Champion hospital volunteer Terry retires after raising £200,000

For half a century, Terry Roberts has been a familiar figure at Leeds General Infirmary, running a weekly charity stall often dressed as a cowboy.

His stall, along with supermarket bucket collections, have raised more than £200,000 over the last 50 years.

Now the much-loved figure at Leeds Teaching Hospitals has decided to hang up his collection box and retire as a volunteer.

Terry, 85, has been a volunteer since 1970 and is leaving his role with hospital charity Leeds Cares to move closer to his daughter April in Beverley.

He is easily recognised in the hospital due to his big personality, Shakespearean quotes, and his outfits – a cowboy or a US Civil War Cavalryman.

Even into his 80s, Terry was always ready and willing to roll up his sleeves and get stuck in.

After helping the Donkey Sanctuary, Wheatfields Hospice and St Gemma’s, Terry spotted an opportunity to fundraise for Leeds Cancer Centre after his wife 
passed away from liver cancer in 1993. “I love fundraising because I can see what a difference it makes to people’s lives,” says Terry.

“I also love meeting new people and there are always new faces to chat to at the hospitals.

“I feel that raising money for the hospital is what I was put on this earth to do. I am often the first person patients and visitors see when they come to hospital, so it’s important to make a good first impression.

“Often people come back into hospital many years after I first meet them.

“A lady once introduced me to her daughter who’d undergone a liver transplant as a baby 10 years ago. She said, ‘I bet you don’t remember us!’ but I did, and I was astonished that it had been ten years!

“I am very proud to have helped people in the hospital. It’s incredibly humbling to be in a place with so many great doctors, nurses and NHS staff.”

Sharon Link, Head of Community Fundraising at Leeds Cares, said: “It’s been such a pleasure working with Terry over the years. He is such a selfless person giving so much of his time to volunteer.

“Charities rely on the support of volunteers such as Terry and Leeds Cares is always looking for new volunteers to help raise funds for Leeds Teaching Hospitals.”

Leeds Cares could not continue to support Leeds Teaching Hospitals without volunteers like Terry.

To support Leeds Cares by volunteering, get in touch to discuss what opportunities are available. Contact the volunteering team on 0113 539 7020 or email [email protected]

Leeds Cares continues to provide funding for life saving and transformative equipment across Leeds Teaching Hospitals. leeds-cares.org