A Gobowen mum has thanked the public after thousands of people including Ryan Reynolds donated to get her son life-saving surgery.
Jasmin Roberts said the support shown for her son Ollie has “been overwhelming in the best way” after thousands of people rally to get him life-saving surgery in America.
Ollie was diagnosed at only two weeks old with a very rare and complex heart condition and Jasmin launched a fundraiser to pay for his surgery at Stanford, which will cost £1.5million.
“I’ve been more than shocked,” said Jasmin. “It has been overwhelming in the best way. I have had so many messages. I have had so many people giving support – I can’t reply to everyone because that’s how many messages I have had.”
Ollie’s case was already the top trending fundraiser on GoFundMe however a social media clip of Jasmin went viral earlier this month gaining around four million views on TikTok and Instagram.
The surge in donations saw the fundraising total explode from £55,000 to nearly £300,000. During this time, Wrexham goalkeeper Callum Burton and his family took an interest.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Residents shocked after 'unstable' trees are felled on the Llanforda estate
- Oswestry dad faces prison if he doesn't pay £6,000 child support
- 'Pleasant' and 'well established' pub in a village near Oswestry up for sale
“His wife messaged me and were giving their support,” said Jasmin. “Then they messaged me again to tell me that Callum has taken his story to Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds and just out of nowhere they donated £10,000.”
This comes after Jasmin getting £10,000 donation from both author Leigh Rivers and nutrition company Applied Nutrition.
However, this will be dwarfed by a gigantic fundraiser by Chaotic Games who have set up a a special Chaotic game called ‘Chaotic Goldfish - Save Ollie Edition’ where every entry helps contribute towards Ollie’s GoFundMe.
“They have aimed to pledge £100,000,” said Jasmin. “It is an insane amount of money they had already donated £7,500.”
Jasmin added that while the big donations have been "incredible" it has been the widespread support from people giving what they can and sharing the story that has made the difference.
“We have been hitting £30,000 a day from people just donating £10 or £20,” said Jasmin.
“Over 15,000 people have donated, I don’t have the words to say how amazing it is that all these people are coming together for my little boy
“Lots of people are just doing lots of different things we’ve got loads of people doing things like raffles and tombolas.
“Primary schools and secondary schools, they are doing own clothes days for Ollie. Woodside School raised £500 just yesterday.”
Help support trusted local news
Sign up for a digital subscription now: www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk/subscribe/
As a digital subscriber you will get
- Unlimited access to the Oswestry Advertizer website
- Advert-light access
- Reader rewards
Due to the nature of Ollie’s condition the money needs to be raised as soon as possible which Jasmin acknowledges is “incredibly hard” but it would give Ollie a very high chance of success.
She added: “Thank you I can never, ever put it into words to try and help my little boy who they don’t even know. I don’t even know what to say.
“Now people have seen his story we don’t feel alone anymore and it feels like he has got his own little army behind him.”
You can donate to Ollie's fundraiser via: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-baby-ollies-heart
Share