L-R: Reece Thornton-Bate, Alder Hey Community Fundraiser Sarah Bennett and Paul Bate
A father and son who have become social media stars have donated three ride-on cars to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Reece Thornton Bate and Paul Bate donated the cars worth around £1000 through the Phat Lads Charitable Foundation – a charity they launched earlier this year.
The registered charity was launched off the back of their competition website Phat Lads Competitions which has given away more than £1 million in prizes to over 1000 winners since it was launched in 2020.
What started out as a side hustle during lockdown giving away a pair of children’s football boots has now grown a massive social media presence with around 66,000 followers across Facebook (including closed group members) and TikTok.
Reece and Paul set up the Foundation earlier this year to build on the fundraising activities and donations they’ve made since launching the company – including delivering food parcels and paying for medical equipment.
The charity recently donated £2,000 worth of ride on cars further down the M6, to Staffordshire Children’s Hospital at the Royal Hospital in Stoke and Crewe’s Leighton Hospital.
The remote-control ride-on cars, (a model Audi Q7, Aston Martin DB11 and a Land Rover Defender), donated to Alder Hey, which come with a built-in sound system will take children to appointments and the wards to help them feel less anxious.
The hospital cares for 330,000 children a year, or 900 every day – that’s one every minute.
Reece said: “Walking into Alder Hey to deliver the cars was quite surreal. It just didn’t look or feel like a hospital, it’s so well designed. We were shown around by the community fundraisers from the hospital’s charity who explained the thought around how the hospital had been configured and the plans they had for the future. Their passion shone through and it was obvious how much Alder Hey and the care it provides meant to them. When we delivered the cars they were like a magnet for the children and to see the smiles on their faces was fantastic. With 330,000 children being looked after there every year, we hope they’ll provide lots more smiles in the future.”
Paul added: “Now that Phat Lads has got such a big presence online, it gives us a real platform to help families and other causes that need support through the Foundation. We’re looking forward to holding further fund-raising events in the future to support causes like the Alder Hey Children’s Charity. The facilities at Alder Hey really are incredible and the work the charity does to help fund extra equipment, research and innovation is humbling.”
Sarah Bennett is a Community Fundraiser for the Alder Hey Children’s Charity. She said: “The cars are great. They’ve already attracted a lot of attention and I’d like to say a big thank you to the Phat Lads Charitable Foundation for this fantastic donation. Children can often be very frightened or nervous when they come to the hospital and hopefully the addition of these cars will help them relax and have some fun when they come onto site, helping ease the fear factor.”
Reece and Paul have big plans for the Foundation going forward and ultimately want to set up a foodbank and a clothes shop for people that need support but that won’t have to pay a penny.
The Phat Lads Charitable Foundation’s website will be launched soon. In the meantime, if you would like to find out more information, please contact [email protected] or message the Phat Lads Competitions Facebook page. To find out more about Phat Lads Competitions please go to: https://phatlads.com/.
To find out more about the work of Alder Hey Children’s Charity please go to: https://www.alderheycharity.org/.
