Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund
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The Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund was founded in 1873 to raise money for hospitals in Birmingham, England.
When it became necessary to fund the construction of a new wing of Queen's Hospital in Birmingham one of its surgeons, Sampson Gamgee suggested engaging the help of the working classes. At a meeting in Birmingham Town Hall in January 1869, chaired by George Dawson, Gamgee's suggestion was put forward and accepted. An amount of £3,500 were raised in 1871. The original fund was disbanded in 1872.
On 6 January 1873 Sampson Gamgee raised the suggestion that 'everyone should work overtime for the hospitals on a particular Saturday afternoon, to be called "Hospital Saturday"'. This new scheme called the Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund was inaugurated on 15 March 1873 and was the first British scheme for raising money for all hospitals in an area. In 1873 the amount raised was £4,700 from a population of 355,000, an average of 2 3/4d per head. This figure increased to £400,000 in 1938.
In addition to donations to the Queen's, General, Children's, Women's, Eye, and Dental hospitals, the fund started building convalescent homes around Britain. In 1894 the fund created an ambulance service.
[edit] References
- 65 Years' History of the Birmingham Saturday Holiday Fund 1873-1938, Journal Printing Office, Cannon Passage, Birmingham, 1938
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