Island fund-raisers were thanked formally for their massive sustained effort, but the most heartfelt appreciation came from the children and their families benefiting from the money.
One of those families, the Cricks, whose seven-year-old son Charlie has just had major corrective heart surgery, said the new facilities Islanders had paid for had changed their lives.
The money has paid for one of the floors of a new patient hotel, Weston House, which is across the street from the main site.
It is a place where children and young people can stay with their families before and after treatment in a comfortable, less stressful and, crucially for many, free ‘home away from home’.
