If you’ll permit us to blow our own trumpet for a moment, Orion Homes have always been happy to support local charity initiatives and we recently donated some ‘brass’ to a very worthy cause as one of the sponsors of a fundraising concert at Ossett Town Hall featuring the world-renowned Black Dyke Band.
With a rich heritage dating back to the mid-19 th century, the Black Dyke Band has toured the world and made over 350 recordings, including the music for popular Television series such as ‘Ground Force.’ With multiple industry awards, they have become one of the UK’s most famous brass bands and their concert was presented by Pat’s People, a charitable fundraising organisation working in support of the Ray of Hope Trust Fund at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, part of Leeds Cares.
Pat’s People is into its ninth year of fundraising for St James’s Hospital. The organisation was founded in 2010 by Graham Willis after he lost his wife, Patricia, to gallbladder cancer. Graham and his son Stephen have done some fantastic work through Pat’s People and to date they have raised over £39,000 with help from the Black Dyke Band’s annual concert appearances. Orion Homes are long-standing supporters of Pat’s People, having sponsored their charity concert for the last eight years, and we were delighted to continue our association again with a £250 donation towards the 2019 edition.
Graham said: “We raised over £3,100 this year, which makes a total of £43,000 since we started. The help of businesses like Orion, who have supported us all along, is greatly appreciated. We shall do another concert next year, date 25 th April 2020, and we want to sell even more tickets than this year.”
Gallbladder cancer, part of the hepatobiliary strain, is a rare and aggressive form of the disease. The Oncology Department at St James’s is world-renowned, but hepatobiliary research is urgently in need of manpower and funding. There are usually seven research fellows working specifically in this area, and it costs each one £10,000 annually in laboratory expenses alone. If you would like to support Pat’s People, donations large and small are always gratefully received at justgiving.com/GrahamWillis
