Amazing Alfie! Hospital celebrates local schoolboy named as ‘champion fundraiser’
Local schoolboy Alfie Scott was the guest of honour at a special afternoon tea at Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children recently, held in celebration of his incredible fundraising efforts.
Over the last nine months 11-year old Alfie, who lives in Carshalton, has spearheaded a campaign which has so far raised almost £2,800 for the hospital. It all started when Alfie successfully convinced his school, All Saints Carshalton Church of England Primary School, to adopt Queen Mary’s as one of their charitable causes for the year. He explained: “Every year the juniors at All Saints get to make suggestions for which charity or cause we think the school should support, and I was so excited when I found out that the school voted to have Queen Mary’s as one of the causes for the year. I couldn’t wait to get stuck in!
“The first idea I had for raising money was a sponsored Christmas jumper day at school, which went down really well! After that I organised lots of other events and activities, including a Mother’s Day bring and buy sale, a doctor/nurse/patient dress-up day, and a diary raffle for my friends and family. The diary raffle was really popular – I wanted to do something a bit different, so instead of a traditional raffle I sold each date in a diary for £1. My uncle won the first prize of £100 and donated back to the fund for the hospital!”
Epsom and St Helier Chief Executive Daniel Elkeles was so impressed with Alfie’s efforts, he invited him for afternoon tea so he could thank him personally. Daniel explained: “Alfie is a truly remarkable young man. He has set about this fundraising campaign with a real passion, and what he has achieved is quite incredible. I was very excited to meet him and his family (mum Carla, dad Steve, and little brother Freddie), and to hear first-hand about all of the fantastic work he has done.
“It was a privilege to spend some time with Alfie and his family, and to hear them talk about all of the thought and hard work he has put in to his fundraising campaign. I was delighted to hear that Alfie was recognised with the Sarah Thewlis Good Citizen Award in his Year 6 leavers’ assembly – the prize is £500 for the winner’s charity of choice, and he of course chose Queen Mary’s! His parents are rightly extremely proud of what he has achieved.”
As a small token of gratitude, Daniel and Head of Paediatric and Neonatal Nursing Lorna Bramwells presented Alfie with a special Epsom and St Helier thank you card (signed by the Queen Mary’s team) and a golden Patient First badge, which is presented to those who have done something truly exceptional for the benefit of our patients. Daniel said: “I’d like to thank Alfie for all of the wonderful support he has provided over the last nine months – the money he has raised will help us make a very big difference to the children and families we look after. He’s off to Carshalton Boys in September, and he’s already talking about what he can do to raise even more money there!”
After enjoying the delicious food and drink, which was supplied and funded by the trust’s catering team, Alfie was taken on a tour of Queen Mary’s by the play specialist team. Alfie said: “It was great to meet Daniel and tell him about all the fundraising events and activities, and to hear how the money we raised will help the patients. My brother Freddie and I really liked the cakes, too!
“I’m really pleased we got to have a tour and learn more about the hospital – it helped give me some more ideas for what to spend some of the money on, including lots of new toys for the playrooms. Thank you to Daniel and everyone in Queen Mary’s for having us!”
After leaving Queen Mary’s, it was time for Alfie to go home and get ready for football practise, but not before taking care of some very important business. Alfie’s mum Carla explained: “Alfie was really pleased with his special card and golden Patient First badge, especially when he heard that not very many people have one! It went straight on the collar of his shirt, but he made sure it came off for safe-keeping before heading off to football!
“We are all so proud of what Alfie has done for Queen Mary’s. The afternoon tea was a lovely way to cap-off what has been a really memorable experience for all us – thank you!”
Alfie made a return visit to Queen Mary's to deliver the toys he had chosen and purchased, as promised. You can see what Alfie delivered, below.
