Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust’s charity, Better Lives, has a lot to be thankful for this Christmas following the support of the local community and businesses over the year to raise vital funds for the work of the Care Trust and to enhance patient care.

Better Lives is the charitable arm of the Care Trust, which provides mental health, dentistry, community health and specialist learning disability services for patients at every stage of their lives in Bradford, Keighley, Ilkley and Craven.

Head of Charity and Volunteering at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, Catherine Jowitt, said: “Thank you for donating at our supermarket and pantomime bucket collections, sponsoring, hosting and taking part in our events and supporting friends and family members who have run, walked and crafted for the charity.”

The generous support of the community and local businesses have helped to raise much-needed funds, which has enabled Trust’s teams to purchase new resources and equipment and develop new projects. The local Masonic charity funding helped support patients on the dementia ward who are now benefiting from a new sensory room. The new facility has enhanced the healing environment for patients at the hospital to stimulate the senses and evoke positive emotions.

The charity has also applied and received funds from Sport England and Awards for All, funding specialist equipment for patients at the Trust’s Dementia Assessment Unit, Lynfield Mount Hospital and within Learning Disability services.

Catherine Jowitt added: “The community and local businesses have helped us raise crucial funds throughout 2023. Everything we purchase and support sits outside the core budgets of the NHS and simply wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of people in the community. It’s been a fabulous year with our first Imagination Ball raising over £21,000, generously sponsored by Enable2.”

The Trust charity runs many fundraising activities throughout the year that people from the local communities and businesses can come and get involved in, including the Care Trust’s annual golf day, Great North Run, mental health fundraising ball and many more.

To find out more about the Better Lives charity, visit https://www.bdct.nhs.uk/better-lives-charity/. To see the Trust charity’s 2024 fundraising events and business sponsorship opportunities, please email betterlivescharity@bdct.nhs.uk.

The charity raises funds to enhance patient care and go over and above the core services offered. Find out more about the charity: www.bdct.nhs.uk/better-lives-charity/.