Newhey girl raises thousands for children's hospital after busking on her birthday

Scroll down for Video

A nine-year-old girl from Newhey has raised thousands of pounds for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital by busking on her birthday.

Jacey-Mae Hand celebrated her ninth birthday in an unconventional manner: by taking to the streets of Bury and Manchester with her guitar.

Starting off in Bury, the little girl raised £263 – and quickly wanted to do it again, this time “with more people.”

Her dad, Jason Stead, told Rochdale Online: “Four days before her birthday, Jacey said she wanted to busk.

“A friend made a board explaining what she was doing, and we decided to donate the money to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.”

After the successful first day, the father and daughter duo went into Manchester, with a crowd soon gathering around the talent. In total, they spent five days out on the street for the hospital – including a cold Christmas Eve – raising over £3,300.

One kind stranger who watched the performance even donated £100 to the cause.

Playing a mixture of her own songs, and Christmas songs, Jacey-Mae also performed a rewritten version of the classic John Lennon track, ‘Imagine’, with a focus on the current pandemic.

Jason added: “Jacey was playing for hours. Even though it was two degrees on Christmas Eve, that didn’t stop her; she would have carried on. Loads of people were stopping, giving her food, presents, chocolates as well as money. Some other buskers also stopped and gave her some money.”

 

 

Jacey-Mae began playing guitar at the age of seven, and her talents have been nurtured by her parents after her teacher said musical talent came to her naturally.

She loves to perform “because I like to see the smiles on people’s faces.”

Jacey-Mae dreams of becoming a singer-songwriter when she’s older and spent time in previous lockdowns playing at the end of her grandad’s drive.

This summer, she aims to play on the open air stage at Queen’s Park in Heywood.

Donations via JustGiving are still welcome for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

To donate, please visit:

• www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jacey-mae-hand