Eyes down! Wolverhampton mum raises £1400 for children's liver charity with bingo night
A mother raised whose son was born with a rare liver diseased has raised more than £1,400 by hosting a bingo evening and raffle for a charity close to her heart.
Fabienne Raina, from Wolverhampton, was taking part in Big Yellow Friday, the national fundraising day for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF).
The charity is important to Fabienne and her husband Rakesh as they have received information and support from CLDF ever since their 11-year-old son, Noah, was born with the rare liver disease, biliary atresia.
He received a life-saving liver transplant in 2019.
Fabienne said: "CLDF has always been here for us, so we’ve always tried to give something back and have joined in Big Yellow Friday several times previously. Since Noah’s transplant in 2019 we’ve had Covid restrictions and I couldn’t plan an event, so it was great to finally be able to do something again."
The bingo night at Wightwick and Finchfield Cricket Club in Wolverhampton sold out weeks in advance.
"The team at the cricket club were so helpful with the planning of the event, my friends Lauren and Tracey helped me to sell tickets and we had a fantastic response from the local business community with over £1,000 worth of raffle prizes.
"It was great to be able to talk to people about the work of CLDF and the importance of organ donation, the bingo was great fun and Noah did the draw for the raffle which made him very proud and happy.
"In fact the only way we could have improved on the night was to have an even bigger venue as we were full to capacity with a waiting list! Everyone had a great time and I’m so proud to have raised an amazing £1417.
Charity’s interim CEO Katherine Myles said: "CLDF is the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all forms of childhood liver disease. Like all smaller charities, the pandemic hit us hard so we’re delighted that Big Yellow Friday could take place again this year.
"Fabienne’s bingo night is a wonderful example of community fundraising at its best and the money she has raised will make a real difference to children throughout the UK who are affected by liver disease."
You can still support Big Yellow Friday by going to childliverdisease.org/donate/.
