Press release
16 May 2025
A Cambridge Institution has joined forces with a much-loved hospital charity to launch its 30th birthday celebrations.
This year, Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), the official hospital charity for both Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals, is celebrating its 30th birthday.
To mark this special milestone, Fitzbillies in Cambridge hosted the launch of the birthday celebrations at its shop and tea rooms in Trumpington Street on Thursday 15 May – with a special gathering of fundraisers and hospital staff, all of whom have been directly involved with the work of the charity.
For its 30th year, ACT is asking fundraisers to ‘pour a little kindness’ for the hospitals by hosting a tea party for Addenbrooke’s.
Keeping with the theme, Fitzbillies, which has been serving Chelsea Buns and hearty breakfasts since 1920, unveiled a special window display which will be there for all its customers to see from now until September.
As the official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, ACT funds equipment and research, as well as improvements to the environment for both staff and patients, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide – and in the past 30 years alone, has invested more than £150 million in the hospitals.
The charity evokes a fierce sense of loyalty amongst its fundraisers, many of whom start their fundraising journey as a result of care that either they, or close family members or friends have received at the hospitals. As a result, fundraisers for ACT work tirelessly towards hitting their targets – many of them continuing to do so through some quite challenging times in their lives.
To mark those personal journeys, all of the guests at Thursday’s birthday event had some kind of personal involvement and story to tell. Guests included:
- Consultant Colorectal and Robotic Surgeon, Atanu Pal, who ran a 26-mile virtual London Marathon during Covid, spelling the word ROBOT, to help fundraise for ACT’s £1.5 million public appeal to buy a da Vinci Xi dual console surgical system for the hospital – which with the hospital’s existing robotic surgical systems has allowed some groundbreaking ‘firsts’ to happen.
- Ingela Oberg, Lead Cancer Nurse at CUH, who spoke to guests about all the cancer services ACT had directly funded including an outpatient’s garden and a modern, spacious Haematology Day Unit for patients with blood cancers which has allowed 200 more patients to be seen every month.
- Senior midwives Annie West, Tanya Cole and Becky Anderson who were part of a team of midwives who tackled Snowdon and the Yorkshire Three Peaks for ACT – raising over £8,000 for the charity. ACT donated £7.5 million towards the cost of a new extension to the Rosie maternity hospital, which was opened by the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in 2013 and included an expanded birth centre and one of the biggest neonatal units in the UK.
- Fundraiser Joyce Cripps and her daughter Julie Halls. Joyce has pledged to fundraise for ACT ‘to the end of my days’ after daughter Julie underwent a lifesaving liver transplant at Addenbrooke’s. Joyce and her husband John are now close to raising £30,000 for Addenbrooke’s by the end of the year.
ACT was born out of two existing charities dating back to the 1990s – when a group of fundraisers got together to raise money for the first full body scanner in the City.
Since then, ACT has donated in excess of £150 million to the hospitals and as well as funding research and equipment for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, it is behind two major public campaigns to see the building of two new groundbreaking hospitals in the City – the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) and the Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
Fitzbillies owners Tim Hayward and partner Alison Wright said it had been an easy decision to support ACT after Tim – described by The Irish Times as ‘arguably of the world’s best food writers’ – was admitted to Addenbrooke’s in November 2020 with COVID-19. He required treatment using a ventilator and suffered a pulmonary embolism. He was discharged after a month, having spent 14 days in a coma, and later described himself as “lucky to have lived.”
Tim gave a very moving speech on the day, bringing a few tears to people’s eyes as he thanked staff for his amazing care.
“My gratitude to Addenbrooke’s knows no bounds; I wouldn’t be here without the excellent staff and support of the hospital. Thank goodness for world-class care and the fantastic work of ACT. Long may it continue.”
As part of their support, Fitzbillies has designed a special 30th chocolate cupcake for ACT, and for each one sold during the month of July, the bakery will donate £1 to the charity. In addition, Fitzbillies will donate 20% of sales from the Addenbrooke’s collection of tea party items including scones, jam and cream, which can be found on their website.
Fitzbillies Co-Owner Alison Wright, who won a lifetime achievement award in the Cambridge Independent Business Awards 2024 for rescuing the 104-year-old iconic bakery and cafe, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting such a wonderful organisation this summer. So many of our customers have a connection to Addenbrooke’s, either as residents of Cambridge or as medical or research staff at the hospital. The work of saving and improving lives is vital, and Fitzbillies is honoured to be able to contribute even in a small way during this milestone year of the charity. We love any excuse for cake, and we hope that our chocolate cupcake will raise plenty for ACT in July.”
Speaking at the launch of the charity’s 30th birthday celebrations, the charity’s Chief Executive, Shelly Thake, pictured third from left with ACT colleagues, said:
“With Fitzbillies’ kind support it means two much-loved institutions within the City can join forces to raise money for a very special cause. Anyone wanting to host their own tea party for Addenbrooke’s can use Fitzbillies’ own recipes for their popular chocolate cake and scones which are included in a special tea party pack which can be ordered on our website.”
Consultant Colorectal and Robotic Surgeon, Atanu Pal, who fundraised for the da Vinci robot, said: “Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust has a huge impact in our hospitals, on a daily and ongoing basis, for patients and staff. Walking through the hospital, I see how the kind and generous supporters of the charity make a huge difference. Through the Robot Appeal, this fantastic support got us across the finish line to bring the benefits of robotic surgery to more patients in Cambridge.”
“I was involved in fundraising for this. When I ran my 26-mile Virtual London Marathon back in 2021, during the pandemic, I really wanted to help raise funds for the new robot because, as surgeon here, I knew the great impact it would have on patient care, as well as in our work as surgical teams. Robot-assisted surgery is less invasive, being done through smaller incisions than open surgery, so promoting a faster recovery, reducing the hospital stay, so that patients can get back to their homes and families sooner.”
Pictured at the time of his Virtual Marathon, with his route above, Atanu said: “Now when I think back to my run, proudly wearing my ACT running shirt, I remember passing some of Cambridge’s most iconic landmarks – the beautiful university buildings, the river, and of course Fitzbillies – my go-to for sweet treats as a medical student! I feel really proud to have been part of the team of supporters who helped ACT hit its £1.5 million target to buy the da Vinci robotic system. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference ACT and their supporters make to the lives of those in our two hospitals and I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the 30th birthday of such an important charity.”
Ingela Oberg, Lead Cancer Nurse at CUH, said: “Every day around 13 people face a new cancer diagnosis at CUH. Over the last few years, Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust has transformed cancer services at the hospital by funding projects such as the outpatient’s garden to allow cancer patients a quiet haven away from the hospital; a state-of-the-art surgical robot allowing minimally invasive surgery for prostate patients; a modern, spacious Haematology Day unit for patients with blood cancers allowing 200 more patients to be seen every month; 2 ECP machines to treat the terrible side effects following bone marrow transplantation and a ‘Biopsee’ machine to diagnose and identify prostate cancer.”
“ACT’s support does not stop there, however, and donations to the charity will go towards the building of the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH), to be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus by 2029. As the first specialist cancer hospital for the East of England, it will allow clinicians to detect cancer earlier, treat it more precisely and save more lives.”
Annie West, a senior midwife at the Rosie, said: “We’ve had ultrasound scanners and cots bought for us by Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust so we get to see first-hand what money is being spent on – which is why as a team we decided to take on two challenges to help raise some money ourselves; Mount Snowdon in 2023 followed by the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge a year later. Knowing how important ACT is to the hospital is what kept us going during both our challenges and to know we raised over £8,000 for the charity is such a satisfying feeling!”
- To host a tea party for Addenbrooke’s, please order your pack
- Afternoon tea party items from the Addenbrooke’s collection can be found on the Fitzbillies website.
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