Team Evie – How your business can help sick children and their families in our region
In 2015 Greg and Jill Johnston’s daughter was born with multiple complex medical challenges. She spent 6 months in hospital in the RVI in Newcastle, with her parents by her side. In September 2015 Evie died.
Throughout Evie’s life Greg and Jill were driven by positivity and ‘Always Moving Forwards’.
Following Evie’s death they created the charity, Team Evie, in her memory, to continue this positive legacy and to try and help as many children like Evie, and families like theirs, as they could.
The charity adopted the motto from those days in hospital to always move forwards, and 9 years later the charity is going strong, helping over 10,000 children and families across the region each year.
Following the Pandemic and life becoming ever more challenging for families, Team Evie have begun to develop new services to meet the demands of families in our area with sick children. Throughout a family’s journeys they can often feel alone, and like there is no one who understands what they face.
The knock-on effects of these challenges can lead to family break ups (often with sick children at the centre) amongst other physical and mental health challenges for parents.
This is why Team Evie have created their Peer Support Service – setting up a team of trained volunteers who have been there and done it. ‘Veteran Parents’ who have spent time in hospital, or faced the challenges currently happening for so many families, are the perfect people to provide that missing support for parents… the service is launching in 2024 and is going to make a huge difference to so many families in our area!
How can you and your business help?
Team Evie are asking for your support in two ways… both of which can make an incredible difference to so many people in our area!
More volunteers are needed for the service, but finding the right people is a challenge!
Are there individuals in your workforce who might be perfect Peer Supporters?
If so, you could help to connect them with Team Evie to start their Peer Support journey – something which can be very rewarding!
So many people experience a difficult pregnancy or birth, time in hospital with their child or the death of a child, and many never speak about their experience… If you know of people who would benefit from being involved, please tell them to contact Team Evie via: info@teamevie.org
One Million Steps
To run the charity, and to grow the team, fundraising and funding are crucial and in the current climate, this is a growing challenge. Team Evie have worked with the company One Million Steps to create a fundraising challenge aimed at businesses which has an incredible benefit to everyone!
The challenge is really simple – individuals walk 10,000 steps per day for 100 days, totalling a million steps…
The challenge is an amazing way to engage staff in making a difference to the local community with their fundraising, but it also makes a huge difference to their physical and mental wellbeing. Feedback from those businesses that have taken part so far is brilliant and people’s lives have changed since taking the challenge. Staff have lost weight, got fitter and stronger, slept better, been more productive, reduced stress and anxiety… the list goes on!
There are special packages available for business which enable you to maximise your participation in the challenge, with a personally branded challenge in your businesses name! The challenge includes an app which participants use to track their steps and also has their own personal fundraising page included. To discuss taking part in the challenge and making a huge difference to the wellbeing of your staff, and to so many families across our region, get in touch with Team Evie – info@teamevie.org
Cumbria Chamber podcast episode
To learn more about the Peer Support Service and One Million Steps tune into our podcast with Greg Johnston, Founder and CEO of Team Evie: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/29822638
© Cumbria Chamber of Commerce