West Yorkshire Windows recently starred in a primetime treat on Sky1 – Noel’s Christmas Presents, which is reported to be the most viewed show on Sky TV. The leading double glazing company was called in by the shows’ producers to provide and build a conservatory for tireless charity worker Valerie Lepedat.
Seven years ago Valerie established a charity to help people who were suffering from the effects of chemotherapy but today, Valerie is terminally ill with breast cancer herself. Noel’s Christmas Presents was created to reward people like Valerie, by presenting them with gifts for deserving people that they could otherwise simply not receive.
The team behind the popular TV show discovered that Valerie’s charity, Aurora, is based in a building too small for its needs, and that Valerie had expressed a desire for it to be extended with a conservatory. West Yorkshire Windows and Conservatory Outlet were invited to take part, and make Valerie’s dream a reality.
The 90-minute show, which appeared over Christmas, showed Noel Edmonds present Valerie with a holiday. This gave the professionals at West Yorkshire Windows enough time to build the 8m x 4m conservatory adjoining the existing Aurora Centre at Mexborough Montague Hospital. Once it was completed, Noel Edmonds – together with friends and family – surprised Valerie with the gift, along with a plaque commemorating all the hard work she had done.
Andrew Glover, director of West Yorkshire Windows, said: “When we got the call from the production company, we jumped at the chance to help. Val has helped so many people with selfless actions – it was the least we could do to make her centre more comfortable for her patients.”
The Aurora Centre’s aim is to boost the self esteem and self confidence of patients while undergoing and recovering from related treatments of cancer. Often a patient will not only lose their hair as a result of radio therapy but also their eyebrows, eyelashes and the skin can often change colour. The Aurora Center offers free therapies that resolve all these side effects. It has been recognised that improving a person’s sense of well-being will dramatically improve their chances of overcoming their illness.
Val is a co-founder and the leading volunteer of Aurora, and the centre now gives its services free to over 500 patients a year. It is totally funded by donation. Val is involved not only in the day-to-day running of the centre but also with its three major fundraising events each year. Jayne, Valerie’s nominator, said: “I cannot quantify the number of hours Val puts into the charity each and every week or the many compromises she must have made to her own family life in order to support Aurora, but Val does this very quietly and humbly avoiding recognition and reward when in reality she is to many ‘the face of Aurora’.”
In return for West Yorkshire Windows and Conservatory Outlet’s charitable efforts, Sky promoted the company wherever possible, including a link to the company’s website created and manged by Motionlab from Sky’s website. Furthermore, almost 6m people were expected to watch the programme.
