Post by starshining on May 23, 2006 17:29:17 GMT 1
BABIES at Leeds General Infirmary were given the star treatment yesterday when Emmerdale's Lucy Pargeter handed over a £27,000 cash boost.
The 29-year-old raised the cash after reaching the semi-finals of TV entertainment show Soapstar Superstar earlier this year.
Lucy, who lives in Leeds, donated half the money raised to the Peter Congdon Neonatal Unit at the hospital to fund a new state-of the-art ventilator machine.
The star, who plays feisty Chastity Dingle in the Dales drama, set her sights on donating to the unit after giving birth to daughter Lola Grace at the LGI last year.
She told the YEP: "This unit has significance for me because I was in the LGI with kidney infections while I was pregnant.
"The ward I was on was right next door to the neonatal unit and when I couldn't sleep, I used to go wandering with my drip and get chatting to the nurses in there."
Moved
Lucy says she was moved by the lack of funds available for the staff.
"Nurses who work harder than any of us on any shows deserve the right equipment to do the job they are doing and if they have got one more piece of equipment then that is great. If I can use what I do for a job to help them then that's the least I can do."
Baby Lola Grace, now 10 months old, was actually born two weeks late.
"Thankfully I had a fantastic delivery and she was two weeks overdue so she wasn't premature. I was lucky."
But Lucy never forgot the nurses from the unit and when she came third in Soapstar Superstar, she split the money.
"We got a percentage of all the money from the show depending on how long we were in it and, thankfully, I was there until the last day."
Needy
Lucy raised over £54,000 thanks to viewers who took part in a phone-in vote and split the cash between the unit and the Sheffield-based charity Safe At Last which supports needy children.
Lucy performed alongside fellow Emmerdale stars Sammy Winward (Katie Sugden) and Roxanne Pallett (Jo Stiles) in the show to battle it out against rivals from EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.
But Lucy added: "I wouldn't go back and do it again. I was shattered and I didn't see Lola but it was a fantastic opportunity to raise some money."
Yvette Bartlett, neonatal service matron, said: "We're thrilled that Lucy has chosen the neonatal unit to receive such a generous donation.
"Not only does it mean we can purchase a new neonatal ventilator but it's also a real recognition for the team who looked after Lucy when she was here."
The 29-year-old raised the cash after reaching the semi-finals of TV entertainment show Soapstar Superstar earlier this year.
Lucy, who lives in Leeds, donated half the money raised to the Peter Congdon Neonatal Unit at the hospital to fund a new state-of the-art ventilator machine.
The star, who plays feisty Chastity Dingle in the Dales drama, set her sights on donating to the unit after giving birth to daughter Lola Grace at the LGI last year.
She told the YEP: "This unit has significance for me because I was in the LGI with kidney infections while I was pregnant.
"The ward I was on was right next door to the neonatal unit and when I couldn't sleep, I used to go wandering with my drip and get chatting to the nurses in there."
Moved
Lucy says she was moved by the lack of funds available for the staff.
"Nurses who work harder than any of us on any shows deserve the right equipment to do the job they are doing and if they have got one more piece of equipment then that is great. If I can use what I do for a job to help them then that's the least I can do."
Baby Lola Grace, now 10 months old, was actually born two weeks late.
"Thankfully I had a fantastic delivery and she was two weeks overdue so she wasn't premature. I was lucky."
But Lucy never forgot the nurses from the unit and when she came third in Soapstar Superstar, she split the money.
"We got a percentage of all the money from the show depending on how long we were in it and, thankfully, I was there until the last day."
Needy
Lucy raised over £54,000 thanks to viewers who took part in a phone-in vote and split the cash between the unit and the Sheffield-based charity Safe At Last which supports needy children.
Lucy performed alongside fellow Emmerdale stars Sammy Winward (Katie Sugden) and Roxanne Pallett (Jo Stiles) in the show to battle it out against rivals from EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.
But Lucy added: "I wouldn't go back and do it again. I was shattered and I didn't see Lola but it was a fantastic opportunity to raise some money."
Yvette Bartlett, neonatal service matron, said: "We're thrilled that Lucy has chosen the neonatal unit to receive such a generous donation.
"Not only does it mean we can purchase a new neonatal ventilator but it's also a real recognition for the team who looked after Lucy when she was here."
