Alfie Boe fans love to keep up with all things Alfie and one of the things that they often ask about is the charities he supports.  Alfie is either an ambassador or patron of several charities but one that is particularly close to his heart is the Trinity Hospice, located on the Fylde Coast.  Serving both adults and children, Trinity relies on fundraising to find all the £5 million annual costs.

Alfie became a patron several years ago after being approached by the fundraising team to see if he would consider becoming an official supporter of the hospice.  Alfie of course hails from Fleetwood – just up the road from the hospice – and press officer Shirley Morgan says they “were absolutely thrilled when we got not only a ‘yes’ , but the news that he would become a Patron”.  Since then, Alfie has supported Trinity with public messages of support which generates a lot of interest both locally and around the world; an example of this is the Trinity Tea Parties of the last couple of years in which Alfie urged everyone to “put the kettle on” raise money.  This aspect of Alfie’s support is crucial as donations increase dramatically whenever Alfie supports them publicly.  There is an increase in activity, which can be traced back to Alfie supporters who are a fabulously loyal bunch.  Many fans see it as a way of giving something back to a performer who brings them so much joy, and Trinity are very grateful for their generosity.

Aside from the public messages of support, Alfie also takes time to support Trinity in less obvious ways.  One such way was about a month ago,  when Shirley Morgan had a call from the nurses at the hospice to say that one of the patients – a long time Alfie fan – had become very ill, and her family had been talking about how much Alfie’s music had meant to her. She had even named her medicine pump after him! It was a Friday lunchtime, but Shirley called Alfie’s team at Vector, in the hope that a few words of support from Alfie could be passed along to the patient.  In Shirley’s words, this is what happened next:

I knew it was a big ask because he was due on stage in Carousel that night – but his team said they would see what they could do. I had to leave work a bit early to drive my son home from school, but as I stepped through my front door at 6pm my phone pinged. It was a message from Alfie’s team, and I immediately thought I must write it down and get it back to the hospice as soon as I can. But when I opened the email and looked more closely I realised it was actually a video, recorded for our patient that afternoon by Alfie, sending love and support. He said he would be thinking of her as he was on stage that night. I downloaded it onto my iPad and went back to the hospice. I wish I could tell you how much joy it brought, not just for the lady in question, but also for her family, who were at her bedside. If only I could have caught it on camera – she simply could not believe that he had gone to so much trouble and that she had him, talking directly to her, in her room, just as he was going on stage in London. It’s a moment I won’t forget. Sadly, she died a few days later. Her family gave me permission to share the story with you; until now we haven’t told anyone, but they want people to know how much it meant and what an amazing memory it has given them.

I don’t know about you but when I first heard that story I shed a tear or two, and I know I speak for all of you when I say a huge thank you to the family of the lady concerned and best wishes going forward.

As mentioned earlier, Alfie’s fans love to support his chosen charities so stay tuned as there will be more news about Alfie and Trinity in the next few weeks.

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