Popham Kidney Support unveils Spring Ball fundraiser for Children’s Kidney Centre

Popham Kidney Support, the kidney charity based in Swansea, is excited to announce its marquee event of 2023, its Spring Ball, which will take place on Saturday, March 25th at the Coal Exchange, Cardiff.

The charity is now calling on businesses to support its Spring Ball –the first major event of its tenth-year celebration – hoping to raise considerable funds for children with kidney disease.

The anniversary ball is set to take place at the Coal Exchange, Cardiff, and will feature the charity’s ambassador, TV personality, Sian Lloyd, and Welsh band, Who’s Molly, along with over 200 guests, volunteers, health care professionals and businesses who have been involved with the charity since its inception. It will feature ten awards – keeping with the theme of 10 – to recognise and reward supporters, volunteers and kidney patients who have supported the charity.

The Children’s Kidney Centre, University Hospital Wales supports over 800 children with kidney disease in South East and West Wales, and currently sees around 60 children on a weekly basis. The site is responsible for dialysis treatment – the procedure involving removing waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. Dialysis treatment is usually carried out three days a week, with each session lasting around four hours.

The extended time spent at the centre – that also provides emergency care – is what has prompted parents to drive the appeal to support children with kidney disease and their wellbeing while at the centre. The project focuses on delivering a friendly, warm and inspiring clinical area, that is age appropriate and sensitive to chronic illnesses. The aim is also to create a fully accessible area fit for providing facilities such as gastrostomy feeds, while being completely wheelchair accessible and an area that prioritises patient safety.

Popham Kidney Support is urging businesses to get involved by sponsoring the event, via booking a table or purchasing a ticket, in order to celebrate its tenth anniversary while raising funds for children with kidney disease to lead a better quality of life.

As part of the event, there will be discounted rooms available at the Coal Exchange for Ball guests, as well as transport to and from Swansea for the charity’s local supporters. The deadline for purchasing tickets has been set at 1st March.

For more information or to purchase a ticket, visit www.pophamkidneysupport.org.uk or contact Kathryn Jones, Fundraising & Communications Officer on 0333 2001 285 or email Kathryn on kathryn@pophamkidneysupport.org.uk.

The charity was initially founded as ‘The Paul Popham Fund, Renal Support Wales’ in March 2013, six months after the passing of Paul Popham – father of its current CEO, Joanne Popham – following a courageous battle with kidney disease and kidney cancer. Ten years on, and the charity has grown exponentially, supporting over 3,000 people during 2022 alone.

Joanne Popham, Popham Kidney Support CEO, said:

“We are extremely excited for our Spring Ball event that will kickstart our tenth-year celebration. The night will be a wonderful celebration of our anniversary, and will help us raise funds for the vitally important Children’s Kidney Centre project, a fantastic facility that helps so many children suffering with kidney disease on a daily basis.

“Don’t miss out on this extravaganza of an event! What are you waiting for? Tickets are still available to purchase, and we hope to see you there for a fun filled night!”