On Friday last week I strode into the Nat West bank with just over £6,000 in my back pocket. Twenty minutes later, the mixture of cash and cheques had been counted and paid in . . . and the account of Y Green (on behalf of Troy, Rory, and Alice) was up and running.
After reading in The Evening Telegraph about the three Whittlesey children having to sell off personal possessions to pay for their mother's funeral, I felt compelled to help. Within minutes of mentioning it on the Hereward FM Breakfast Show the foll
owing morning, calls from listeners came flooding in offering donations to help the family.
The biggest single offer was for £2,500 from Darren Ferguson (the Posh manager), a father himself and a man moved as much as I was for the terrible situation these kids were in. He was one of our first callers actually, and was adamant that we all work together to raise what was needed. A number of businesses pledged £500, and countless kind individuals gave what they could. One lady rang in to offer £20, but was sobbing so hysterically, that I couldn't understand her words.
But all along my only intention was to get enough money to help see the family through this most anxious of times. I offer my heartfelt thanks to all those who gave, and feel now a line must be drawn on the story, to allow the family to have a dignified and private funeral next week.
The children's auntie Yasmien, a humble and kind spirited lady, is now looking after all the arrangements, and I have been in constant contact with her, as we co-ordinate our efforts to help.
My own feelings of gratification that I could use my position as a local breakfast show presenter to such a positive effect were also magnified during this period. The spirit and generosity of Peterborough people is quite stunning at times, and through TheET reporting this story, and Hereward FM driving the subsequent plea for financial help, a quite magnificent act of kindness was generated. And that's the power of local media.
So it was with a hint of sadness that I read in The ET letters section, comments suggesting that Hereward wasn't a decent local station. It is true that we have new owners, and yes there will be some changes to our sound in the coming months. But let me make one thing very clear. Helping the McCourt family like we have gets to the very essence of why I love my job so much. And when the (exciting) changes come to Hereward soon, nothing will ever get in the way of me working on a local, vibrant, compelling, relevant, engaging, and entertaining breakfast show, that gets into the heart of our city. Because for me that's what it is all about.
The full article contains 481 words and appears in Peterborough ET newspaper.
