💛 Why Ward Buddies Exists

Hello, my name is Jamie McDonald 👋 - some people call me Adventureman. I’m the founder and a volunteer of Ward Buddies.

When I was a kid, I spent long stretches of my life in hospital. What I never truly understood – until therapy as an adult – was how deeply those moments shaped me.

There were times I was left on the ward alone. No family. No familiar voices. Just the machines, the disinfectant, and the fear that maybe… I’d been forgotten.

In therapy, decades later, I finally found the words for it:

emotional abandonment.

That discovery changed everything.

🌱 What We’re Doing Right Now - at Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Today, we are working inside the second-largest children’s hospital in the UK.

At Birmingham Children’s Hospital, there are children who spend long hours — sometimes whole days, even a full week — without visitors. Some parents are juggling work, siblings, caring responsibilities or sheer crisis.

Some families simply can’t be there.

And some children, heartbreakingly, don’t have anyone at all.

Just like my parents couldn’t always be by my hospital bedside, Ward Buddies was created to step into that gap.

Thanks to early support, we’ve been able to fund a full emotional-support team this year:

Our team on the wards

💛 Dr Psychologist – 1 day a week

💛 Assistant Psychologist – 4 days a week

💛 Support Worker – 4 days a week

💛 25 trained volunteers offering play, comfort, listening and emotional support

They help children feel emotionally held — not forgotten or abandoned.

Impact so far at Birmingham Children’s Hospital

📘 Specialist staff hours with children: 2,000

🤝 Volunteer hours delivered: 6,000

🌈 Children supported: 500

Every one of these hours matters.

Every Buddy makes a difference.

Every child supported is a child who didn’t have to face the hospital alone.

🙌 What Your Donation Will Do

To keep Ward Buddies running for another full year at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, we must raise:

🎯 £67,858.90 by 30th April

100% of your donation supports our frontline emotional care team:

💛 Dr Psychologist (3 days a week)

= £23,590.84

💛 Assistant Psychologist (4 days a week)

= £28,598.96

💛 Support Worker (2.5 days a week)

= £15,669.16

💛 50 volunteers, (doubling our volunteers from last year)

Next year, we aim to double our impact and reach 1,000 children.

Your support turns fear into safety, isolation into connection, and loneliness into comfort.

‼️ Why It’s Urgent — and Why You Can Trust This 💛

Children at Birmingham Children’s Hospital are already feeling the impact of Ward Buddies. But to keep this going – and protect them from loneliness and emotional abandonment – we must raise £67,858.90 by 30th April.

That deadline marks the end of our first full year. Without these funds, the support currently on the wards may not be there for year two.

But urgency doesn’t mean instability.

As the founder – and as Pride of Britain’s “Fundraiser of the Year” – I’m committed to long-term sustainability.

While we raise this year’s funding, we’re already building the foundation.

Ward Buddies isn’t short-term. It’s the beginning of a future where no child faces a hospital ward alone.

Your support today protects this year – and builds the foundation for every year after.

So yes - the 30th April deadline matters.

Children need us now.

But your donation also helps build something lasting. Something that could change children’s hospitals forever.

That’s why this moment is urgent.

And that’s why it’s worth believing in. 💛

🎬🍿 Watch: The Ward Buddies Documentary

If you have a few minutes, I’d love you to watch this.

WATCH HERE

This documentary captures the heart of Ward Buddies - the children on the wards at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, the emotional support they receive, and the ‘why’ behind everything we’re doing.

🥰 How You Can Help Right Now

💛 Donate

100% of your donation stays on the wards at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Goal: £67,858.90 by 30th April.

🔄 Share this page

One share can reach someone who donates or champions the cause.

📣 Spread the word

Tell anyone who cares about children’s emotional wellbeing.

🏆Start your own fundraising challenge?

Whether you run a marathon, or do a cake sale, start own fundraising page and challenge!

Every action – big or small – helps a child feel less alone. 💛

😊 Thank You

As the founder, a volunteer, and someone who once felt that same loneliness on a hospital ward… thank you.

On behalf of our staff, our volunteers, and – most importantly – the children who don’t always have a voice…

thank you. 🙏💛