The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Dianne Rees has exceeded the £100k fundraising target for her chosen charity, with still four months left in office.

A staggering £104,591.22 has already been raised for the Noah's Ark Charity Tiny Lives Appeal since Councillor Dianne Rees was inaugurated as Lord Mayor in May 2018. The success has led to a new target of £150k being set, to be achieved before May 2019.

The Lord Mayor said: "I would like to say a big thank you and that I am absolutely delighted by the total raised so far. It has been wonderful to see how the staff at Cardiff Council, our councillors and members of the public have dug deep and helped to achieve this fantastic sum of money."

Fundraising activity has included a host of events with highlights including the Big Give which saw all donations doubled and raised £69,850, a Salmon lunch, a series of events held at Mansion House and a cricket match where Council staff took on councillors.

Cardiff Council staff have also supported the campaign with a team from the education department taking on Pen y fan in October, raising an incredible £4837.43. Staff have made online donations and events such as a curry night and bucket collections have helped towards raising substantial sums of money for the charity.

The Tiny Lives Appeal supports the neonatal unit at the University Hospital for Wales to provide world class care to some of the most premature and critically ill babies in Wales. 

The Lord Mayor added: "I chose the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital because I was so impressed by the excellent staff and the focus they give to the needs of the children. Children are so important to Cardiff and its future so it is vital they get the best possible start in life.

"2018 marked the 18^th anniversary for the Noah's Ark Charity and during my year in office I pledged to help raise their profile during this special year, as well as raising much needed funds by helping to host special events and attending key events in the charity's calendar. 2019 will be another exciting year, with plenty more fundraising opportunities planned to raise as much money possible for this very worthy cause."

Noah's Ark Charity Director, Suzanne Mainwaring said: "It's been an absolute honour to work with the Lord Mayor over these last few months.  She has really taken the Tiny Lives Appeal to her heart and has worked tirelessly to raise both funds and awareness of the cause. 

"The £100,000 raised by the Lord Mayor to date is already being put to good use, funding life-saving equipment that helps premature and critically ill babies breathe and grow and get better.  We're really looking forward to working with both her and the staff at Cardiff Council, who have also provided such wonderful support, again in 2019."

Events planned for 2019 will include The Great Welsh Walk, a fundraising challenge starting in Machynlleth on Saturday, 11 May and ending in Cardiff Bay six days later, taking walkers through some of the most striking scenery in Wales. For more information please visit https://noahsarkcharity.org/greatwelshwalk/

The Lord Mayor will then host a Gala Ball at City Hall on Friday 17, May to mark the last day of the walk.

The Noah's Ark Charity helps create brighter todays and a better tomorrows for the 73,000 children treated at the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales each year. Its aim is to ensure the best outcome and experience possible for children and families by providing funding for the most up to date equipment and facilities. It also funds support services for families like the play specialist team, who help children be children, despite the difficulties they are facing.

As part of their ongoing commitment to helping ensure the best specialist care possible for children, the charity launched the Noah's Ark Tiny Lives Appeal with the aim of raising £1 million for the neonatal unit at the University Hospital of Wales. The money raised by the Lord Mayor during the campaign will be spent on specialist life-saving equipment like ventilators, which help premature or critically ill babies to breathe.

To find out more about the Noah's Ark Tiny Lives Appeal please visit www.noahsarkcharity.org/tinylives

Donations will be gratefully received. https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/chfw/lordmayorofcardiff

Please send cheques, payable to ‘Cardiff Council Lord Mayor's Charity' to:

Protocol Office
Mansion House
Richmond Road
Cardiff. CF24 3UN.

If you wish to organise a fund-raising event to support the Lord Mayors Charity please email: ProtocolOffice@cardiff.gov.uk or call 029 2087 1543.