Datapath colleagues, customers and partners rallied together in 2025 to raise thousands of pounds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, taking on a series of challenges and hands-on volunteering efforts, raising a grand total of £5.7k. Highlights included a muddy, morale-boosting Tough Mudder, a spirited Dragon Boat Race that brought a flotilla of Datapath “chickens” to the water, and finishing the year with the team’s festive Jolly Jumper Day.
The hospital was selected as Datapath’s charity of choice after Senior International Sales Manager – Andy Lee – saw his young son, Alfie, diagnosed with Craniosynostosis shortly after birth. Craniosynostosis is a birth defect in which the bones in a baby’s skull join together too early. He was 7 months old when they operated, requiring a seven-hour surgery and a week’s recovery at the hospital. The superb facilities at Birmingham Children’s Hospital ensured Andy and his wife Clair were able to stay with him in Ward 10 during his treatment.
“Birmingham Children’s Hospital is very close to my heart and my family, so the support shown by everyone at Datapath over the past year has meant a great deal to me personally,” says Andy Lee, Senior International Sales Manager at Datapath. “From racing boats dressed in silly chicken outfits, to volunteering their time at the hospital, to taking on the Tough Mudder challenge, the team has gone above and beyond. Their energy, generosity and willingness to get stuck in makes a real difference to the hospital and to the children and families it supports, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved.”
To deepen the team’s impact, Datapath has extended its support beyond fundraising. Every employee is now entitled to two fully paid volunteering days per year dedicated to the hospital, to be used individually or in small groups. This year, Suzanne Bowery and Christina Bolton from Datapath’s marketing team rolled up their sleeves on the ward, lending creative energy to the hospital’s Art Kart initiative.
“From racing boats dressed in silly chicken outfits, to volunteering their time at the hospital, to taking on the Tough Mudder challenge, the team has gone above and beyond. Their energy, generosity and willingness to get stuck in makes a real difference to the hospital and to the children and families it supports, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved.”
The funds raised have been split between a variety of deserving causes throughout the hospital. £1600 has been donated to Ward 10, providing beds for parents who wish to stay with their children in hospital overnight as well as new toys and books for the ward’s play area. The money also goes towards improving treatments for children on the ward whose illnesses are so severe that they require operations and hospital care. A total of £3100 has been contributed to the ‘It Starts Here’ campaign which is transforming the hospital’s entrance to create a more welcoming first impression for families, helping to stop patients feeling afraid when they arrive. The team also raised £100 worth of donations of toiletry packs for teens on the wards.
In the run‑up to the holidays, the hospital’s special “Magic Makers” drive is brightening the environment for young patients spending Christmas on the wards, while local businesses—including Datapath— have taken part in the Jolly Jumper Day Business Challenge, which was judged by patients to find the “Jolliest Team” and the “Jolliest Dressed.”
