As Theo Paphitis, King of the high street, self-confessed Shopkeeper and Dragons Den star celebrates his 60th birthday, a group of over 160 businesses from #SBS, an initiative of Theo’s, have come together to say happy birthday and thank him in a rather unique way by supporting the #NHS70/ThankYouNHS campaign of fellow #SBS winner, Nigel Richardson of Secret Hamper.

This group of businesses, including The Last Straw®,  have contributed towards sponsoring 70 bespoke sharing hampers for the staff at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), a hospital that Theo has supported over the last 10 years and is a cause close to his heart. These generous businesses have come from the North of England to Scotland and as far south as France to show their thanks in many ways. Nigel said “Theo has given so much to small businesses over the years who are part of SBS, some of which have had life changing opportunities. When I realised that this year saw his 60th Birthday I knew we had to do something special, but what do you get a multimillionaire?”

The aim of the #NHS70 project is to invite businesses, celebrities and individuals throughout the UK to recognise and celebrate 70 years of the NHS. Recognising the wonderful care given by the unsung heroes working at all levels within the organisation by sponsoring bespoke hampers to say a big Thank You for dedicating their lives caring for others.” Once the hampers are delivered, the contents are shared out and can reach 1000s of staff, giving the morale in the hospital and wards a real boost.

Having previously taken part in the #ManyHands appeal for RMCH that Theo spearheaded, Nigel thought how apt it would be to get #SBS winners involved with the #ThankYouNHS initiative. Nigel went on to say “RMCH was always going to be on our list but how special would it be if that specific delivery was just made up of SBS winners? With it also being RMCH’s 10th Birthday too. It was like it was meant to be!”

#SBS, Small Business Sunday, is a weekly initiative set up by Theo in 2010 and it now has well over 2200 winners and supports small businesses in the UK. Both the SBS and NHS initiatives are passionate about giving back and the feel good factor as well as raising profiles, recognition and exposure and increasing awareness. Happy Birthday Theo and Thank You!