The good-hearted support worker from Hull needs your help to ensure unwell children have a happy Christmas this year
A kind-hearted young man from Hull is looking for help from local people to ensure unwell kids in hospital have a good Christmas this year. After finding himself in a ‘dark place’ and reaching out to others to get him through, the latest creative idea to ‘do something amazing’ seeks to help children stuck in hospital when Christmas 2025 comes around.
With the festive season not too far off already, local man Jack Nelson Dunlin-Balmforth is thinking in advance – and he’s donating £100 out of his own wages each month to his own fundraising venture.
However, Jack, aged 29, needs help from other good-hearted people as he aims to raise £2,000 between now and November – and it’s all going to be used to buy Christmas presents for women and kids in the Hull Royal Infirmary.
Jack, who works as a support worker, has set up a fundraiser, Helping Hand, and he’s created a Facebook page for the project. The page currently has a few dozen followers, but Jack wants to build up awareness and get other local people involved and to donate to the cause.
After going through a tough time several months ago, Jack has found that helping others makes him feel positive. He began sharing uplifting quotes on Facebook which helped him and, in turn, helped others reading them, but he recently came up with a new idea to help children in hospital.
Jack said: “After a big break up (at the end of 2023) I found myself in a dark place at the time and people around me were worried. I reached out to Andy’s Man Club which really helped me get through it.
“I then shared a quote daily on Facebook which people found inspiring, but then people asked me what I was going to do next. I realised how much the quotes had helped other adults, but wanted to start up fundraising to help kids who are unwell.
“The Facebook page is about raising money for sick kids in hospital for Christmas presents. My goal is £2,000 before December 1, 2025. I have done multiple raffles and have a small following of 49 people so far – and they are all amazing.
“This all started back in 2024 when I was in a rough patch and did one quote a day for a year for mental health and I was asked what’s next. I just had to keep going and here I am today. I’m just a young man in Hull trying to make something better every day.”
Jack has set up a bank account called ‘Helping Hand Monzo’ to collect donations – and all the details can be found on the Facebook page, Helping Hand which you can follow here. He has already raised more than £1,300.
He will be buying toys, books, gift wrap and other festive items with all the money raised when the fundraiser closes on December 1.