Rail freight UK

GB Railfreight (GBRf) has selected Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) to be its new charity partner, after receiving 50 different nominations from its 1,400 train crew and staff.

Over a two-year partnership, GBRf hopes to raise as much as possible for GOSH Charity, helping to support seriously ill children from across the UK who are treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). The money will be raised through employee fundraising initiatives, which will include challenge events and payroll giving. The GBRf Charity Panel were moved by the testimonies sent in which set out the incredible care that GOSH has given to several children known to GBRf staff. This included Dottie Rees (pictured right), daughter of GBRf Train Manager, John Rees. Dottie was rushed to GOSH in September 2020 where she spent 17 days in intensive care and was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. Since then, she has received numerous rounds of chemotherapy and still makes two visits a month for specialist appointments.

To mark the start of the partnership, the GBRf Charity Panel and its Chair Sarah Whurr, were given a tour of Great Ormond Street Hospital by the GOSH Charity Fundraising Team.

Sarah Whurr, Head of Sustainability and Chair of the Charity Panel at GB Railfreight, said;

“When visiting Great Ormond Street Hospital, in addition to the expertise, I was immediately struck by the love and support for the children and their families, who are going through an unimaginable situation. I’m certain that all of our 1,400 staff will get behind this partnership, so that we can help GOSH Charity raise vital funds to support children and their families at GOSH

Sarah Bissell, Deputy Director of Relationship Fundraising at GOSH Charity, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at GB Railfreight who has chosen GOSH Charity as the organisation’s new charity partner. It is thanks to the generosity of supporters like GB Railfreight that GOSH Charity can continue to fund the hospital’s most urgent needs and make a real difference to the lives of seriously ill children from across the UK who are treated at GOSH. “