Friends of William Harvey Hospital

18/03/2026

A huge thank you to Valerie of Newchurch WI and craft groups for their recent donations of beautiful pairs of hearts for the Palliative Care Team and trauma teddies for Paediatric ED. The box of hearts modelled here by the lovely Lisa.

The hearts are given to family of a palliative care patient with these moving words:
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Please accept this small token as a loving connection and a lasting keepsake that may provide some small comfort and emotional link to your loved one at this difficult time, for they hold one too.

Sometimes I start to worry,
I might forget your face,
And memories I’ve kept inside,
Might somehow get erased.
And then I just remind myself
This love can never die.
Our hearts were knit together,
Forever you and I.
(Author: Anne Peterson)

From all the staff here at East Kent Hospitals
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The generous and wonderful work of our local crafting communities makes such a huge difference to WHH patients.
These sorts of items cannot be bought and the fact that they are made with the love and kindness of our local Friends means even more. 💖

16/03/2026

Kim's Box for Teens!
These lovely women are Padua Ward's staff (children's ward) who are holding a Kim's Box for Teens.

What is a Kim's Box?
Initially we funded around 15 boxes for staff that contain emergency period products and hygiene items for staff who may not be able to leave the ward, or are subject to 'period poverty'. The items are free and are restocked either by the Friends of WHH or, more usually, the ward teams themselves.

What is a Kim's Box for Teens?
Due to the fact that I heard that 'looked-after children' sometimes attend the ward and have no access to period products at all, so we decided to create a one-off box for the Padua Teen Area. It is stocked with items particularly for teens and we hope will prove to them that we care, we are thinking of their wellbeing, and supporting them.

The whole of the Kim's Box Project, which has been running for some years now, hasn't cost more than about £200 a year but has made such a difference to our staff.

Who is Kim?
Kim is 'our Kimberley' who came up with the idea during Covid. If you visit our Shop, you probably already know her, or have heard her infectious laugh!

We welcome funding donations via JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/charity/fo-williamharvey
Or you can drop off period/hygiene product donations to the Friends Shop.

09/03/2026

UPDATE: An amazing £344 raised and 91 raffle tickets sold. Thank you to donators, customers and arrangers. Another massive boost to our funds. ❤️❤️❤️

Now it's brighter (and in my opinion therefore easier👓👀) to tackle jigsaws, come along to our Puzzle Sale on Friday 13 March in the Foyer at WHH.

We price our jigsaws very reasonably and every penny goes back to our general fund for buying equipment for WHH.
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Fundraising so far this year:
Knit Sale: £350.50
Quiz Night: £300
Cake Sale: £766.10

Items pledged or funded so far this year:
£78,814.02
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03/03/2026

This is the lovely Claire, a staff member, who plays the piano beautifully. The Friends of WHH bought the piano and have had some wonderful pianists playing for everyone; some are patients, some are staff. It was a small outlay due to the generosity of a local piano company and has given so much joy already.

02/03/2026

Making children smile during their scariest moments is the aim!

The lovely Claire, an ED nurse, is running the Paris Marathon on 12 April, raising money for the Friends of WHH that will be ringfenced to buy distraction toys and equipment for children attending the Emergency Department.

Please read her story, and donate, here:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/claire-hall-dawson-4?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020

Running marathons isn't just the event, although that is impressive enough, it's the months and months of training that go into it that is also impressive.

Please donate to Claire's page if you can. 💖🏃‍♀️💖

Help Claire Hall-Dawson raise money to support Friends of William Harvey Hospital

27/02/2026

One of our recent purchases, for WHH Asthma Clinic, a £3k piece of diagnostic kit:

"Thank you for your help in securing the FeNO machine for our asthma clinics. I am the Consultant who runs these along with the community asthma nurse's support.

FeNO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide) is a test to measure the levels of nitric oxide in your breath, we can use it for children aged 5 years and upwards. It is now one of the objective measures we have to help us confirm a diagnosis of asthma in both children and adults and is one of the gold standards we use in accordance to the national asthma guidance as set out by NICE/BTS/SIGN. If high along with a clinical history of asthma symptoms it can guide us to what treatments a child (or adult) should be started on and potentially indicate to us an allergic trigger for their asthma which can again help guide medication as well as lifestyle or environmental measures that may help their asthma control. In our clinics it can also help us monitor certain types of asthma and a patient's response to treatments or whether we need to make changes to their treatment all of which decreases their risk of having a severe asthma exacerbation/attack.

Having this machine in clinic has so far been very useful and we have already found it extremely beneficial for many of our patients.

Kind regards
Jenny"

Photo: The parent agreed to the photo but we obscure the image; the other is from the supplier website.

23/02/2026

***EDIT***
Aaaannnnddd the total raised is an astonishing.......£766.10.
So much work by so many people goes into that total. Thank you all and thank you to all the customers. So many people were giving huge tips on top too. We're so grateful. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Just a little reminder that this Friday 27th February is our next fundraising Cake Sale. In the Foyer at WHH from 9.30 until we sell out.

Thank you to all the bakers for the amazing amount of work and fabulous bakes, and to everyone who buys themselves a little treat; 100% of the profits from the sale goes into our general fund for equipment for WHH.

Please note that, due to home baking, we cannot accommodate any food allergies, but we do have a great range of cakes, fruit, and sugar-free items in our Shop that may suit you instead.

22/02/2026

A sweet beginning to the week: The Friends Shop like to accommodate our lovely customers and this is a new product availability!

We have often been asked for honey, by staff mainly, so we have some squeezy honey pots to trial to see if they are popular.

If they sell, we will be looking for a local honey supplier. Any preferences?

Also, if there is something you would like our Aladdin's cave of a shop to supply, let us know.

All profits from the Friends Shop go to buy equipment for William Harvey Hospital, so everything you buy in our shop helps a little more.

20/02/2026

Easter is early this year! So we have our Easter Raffle tickets already for sale in the Friends Shop until the draw on 31 March.

They will also be available alongside our next Cake Sale, which will be on Friday 27 February.

All support goes to buying equipment and items for WHH patients, and staff. From distraction toys for children, to very expensive innovative medical equipment. ❤

19/02/2026

Thursday thanks to the Lenham-based Roundabout Club - here are some of the lovely members!

Recently Kimberley gave them a talk about what the Friends of WHH do and they kindly donated a whopping £140. (Donations aren't expected at our free talks, but they are most definitely appreciated.)

If your social group would like a visit from Kimberley, please get in touch.

All funds received go to buying equipment for William Harvey Hospital - local people, helping their local hospital.
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PLEDGED OR PURCHASED SO FAR IN 2026: £63,446.87
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16/02/2026

A very sad goodbye and huge thanks to these four wonderful women.

Shirley, Sharon, Jenny, and Ann; with an astounding 136 years of service to William Harvey Hospital between them, from the reception to the post room, they have cheered us up daily with happy welcomes and hard work.

The Friends gave them each a small token to say goodbye now that reception at WHH is now closed. WHH will not be the same without them. 💔

EDIT: The ladies have all (to my knowledge) been made redundant, not retired per se.

11/02/2026

These lovely photos (thank you Lisa) are a testament to our wonderful, supportive, crafting community, making a big effort to supply an urgent need at WHH.

The Palliative Care Team (End-of-Life Team) asked for some 'Kindness Heart's or 'Heart Hugs' as they had run out. Our wonderful Faversham Stitchers revved up their sewing machines, hooks and knitting needles, to make these beautiful pairs of hearts in double-quick time.

(These are a touching keepsake to connect patients with their loved ones. One heart stays with the patient, the other with the family members to provide comfort and a lasting connection during end-of-life treatment, and after they pass away.)

Please note that we do not need an huge supply, thankfully, so we request them as needed from crafting groups. Please do not send them in unless you have been requested as storage, as ever, is very hard to find in hospitals. If your crafting group would like to get on my list for requests, please DM me and we will put you on the 'rota'.

Thank you to Faversham Stitchers and to the Palliative Care Team for all you do for patients and families. ❤️❤️‍🩹❤️