A collection among Rugby League fans for severely disabled local girl Tehyah, taken at the Oldham RLFC v Keighley Cougars game at the Vestacare Stadium, raised an amazing £627.37p.
Click on the Just Giving link (below) and you’ll see the initial target of £10,000 has been surpassed – a fantastic achievement by all concerned, but particularly by Sarah Tate, who volunteered to be in charge of fund-raising and to give her all for this exceptionally worthy cause.
Sarah led the collection team at our first Betfred League One game of the 2022 season and has since thanked the club for providing the opportunity to have a collection and our fans for displaying such wonderful generosity.
Said club chairman Chris Hamilton:
“As a club, we were proud to invite Tehyah and her Mum and Dad to present the match ball to the referee and to draw attention to their situation.
“Our massive thanks go to the fans for their generosity of spirit and their generosity for the bucket collection, the results of which were truly amazing.
“If, as a club, we can help local people who need and deserve support from fellow Oldhamers, Roughyeds will regard it as a privilege to do what we can.”
Now aged 11, Tehyah suffered several strokes and endured multiple operations from the age of three when her parents were told to expect the worst.
She was given only 12 hours to live, but eight years later she is still here, happy, smiling, but needing total 24-hour care and all manner of aids and special equipment costing thousands of pounds.
Among several other disabilities, she suffers from a condition called GACI (General Arterial Calcification in Infancy); is paralysed from the neck down; and is fed through a tube.
As well as everyday items, Tehyah needs specialist equipment to improve her quality of life, such as a new wheelchair, a special bed and a mobility vehicle. She has had her wheelchair for several years and it is no longer adequate. The same applies to her specially-adapted bed.
A JustGiving link is here
Said fund-raiser-in-chief Sarah:
“It was out of this world to reach £10,000 in ten weeks for this Oldham lass, born and bred.
“The support of the local community as a whole has been uplifting and I have a real sense of the local community coming together in a very special way and for a very worthy cause.
“It was a truly memorable occasion to be at the Oldham Rugby League Club and on behalf of the family, I would like to thank thank Chris and the club for inviting us all to be there and also thank all those fans who listened to Tehyah’s story and then showed their tremendous support. A heartfelt thank-you to you all.”
At the time of writing, the fund stood at £10,169 “to enable a special little girl to have a better quality of life with equipment she needs desperately.”
