A cross brand electrical industry taskforce has formed, in aid of ‘It’s a Mistry’ – a campaign to raise funds to purchase pre-term baby equipment at Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
‘It’s a Mistry’ is bringing together representatives from Dixons Group, Hotpoint, Whirlpool and retail training specialist Beyond The Box in memory of *Priya Mistry*, a former employee of Beyond The Box, and her new born son Jayden. Both mother and son lost their fight for life last December, as Priya suffered a brain haemorrhage at eight months pregnant.
The cross industry team is looking to raise *at least £6500*, through numerous activities including a sponsored climb of Ben Nevis on 25 June 2011, quiz nights, cook-ins, sponsored weightloss campaigns, and a national prize draw with electrical goods donated by Hoover, Whirlpool and Hotpoint.
The Ben Nevis ‘It’s a Mistry’ challenge team includes Karen Shaw from Whirlpool, Tracey Turner, Mandy Mortlock, Chris Mortlock (Mandy’s husband), Chrissy Saunders and Mark Towns from Hotpoint, Natasha Farrell, Laura Jones and Toby Kheng from Dixons Group, and Christine Knott, Joanne Cox and Kulvinder Rayit from Beyond The Box.
Christine explains further: “We first met Priya when she joined the ‘Beyond The Box family’ to work on the contract we had secured with Hoover. A gentle, caring and wonderful young woman who always left a piece of her smile behind her.
“Priya was married to Rish for over 7 years and their dreams of having a family were beginning to turn into a reality.
“However after suffering a brain haemorrhage, Priya was placed on a life support machine just long enough for the hospital to deliver her baby. Sadly Jayden her little boy didn’t survive beyond a few minutes after which Priya’s life support was switched off.
“As a focus for Rish, his family, his friends and work colleagues a decision was made to raise funds in memory of Priya and Jayden. The monies raised will be used to purchase a ‘Sipap Flow Driver’ for Lister Hospital Stevenage where Priya and Jayden both lost their individual battles for life.
“These ventilators allow the medical team to manage the babies breathing without intrusive procedures such as intubation. It can mean a preterm baby may not need intubation at all. They are also helpful in weaning off the ventilator, as the baby can be extubated and nursed on the Sipap. A Sipap flow driver costs £6500 and the hospital is in desperate need of eleven. Our current target is to raise the funds for one unit. If the fund raises more than the target of £6500 the additional monies will be used to fund more ventilators or other urgent equipment at the hospital.”
Anyone wanting to support the campaign can contact Beyond The Box on 0845 270 6520 or go to www.beyondthebox.co.uk.
A justgiving page has been set up for the sponsored Ben Nevis climb element of the campaign, and for anyone wishing to donate to this, the page can be found at http://www.justgiving.com/Christine-Knott0.
