Our sixteen year old daughter Rosie went on a shopping trip into Birmingham with a friend on Saturday 12th May 2001. At lunchtime the girls decided to have lunch in Centenary Square. Whilst relaxing enjoying the warm spring sunshine, with hundreds of other people, Rosie was stabbed in the abdomen, in a totally random and motiveless attack by a paranoid schizophrenic.

Rosie was taken to Birmingham City hospital where she underwent 5 hours of emergency surgery. Unfortunately the injury she sustained was too severe and she died whilst in theatre.

Rosie’s attacker appeared at Birmingham Crown Court in December 2001, after admitting manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. He was ordered to be detained indefinitely in a secure mental hospital, under the Mental Health Act.

To view a web site about Rosie's life click here.

The BBC and the Press have articles on the case which can be found on the links page here.

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About memorial fund

The Memorial Fund was the stepping-stone for Rosie’s Helping Hands.

We immediately felt that something positive should come from Rosie’s
tragic death. Rosie was a young girl full of life, love and fun and that is
how we wanted people to remember her.

We began raising funds for both the Accident and Emergency Department and Theatres at City Hospital to buy them much needed equipment. Shortly after losing Rosie we found her ‘Will’ which was more of a ‘Thank you’ to the people she loved.
In this document Rosie asked for some of her money to go to Breast Cancer Research.
Why Rosie chose this particular charity we do not know, she gave to various
charities wherever she could.

We asked people for donations rather than flowers at Rosie’s thanksgiving service, from this we received many donations with cards people sent us around this time. People then began suggesting ways in which they could help, the first event was a cricket match and disco. Ideas began to roll in and we found ourselves becoming organisers of social events, each well supported by local people.
The Fund became established with the help of a solicitor with intentions to finish it after a year. However, support from the public and local press made it apparent towards the end of the first year that this was not going to be a temporary fund.

The turning point came after the huge response to Rosie’s Walk held on the first anniversary of Rosie’s death. That one event raised an overwhelming £27,000 and we became bombarded with requests for it to become an annual event.

At the end of the first 18 months with the generous help and support of the public £57,888 was raised. The money was distributed between Birmingham’s City Hospital Accident & Emergency Department and the Institute of Cancer Studies at the University of Birmingham. Please see Testimonials for more information.

At the end of September 2002 the Memorial Fund officially closed and Rosie’s Helping Hands was born.

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About Rosie's Charity

In April 2003 Rosie’s Helping Hands received official charity status with the charity commission of England and Wales.

The Trust is made up of 5 Trustees; Sean Ross, Roger Corbett, Maxine Barlow, Lynne Williams and Lynn Strachan. Each bring their own valuable experience and skills to the Trust.

Rosie’s Helping Hands employs only one person Karen Ross. As the charity has grown over the past 5 years and the work involved in managing the charity has steadily increased, the Trustees decided to employ Karen on a part time basis as the Chief Executive to oversea all the work involved and day to day activities. Karen’s work is divided between administration, Public Relations and fundraising, she is usually the first point of contact anyone has with the charity.  With the employment and total commitment of Karen, the charity will be able to develop and move forward. The work of the charity is helped enormously by a good number of loyal and committed volunteers who assist with events and behind the scenes.  To become a Volunteer please visit ‘Get Involved’ page.

To view grants given please click here and visit the Testimonials where you can read how a donation has helped specific projects.

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