A team of 12 adventurous staff from a Birmingham-based student accommodation provider has been named as this week’s charity champion, after climbing three of the UK’s highest mountains and raising an impressive £13,717.96 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

The group from Student Roost, which also ran numerous other fundraisers for the charity, was  inspired to take on the national Three Peaks Challenge, tackling Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis and Snowden, after hearing about Area Manager, Adam Simmons’ personal connection with the hospital.

Adam’s nephew Noah was just six-months-old when he was first treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, after being diagnosed with Autoimmune Neutropenia. With this condition, the body identifies neutrophils – a type of white blood cell –as enemies and makes antibody to destroy them, therefore making it difficult for the child to fight off infections and viruses.

The hospital’s Paediatric Assessment Unit was the first port of call for Noah and his family when he suffered medical scares caused by his condition. Noah spent large amounts of time there in isolation, as a precautionary measure against catching illnesses, which is why the team has decided to donate the money raised to the unit.

After spending much of the first three years of his life in Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Noah’s health has improved drastically and his body has begun to compensate for the reduced number of neutrophils, reducing his risk of illness.  Noah now appears just like any other four-year-old and enjoys enthusiastically playing with his brothers.

Adam Simmons said: “After a lot of preparation and blood, sweat and tears put into training we were really pleased with how successful the Three Peaks Challenge was and how we all managed to pull through it as a team.  

“It was wonderful to see how my colleagues have come together to help support a cause so close to my heart and how generous our friends, family and peers have been.”

Miranda Williams, Public Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “It’s lovely to hear how the team at Student Roost got behind Adam to do something so spectacular and raise such an incredible amount for us. 

“The money they raised will make such a difference to our Paediatric Assessment Unit and the thousands of kids, like young Noah, that we treat at our hospital every year.”