A 22 year old graduate from Reading, who was born with the rare liver disease, biliary atresia and received a life-saving transplant when he was 12, has raised over £4,000 for the charity which has supported him and his family since his diagnosis.
When Luke Alexander finished university this year, he and his family decided that the time was right to host a celebratory Bollywood themed event called Masti (which means fun in Hindi) to raise well deserved funds for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF).
“We had good reasons for a big get together,” explains Luke. “I’ve graduated, I’ve had 10 years of good health since my liver transplant, and when my sister got married last year it was a very small occasion due to Covid, so it was nice to mark the occasion properly.
“During the evening I made a speech about my journey with liver disease and we observed a minute silence to pay respect to my donor who would have been 23 this year, and their family.
“We wanted a fun evening of music, dancing and great food and we hoped that through the raffle, silent auction and donations, we would raise at least £1,000 for CLDF a charity that is so close to our hearts.
“We were all very proud and happy that the evening exceeded our expectations! Everybody got into the spirit, dressed in Indian outfits and danced the night away! We were so humbled with our friends’ generosity eventually raising an amazing £4,256!
“We decided to make the trip to Birmingham to hand over the cheque in person to the CLDF team. It so happened that we visited on the final day of the Commonwealth Games, so there was a real buzz about the city which was an added bonus!”
Mica Howard, CLDF’s Fundraising and Supporter Care Officer, added: “We are the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases, by providing information and emotional support, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. In order to do this however, we rely on voluntary donations, so we are delighted that Luke and his family chose to support us in this way. This is an amazing amount to raise in one evening and we are so grateful to Luke and his family for all their hard work. Knowing that they had such fun in raising this money makes it even better!”
