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Date of release: 19th February 2025
McKala’s boost for young cancer patients
A champion fundraiser who has handed thousands of pounds to Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital over the years has added another £4,320 to her impressive tally.
McKala Harrold runs Celebrity Random Raffles on her Facebook page and has persuaded some of TV’s best loved soap characters to support her including former Emmerdale actor Danny Miller, Jamie Lomas from Hollyoaks, Samia Longchambon from Coronation Street, and Eastenders’ Scott Maslen, to make celebrity appearances.
Her Celebrity Random Raffle initiative sees her host a twice-weekly raffle with people paying 20p or a £1 a go and every year she raises money for causes that are important to her. She has previously supported Wolverhampton’s Diabetes Centre as her dad Keith has diabetes, the Neonatal Unit and Integrated Critical Care Unit.
And the grandmother’s latest fundraiser saw her host an event at Willenhall’s Gilbert’s Bar just before Christmas, once again with star-studded support from Mikey North and Sam Aston who play Gary and Chesney in Coronation Street.
McKala explained: “I was originally going to buy Christmas presents for children in hospital over the festive period, but we couldn’t quite make this work out, so I decided to donate the cash to Paediatric Oncology for the staff to use in any way that makes things better for children having treatment.
“The raffles have grown over time and over the six years we’ve been doing this New Cross Hospital has thousands of pounds from our events which does make me feel proud. My friend Janine Oakley needs a mention as she has been a fantastic help with it all and I don’t think I could have done it without her. We’ve been able to hand over £4,320 this time and it was great to see how pleased staff were.”
Dr Julie Brent, Consultant Paediatrician at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said McKala’s donation would help improve “bland” cubicles for children having chemotherapy and other treatment.
“We’d like to brighten the spaces up with artwork as children can spend considerable periods of time here having treatment and the cubicles are bland at the moment,” she said. “And this donation means we can also look at other distractions for them so thank you to McKala and all who have helped raise this money.”
Amie Rogers, Fundraising and Lead Digital Engagement Officer for the RWT Charity, added: “We are so grateful for everything McKala has done for our patients – the many thousands raised over the years are incredible and this latest donation will clearly make a big difference to the children we care for.”