Black Country buskers proud to provide hospital with much-needed equipment
A Black Country hospital has benefitted from the selfless and devoted fundraising efforts of a buskers charity through the delivery of a new chair for breast cancer screenings.
The chair, which can be used by people unsteady on their feet when undergoing breast cancer screenings, has been provided for use at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley following a generous donation of £4,000 from Busking for Charity.
Billy Spakemon and Keith Horsfall from the charity travelled to Russells Hall Hospital on Monday to see staff at the Cancer unit and see the chair in action, which cost £4,000 and came from the funds raised by the charity in 2025.
Mr Spakemon said he and the charity had been involved with the hospital for several years, busking in the foyer and helping where they could, and said he had discussed with the hospital about what was needed back in 2024.
He said: "A couple of Octobers ago, we were talking to the hospital and they told me that the breast screening units were struggling to get decorated, but they were also not able to get some items through the trust, so we went to see them to find out what they wanted.
"They told me about this chair that, if they have ladies or gents who struggle to stand before the mammogram machine, they can sit down and it helps them through it a lot easier.
"I said that we would help with it as, at the end of each year, we give our charities £4,000 each and that money covered the cost of the chair, so as soon as they knew they were getting the money, they ordered it."
Mr Spakemon said he had been happy to go down and see the chair and talk to the staff at the unit about it and said it helped to honour the strapline of the charity.
He said: "The strapline of the charity is 'We're never going to change the world, but you will help us change somebody's life' and this chair is a way of showing that as they're not going to be self-conscious about standing up to have their screening done.
"It's really rewarding for us as well as it's lovely to see people happy with what we've helped donate and we have more plans for this year and more events and we've already raised just under £8,000, so more to come."
