TOUCHWOOD has commissioned an illustrated children’s book named ‘Robbie the Rider’ to help raise awareness of the Solihull and Warwickshire Blood Bikes charity – a cause close to the centre’s heart.
Touchwood has donated over 1,000 copies to local school libraries in and around Solihull, including Blossomfield Infant and Nursery School in Shirley.
The story was developed in partnership with Coventry University Graphic Design students Jack Miller and Angelina Yaneva, and local writer, Hayley Evans, and is designed to help the pupils to understand a little bit more about the vital, lifesaving work the charity and its volunteers do.
Over recent years Touchwood has undertaken a number of fundraising initiatives including raising over £15,000 to purchase two new blood bikes for the charity.
The purpose of the bikes is to courier essential blood and urgent medical supplies between hospitals out of hours, with the vehicles being staffed entirely by volunteers. The bikes provide a vital money and time saving service to the local hospital community, saving the NHS thousands of pounds.
Bernie Farkas, Headteacher at Blossomfield Infant and Nursery School, said: “We’re really thankful to Touchwood for the generous donation to our school library, and we know that our pupils will love reading about the adventures of ‘Robbie the Rider’.
“Touchwood has done a brilliant job in creating an engaging children’s book which is not only lovely to read, and beautifully illustrated by the students of Coventry University, but which also draws attention to a very serious issue which is of such critical value to the NHS and its patients.”
Andrew Cole, General Manager at Touchwood, added: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to help raise awareness of such a valuable and often unseen emergency service within the community, and we hope that by donating the books to school libraries, future generations will be able to understand just how important the role of the charity is.
“The whole team has worked incredibly hard on this project, and we would like to thank the students of Coventry University for all their support in enabling us to get the books designed and published.”
