Chartered Building Company, Greendale Construction Limited, has presented a cheque for £1245 to Elsie’s Rose; a local charity which supports bereaved parents and those with children suffering life-limiting conditions, after raising funds with a raffle at the Company’s annual Christmas party.
The charity, set up by Annie and Ben Gould after losing their beloved first-born daughter, Elsie, to a brain tumour in 2021, was voted for by Greendale employees, and will benefit from a number of fundraising events by Greendale throughout the year including the Dorset Mud Run in May.
Elsie was born on the 6th August 2020, healthy, happy and full of character, but, on the 14th August 2021, and completely out of the blue, Elsie suffered a fit. After being taken to Poole Hospital where she was checked over, Annie and Ben returned home, with little Elsie having been discharged with BRUE (Brief Resolved Unexplained Episode).
However, the seizures and hospital admissions continued, until eventually, at just over a year old, she was diagnosed with epilepsy. A plan was put together to assist Elsie and her parents with the new diagnosis, but on September 17th 2021, the seizures worsened and Elsie was back in hospital. After an unsettled night, the couple woke to find Elsie unresponsive and struggling to breathe. She was intubated and taken for a CT scan where doctors found a non-cancerous tumour on her brain. The tumour had caused a cyst full of fluid, which was putting pressure on the rest of her brain, so Elsie was transferred to Southampton General Hospital for brain surgery. Although initially successful, Elsie was transferred to the PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) where more scans, medication and sedation followed, until heartbreakingly, on 22nd September 2021, Elsie’s life support was turned off and she passed away in Annie and Ben’s arms.
Annie Gould, explained: “Through the heartache, Elsie’s Rose was set up to help and support other parents going through the devastation of having a child receiving end-of-life care, and in the immediate months after a child passes away. The Charity aims to alleviate some of the pressures of day-to-day life as parents spend time with their child and grieve.
“This support could be help paying the bills such as rent, mortgages, utilities, food parcels and deliveries or counselling for parents or siblings. The aim of Elsie’s Rose is to take some of the pressure off those parents and families in the darkest days they will ever experience as a parent.”
Maria Seabright, HR and Finance Director, Greendale Construction, said: “This is a fantastic start to our fundraising campaign working together with Elsie’s Rose, our company charity for 2026. We are extremely happy to have raised £1245 to date, and look forward to carrying out other fundraising events throughout the year. We are so grateful to our employees, supply chain and subcontractors that donated raffle prizes which meant that every penny raised was able to go straight to the charity.”
More information about Elsie’s Rose can be found here, and if you would like to donate and help families who have lost a child, or are navigating having a child with a life-limiting condition, you can do so via the official Just Giving fundraising page here.