Funding Today

The St. John Family

Our heartfelt thanks go out, once again, to those of the St John Family who raise funds for us and help to make the work that we do possible.

We were pleased to discover that the Chancellor of the Grand Council of the Order of England and the Islands, Mr Robin Oake, was to join Chairman John Talbot in Jerusalem on a visit to the Hospital in February. At the time of going to press, Mr Oake was preparing for his trip and kindly granted us a moment to discuss his thoughts,

"I see my position as Chancellor as a title to understand and encourage all aspects of service under the umbrella of the Venerable Order of St John.

The Eye Hospital in Jerusalem and its clinics in Gaza and Hebron, I believe, are constantly under pressure not only from the political situation but also because of funding. I am really looking forward to going because I want to encourage all the staff – understanding their commitment, asking about travelling to and from their work and then seeing them in ‘operation’ – and also to meet patients... I want to return to England and, along with Sheenah Davies (Priory Hospitaller for England), encourage ALL counties to take a deeper interest in the Eye Hospital and its mission, especially with sponsoring nursing staff."

In 2008, the Priory of England donated a total of £420,000, £243,000 of which was earmarked for Staff Sponsorship. The Priory of the United States, gave us £388,500, the Priory of Scotland £110,000, Canada £75,000, New Zealand £56,000 and Wales £25,000.

Jerusalem

We are delighted to announce that USAID, through Care International, has again proven its metal as a supporter, awarding us £190,000 towards vital medical equipment. With this money, we will be able to purchase a gas sterilizer for the Jerusalem Hospital, a phacoemulsification ultrasonic device used in cataract surgery, an operating table – both for Jerusalem – and a fluorescein fundus angiography diagnostic system for our Hospital in Hebron.

We are also pleased to acknowledge our great friends at the Japanese Representative Office in Ramallah, who have kindly agreed to provide our Jerusalem Hospital with a state-of-the-art Optical Coherence Topography diagnostic system to the value of £58,500.

Thank you to the Italian Development Cooperation, which supplied us with much needed spare parts worth £12,700 for still viable equipment, to Porticus, who donated an £8,000 adaptor for our indirect laser, a vital item for the operating theatres, and to the New Zealand Embassy in Ankara, who donated an essential light source for the operating theatre.

Finally, thanks go to the Presidential Office/Jerusalem Unit who, having received a major grant from the Belgian Government to support work in Jerusalem, made sure that some of that money was disbursed to the Hospital Group.

London

In 2008, our total funding raised from Trusts and Foundations at the London office was a whopping £703,000!

Special mention goes to the Linbury Trust who donated £100,000 towards our Epidemiology Study and Foundation Pro Victimis, who gave us an unheard of £100,000 in unrestricted funding.

Also of note were large donations from regular funders, such as the Swire Charitable Trust, the Edwina Mountbatten Trust, the GNC Trust, the Femto Trust and the Clothworkers’ Foundation. A large contribution was also made by relatively new supporter, the Eranda Foundation. So far this year, we have received our regular, substantial award from the Kennedy Leigh Charitable Trust.

Our Gaza Appeal in 2008 was one of our most successful ever, finally bringing in £202,000. We have decided to make this on-going due to the events unfolding in Gaza. Overseas aid will be even more crucial to those living in the area this year, so if you would like to donate something specifically for Gaza, please fill in the donation form on the back page here, or visit our website at www.stjohneyehospital.org.

On behalf of all of our patients and staff, then, may we wish you all a heartfelt thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support.