A Helping Hand: Progressive Building Society announces £20,000 donation to Royal Belfast Children’s Hospital

Progressive Building Society has announced a £20,000 donation to the Royal Belfast Hospital’s Helping Hand charity in support of a mixed reality project aimed at accelerating diagnoses and reducing time-to-care. 

An independent charity, Helping Hand operates at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and fundraises exclusively for The Children’s Hospital.

Recent pressures on the NHS have made additional revenue sources essential for Helping Hand, which is used to fund research, provide the best equipment and to help educate and support the immediate needs of sick children and their families.

The £20,000 donation by Progressive will be used to fund a Brainlab 'Mixed Reality’ project, enabling patients, instructors and medical students to explore 3D renderings of the human anatomy for educational and training purposes.

Commenting on the donation, Darina Armstrong, Chief Executive of Progressive Building Society, said:

“We’re delighted to support the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children at a very challenging time for the NHS through the Helping Hand charity which makes a real difference to the lives of children in Northern Ireland and their families. This donation will fund a revolutionary healthcare project to better support children that are unwell and enable further training of medical professionals at the hospital.

“At Progressive, we are actively involved in supporting communities across Northern Ireland, and the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children is very close to our hearts.”

Ivan Martin BA Chairman of Board of Trustees, Helping Hand Charity has extended his sincerest thanks to the Progressive Building Society on behalf of himself and the Board of Trustees at Helping Hand. He said

“Like so many charities we have found the COVID ridden times we live in very challenging and to receive such a generous donation of £20,000 from Progressive was a real boost for everyone.

“Helping Hand is a self-funding local charity attached to the Children's Hospital and to be supported like this by a local business is simply heart warming

“This donation will enable us to continue our support for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and allow their dedicated staff to maintain and improve the excellent standard of care our children from all over Northern Ireland deserve.”