Special fundraising concert dedicated to Whitby's Evie Hodgson
Nine year-old Evie will be taking part in a special event later this year
There is going to be a special fundraising concert later this year in Whitby dedicated to Evie Hodgson.
The nine year-old girl from the town was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia in May 2020 before having a life-saving bone marrow transplant back in January this year.
She is going to be a special guest at the once-in-a-lifetime event in November at Whitby Pavilion where she will be singing a few songs herself.
Evie said: "My favourite song to sing is 'Your Song' by Elton John, he's my favourite singer too. He's amazing and I just enjoy singing so much. It's like my literal hobby.
"I haven't started practicing yet because we've only just found out what the songs are. We can't tell you the songs because it's a surprise and I'm really nervous. I'm super duper nervous but I'm going to get a new dress. A new, big and sparkly dress.
“I’m so excited that I get to sing in the concert as it will give me something to focus on as I have been stuck inside for so long recovering from my bone marrow transplant."
Evie's mum is Tina Hodgson and she said: "It's really overwhelming. I mean to us, she's the most amazing little girl in the world and when they reached out to us, it just made me realise how much the community have been behind Evie during this really difficult time, and it was so lovely and so heartwarming for them to be thinking of Evie like that.
"Please come along. Come and watch an amazing show which features Evie, she's goign to be singing some songs which are fitting with the theme. We're not allowed to say what songs they are, you've got to come along on the night and to hear Evie for yourself what she's going to practice so much.
"We just want to say a huge thank you to everybody who's supported us in the community and on social media. Evie's become a little bit of a superstar in our town and it's just really lovely. We've had such a hard year and we feel as though this concert is going to kind of close that chapter."
About the concert
'Someone Like Evie' will be a night of live music and charity fundraising to celebrate the courageous fight of Evie.
It has been produced by Whitby based, Chameleon Music Marketing, and it is hoped that the once-in-a-lifetime event and live auction will raise much needed funds for Evie’s choice of charities, Anthony Nolan and Aplastic Anaemia Trust, to make sure that someone like Evie will be supported when they need it the most.
Since being diagnosed in May 2020, Evie has, along with her family, selflessly dedicated her time to raising funds for the charities that helped to find her a bone marrow transplant, ensuring that their vital work can continue. Through her work she has also recruited over 25,000 new life saving stem cell donors and four of those donors have gone on to be a match for people in need.
Whitby Pavilion will host the event on Saturday 20th November 2021 with the evening being led by Katie Markham as Adele from ‘Someone Like You’ with a six-piece band.
Katie said: “It feels amazing to be able to raise money for such valuable causes, Evie is a real inspiration and I can’t wait to sing with her. It’s going to be an amazing night!"
Rowena Bentley, Senior Community Fundraising Manager at Anthony Nolan, said: "We are extremely grateful to Chameleon Music Marketing for putting on this fantastic event to raise money for Anthony Nolan.
"Evie and her family have witnessed the lifesaving work of Anthony Nolan first hand and we are happy to hear that Evie is doing well following her stem cell transplant earlier this year.
"The funds raised by the Someone like Evie event will enable us to carry out vital research and recruit potential stem cell donors to the Anthony Nolan register – any one of whom could give a second chance of life to someone in need of a stem cell transplant."
Stevie Tyler, Chief Executive Officer of Anthony Nolan said: "We are really grateful to the Hodgson family and everyone involved in organising this event. It is a great way to raise awareness of aplastic anaemia, a rare type of bone marrow failure.
"As a small charity we really appreciate the donation, it will really help us to continue to support people with aplastic anaemia and their families, as well as fund vital research. Thank you Evie and family."