A charity has officially opened the doors to its new office at Watford General Hospital.
A ceremonial ribbon cutting was held on Wednesday at Sycamore House which will become the new home of Raise, West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust's charitable arm.
The office was formerly the coffee shop of the League of Friends’ - a charity that funded more than a million pounds worth of equipment over nearly 60 years before it closure earlier this year.
The League’s former chairman Norman Tyrwhitt, and his wife, Mavis, were on hand to pass the fundraising baton to Raise.
Until now, the team at Raise, which was founded in 1995, have worked from temporary spaces including a two-year period at Watford town hall.
Raise director Sofia Sheikh said: "We have been so lucky to have the League’s support over the last sixty years and we are proud to continue their community presence. We are so enjoying having somewhere where we can welcome fundraisers, donors, staff, patients and their families and tell them about our latest appeals and events.
"We would also like to thank Watford Borough Council for use of the town hall during the pandemic."
Raise’s courtyard also received a makeover from a local garden centre after Hanif and Selina Bharmal from Carpenders Park Garden Centre answered the charity’s call for help.
They planted lavender, petunias, geraniums and lobelia, helping to make the office a welcoming space for supporters. Orbital Signs also donated signage.
Raise's current focus is raising £625,000 to purchase a new super scanner that will sit at the heart of a new interventional radiology suite, transforming pinhole surgery for the region’s patients.
Interventional radiology, also known as image-guided therapy, enables doctors to use real-time imaging techniques, including MRIs, CT scans and ultrasound, to help guide them as they perform minimally invasive surgery, often through a hole the size of a large needle.
Read more: League of Friends make six-figure donation to Watford hospital
In addition to handing over the office keys, Norman and Mavis presented £1,460 towards the super scanner appeal.
More information about how to support the appeal can be found at raisewestherts.org.uk or by calling 07435 802862.
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