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CELEBRITIES KEEP DANCING FOR ROB BURROW AT A STRICTLY BALL FUNDRAISER BBC Breakfast’s Dan Walker and Sally Nugent, the Strictly Come Dancing pro Nadiya Bychkova, and Line of Duty star…
BBC Breakfast’s Dan Walker and Sally Nugent, the Strictly Come Dancing pro Nadiya Bychkova, and Line of Duty star Nigel Boyle, were just some of the celebrities taking part in a glitzy fundraiser in aid of the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
The Burrow Strictly Ball was the idea of the Rugby League legend’s sisters, Joanne Hartshorne and Claire Burnett. The pair hosted the star-studded night at Headingley Stadium on 19 March to raise funds towards the £5m appeal for Leeds Hospitals Charity to build the bespoke centre for MND.
Joanne said: “To see the smile on Rob’s face was brilliant. It was such a special and fun night. Everyone who took part were such good sports and so dedicated to raising as much money as possible for the Leeds Hospitals Charity to build a new Rob Burrow Centre for MND. Everyone knows how important this centre is to Rob to help others, and their loved ones, facing this devastating diagnosis and disease.”
Rob was diagnosed with MND in 2019, and since then his family has worked tirelessly to help raise awareness and funds for the Leeds Hospitals Charity’s appeal.
BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker and his Strictly partner, Nadiya Bychkova, were judges on the night and performed a special showstopping dance. They were joined by fellow Strictly contestant and Emmerdale star, Kelvin Fletcher, and comedian Jon Richardson. Charles Hanson from BBC’s Bargain Hunt hosted a live auction on the night. The event is expected to raise £100,000.
Since The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease appeal launched in September 2021, £1.87 million has been raised, thanks to support from the people of Leeds, the UK and beyond.
The bespoke centre will see all MND services housed under one roof for the first time. Patients will have access to a range of holistic support tailored to their needs, from speech and language therapy, to diet and nutrition advice, and physiotherapy.
Over 400 tickets were sold for the event, including to major businesses.
Comperes for the evening included BBC Look North’s Tanya Arnold and Danika Priim, who plays for the ladies Leeds Rhinos team. As well as a rugby player, Danika is a classically trained ballet dancer. Dancers included football coach and former player Brian Deane, Leeds Rhinos Legend Barrie McDermott, and Leeds Hospitals Charity’s ambassador, TV’s Dr Amir Khan.
Leeds Hospitals Charity is the charity of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. It supports Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds Children’s Hospital, Leeds Cancer Centre, St James’s University Hospital, Chapel Allerton Hospital, Seacroft Hospital, Wharfedale Hospital and Leeds Dental Institute.
Dr Khan said: “Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the biggest hospitals in the UK. Leeds Hospitals Charity raises crucial funds to support research, equipment and buildings to support NHS staff to deliver the best care for over a million patients and their families each year, so being ambassador is a role I am very proud of. The new Rob Burrow Centre for MND will make a huge difference to patients’ lives, their families and loved ones.”
You can find out more and donate to The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal through Leeds Hospitals Charity’s website https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/mnd
EDITORS NOTES
For more information contact clair@causeuk.com 0753 194 8014
Photographer credits Gerard Binks.
Photos show guests arriving on the red carpet.
About Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease (MND) affects the nerves – called motor neurones – in the brain and spinal cord. MND is a life-shortening disease with no cure. Although the disease will progress, symptoms can be managed to help achieve the best possible quality of life.
With MND, messages from the motor neurones gradually stop reaching the muscles. This leads the muscles to weaken, stiffen and waste. MND can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. Some people also experience changes to their thinking and behaviour. However, MND affects everyone differently. Not all symptoms will affect everyone, or in the same order. Symptoms also progress at varying speeds, which makes the course of the disease difficult to predict.
MND can affect adults of any age but is more likely to affect people over 50. There is a 1 in 300 risk of being diagnosed with MND. However, the prevalence of a disease is the number of people currently living with that condition. As the progression of MND can be rapid, fewer people are living with this disease than might be expected with a 1 in 300 risk. This means the prevalence is low, with up to 5,000 people living with MND in the UK at any one time. This is why MND is not seen as a common disease.
About Leeds Hospitals Charity
Leeds Hospitals Charity is the charity for Leeds Teaching Hospitals. We support NHS staff to deliver the best care for patients and their families, by raising funds for equipment, services, education and research.
Leeds Hospitals Charity provides support for eight areas which include Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds Children’s Hospital, Leeds Cancer Centre, St James’s University Hospital, Chapel Allerton Hospital, Seacroft Hospital, Wharfdale Hospital and Leeds Dental Institute.
Leeds Hospitals Charity supports NHS staff to deliver the best care for over a million patients and their families each year. Working with local communities, schools and businesses across the city and beyond, each year we provide £5 million in additional funding for Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust.
https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/mnd-centre-appeal
About Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leeds Teaching Hospitals is one the largest and busiest acute hospital trusts in Europe. Every year Leeds Teaching Hospitals provides healthcare and specialist services for people from the city of Leeds, Yorkshire and the Humber and beyond. We play an important role in the training and
education of medical, nursing and dental students, and are a centre of world-class research and pioneering new treatments.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals has a budget of £1.4 billion and employs around 20,000 people. Last year (2019/2020), the Trust provided over 1,645,000 treatments and episodes of care.
Our care and clinical expertise is delivered from seven hospitals on five sites, and they are all joined by our vision to be the best for specialist and integrated care.
Our staff helped to define the values and behaviours that we should work to, and this has become known as The Leeds Way. This forms the foundation of our culture, our ethos and how we work every day.