Hospital charity Leeds Cares has confirmed the appointment of Esther Wakeman as the organisation’s new Chief Executive.
Esther will be joining the charity from Ashgate Hospice care in Chesterfield where she has spent the last five years as Director of Fundraising and Marketing. The appointment is due to begin in February.
Esther has ten years of experience in the charity sector and a very strong fundraising background, having doubled charitable income during her time at Ashgate. Edward Ziff OBE, Chair of the Leeds Cares Board of Trustees, said he was delighted to confirm the appointment. “Esther will be joining us at a very exciting time for Leeds Cares as we look to continue the fantastic support that we already provide to Leeds Teaching Hospitals and grow our fundraising year on year.”
Esther commented on her new role: “Leeds Cares is the official charity partner of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and I am thrilled to be joining the team at such an exciting time”. She continued: “Leeds Cares has huge potential for growth in the coming years and by working so closely with the Trust we’re in the unique position of being able to show our donors first-hand the difference their support will make to healthcare across the region. Not only will we be working closely with the Trust to support its vision to be the best for specialist and integrated care but we will also be supporting the ambitious plans to invest £650m to build a new adult hospital and a brand new children’s hospital for the people of Leeds and beyond.
“Leeds Cares will play an important role in this exciting new build, working alongside the Trust to launch a high-profile capital appeal to fund state-of-the-art equipment and technology and amazing environments for the patients and staff. Our aim is to make the new hospitals – and in particular the new children’s hospital – an iconic building for the city of Leeds that our donors and supporters can truly be proud of.”
Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust commented on Esther’s appointment: “I am delighted to welcome Esther to Leeds and I am really looking forward to working with her. Leeds Cares provides invaluable support to our Trust, enabling us to go the extra mile for our patients and staff and deliver exceptional healthcare for the people of Leeds and beyond. We can only do this by working together as ‘one team’ across the Trust and the charity and I am confident that Esther will play a huge part in making this happen”.
You can find out more about Leeds Cares and their fantastic charity work here https://leeds-cares.org/
