Retail magnate Philip Green responded to the personal touch when he agreed to back DebRA, the charity for people with the skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).
Mr Green, who owns Bhs and the Arcadia Group, chose DebRA as the Bhs Charity of the Year after receiving a heartfelt letter from Robin Hood, whose 16-year-old daughter Alex was born with recessive dystrophic EB.
As DebRA’s director for Scotland, Mr Hood has devoted his life to raising money for the charity and helping to find an effective treatment for the genetic condition, which causes the skin to blister at the slightest touch. Indeed, his aim is to find a cure for his daughter. In his letter Robin wrote: “I have a dream that one day Alex and I will walk barefoot hand in hand down a sandy beach. You can help me make that possible.”
Deeply touched by the letter, and impressed with the work of the charity, Mr Green decided to encourage his associates and Bhs customers to raise funds for DebRA throughout a year-long campaign.
Mr Green said: “Just by reading Robin’s letter I could tell how committed he and his colleagues at DebRA were to finding effective treatments for this condition.
“I can only imagine the pain that these children and adults must go through every day of their lives. By choosing DebRA as the Bhs Charity of the Year we aim to increase awareness of EB and raise thousands of pounds to help further DebRA’s good work.
“Everyone at Bhs is honoured to be able to help Robin and everyone affected by EB get one step closer to their dream – an end to the pain of EB.”
DebRA funds a team of nurses and welfare specialists to ensure that the medical and social needs of families affected by EB are met.
The charity also commissions a range of research programmes. There is no Government funding to find a cure for this condition so DebRA relies on donations.
All money raised from the sale of DebRA pin badges in Bhs stores will go towards supporting people affected by EB and research into the condition. The badges will go on sale from March.
Many staff members are also taking part in the DebRA Mad Hatter Day on May 5 2006, which involves wearing a hat for the day and making a donation to the charity.
Mark Smith, DebRA’s director of fundraising and communications, welcomed the support of Bhs staff.
He said: “With a Bhs on almost every high street in Britain, this will be a real boost for DebRA.”
