Sheffield Hospitals Charity welcomes the newest member of their team, Chari-kitty!

The mascot was created by ten-year-old, Isabelle Flemons, who entered a special regional competition for Primary Schools, created through a unique partnership between Sheffield Hospitals Charity and the global educational resource publishing company Twinkl.

The charity received hundreds of entries for the competition, but the winning design of a friendly cat with, rainbow cape and nurses hat caught the imagination of the judges.

Isabelle visited Twinkl HQ, alongside her mum who works for the NHS in Sheffield and helped to bring Chari-kitty to life alongside their world-renowned design team. The character will then be transformed into a life-size mascot to entertain charity supporters for years to come.

Sam Earnshaw, Head of Corporate Partnerships and Major Giving at Sheffield Hospitals Charity, said,  “We have been overwhelmed by the time, energy and effort shown by children across Sheffield and South Yorkshire for our mascot design challenge. The most difficult part was choosing our winner, there were so many amazing entries. Isabelle’s winning design perfectly captures what Sheffield Hospitals Charity is all about. Celebrating our NHS superheroes and caring for everyone.”

“It was great to see Charikitty brought to life by Isabelle with the help of Becky the Twinkl illustrator, and we can’t wait to see the life-sized version come back from production in the new year. We have to say a huge thank you to Tiffany Jackson and the Twinkl team for their incredible contribution to this initiative.”

Isabelle, Winner of the Sheffield Hospital's Mascot Design Challenge, said, "I felt really amazed when I found out I had won, I couldn't believe it when my mum told me, I even had to get my sister to pinch me, so I could check I wasn't dreaming."

The mascot will be officially unveiled to Isabelle and her classmates with an extraordinary VIP visit to her School and to the public at the Sheffield United home game on the 11^th of February 2023.