Black Country fundraiser helps raise more than £22,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital
A fundraiser from the Black Country has raised more than £22,000 for a hospital through a series of Christmas shows.
Stuart Cleaver, from Tipton, took to social media to help raise the vital funds for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
And now he has been left overjoyed after raising a total of £22,246.62 through 12 days of Facebook events he organised for the charity.
Mr Cleaver said: “We did 12 nights of entertainment all on Facebook. We really couldn’t have got anywhere without it.
“We just wanted to raise £1,000 and we wanted it to go to disadvantaged children for Christmas.
“Instead of having to pick someone, we just thought Birmingham Children’s Hospital do such incredible things all year round – we thought we would give them something for Christmas.
“It’s emotional when I talk about it to people, it’s emotional how everyone has pulled together. It’s been a journey, from start to finish, we’ve laughed and we’ve cried and it’s been amazing – I’m extremely proud of everyone.”
The 38-year-old builder sang with his daughter for one of the shows – with the family receiving an outpouring of support from people on Facebook who wanted to get involved.
Mr Cleaver said everyone had been so generous with their donations and he was left amazed after seeing the donations pour in as more and more people began to back them.
A cheque presentation is set to be held in January, with £14,000 of the money already donated and the rest waiting to be transferred from the fundraising page.
Mr Cleaver added: “There’s been so many people who’ve been involved – I just want to say thanks to everyone who has taken part in this.”
He said local artists had got involved which had helped them to reach the incredible target for the charity.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital treats children from across the UK and has an international reputation in areas such as liver transplantation, cardiac surgery and neonatal surgery.
