angel Ball”, where guests bought angels off a tree to win prizes donated by local companies and watched a film produced by another member’s company “Jellybean”. Said Joy: “The film showed the work of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and featured babies recently admitted to the unit and interviews with parents and staff. There was not a dry eye in the house and it certainly encouraged everyone to dig deep and support this fantastic cause.”