A THORNBURY ukulele band is celebrating raising a remarkable £20,000 for charity.
Thornbury Ukeaholics (above) have been collecting money for the Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity since 2013.
They started after band member Chris Butler’s daughter was treated in the intensive care unit at Bristol Royal Infirmary for a life-threatening illness.
After she made a full recovery, the band decided to donate the fees from their performances to Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity as a thank-you.
Eleven years on, their fundraising total has hit £20,000.
Chris said: “As a family we were overwhelmed by the situation and will be forever indebted to the doctors and nurses for the care and support that she and we received.
“The band is very pleased to be supporting Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity.
“Amongst our performance venues, we particularly value playing for local stroke support groups, memory cafes and care homes – we love seeing people’s faces light up, we enjoy performing and we earn a contribution to our fundraising, so everyone’s a winner!”
Band shows ‘dedication and passion’ for the cause
Since 2013 the Thornbury Ukeaholics have performed at the charity’s annual Christmas Star Concert four times, entertained NHS staff during a tea party celebrating 70 years of the NHS, taken part in appeals and campaigns, and starred in a new charity video.
In December, they performed at the Bristol Heart Institute as part of Audio Advent, an annual event across Bristol and Weston hospitals to spread some festive cheer to patients in hospital over Christmas.
Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity fundraising officer Saskia Norori-McCormac praised the group’s “dedication and passion” for the cause.
She said: “The Thornbury Ukeaholics have raised a truly astonishing amount of money that will make a huge difference at our hospitals.
“From everyone at the charity, I want to say a big thank you to all of the band players for joining our community of kindness and making a difference to patient care.”
All welcome to join
The Thornbury Ukeaholics meet every Thursday at 7.30pm at the Wheatsheaf in Thornbury – all are welcome.
Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity is the official charity for all ten hospitals run by the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.
Working alongside NHS staff, the charity makes multi million-pound investments to help enhance patients’ experiences by improving the hospital environment, funding the latest technology, supporting innovative treatments and funding internationally important medical research.
To find out more about Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity, visit www.bwhospitalscharity.org.uk.