Kitchen CD raises thousands

Kitchen CD raises thousands

28 March 2012 - by Ciara Colhoun

Kitchen CD raises thousands

A DOWNPATRICK teenager has raised almost £9,000 for the Northern Ireland Hospice through the sales of a CD recorded in his own kitchen.

Fifteen year-old Matthew Campbell has sold 1,000 copies of his CD ‘My Way’, which he released at Christmas.

A passionate musician with a number of accolades under his belt including the title of Best Male Voice in the Association of Irish Musical Societies, Matthew decided to produce the CD last year to document his musical career to date.

It was during a chat with his family that the St. Patrick’s Grammar School student decided it would be a good idea to produce extra copies of the CD and attempt to sell them in aid of the Northern Ireland Hospice.

He says he decided to select the hospice because he knew it was looking for funding and believed extra money would be appreciated.

Matthew was stunned by the success of his CD after U105 Breakfast presenter Maurice Jay played it on the radio and promoted Matthew’s talent. This led to a scramble as fans went out to buy ‘My Way.’

The effort was further bolstered by other local outlets and particularly Marion Dickson, from Gordon’s Chemist in Downpatrick, who sold the CD locally and had it stocked in Gordon’s Chemists across Northern Ireland.

Matthew’s mother Bernie said they were delighted that the amount raised was now expected to be more than £9,000.

“It has been amazing and much more successful than we could have anticipated,” she said.

“My husband was initially producing the CDs one by one on our own computer but once things really took off we had to have 1,000 printed professionally and we believe there are now just a handful remaining in the St. Patrick’s Centre, which took the last batch,” she said.

“We would really like to thank everyone who bought Matthew’s CD and the retailers who sold it.

“We particularly wish to thank Marion from Gordon’s Chemist who supported our fundraising efforts and helped us to sell the CDs in Gordon’s Chemist stores across Northern Ireland.

“Another big thank you to everyone at UTV and U105FM because without their help in promoting Matthew’s CD we would not have been able to raise so much”.

NI Hospice Community Fundraiser Jenay Doyle said she would like to thank Matthew and his family for all their support and for raising such a fantastic amount for the Northern Ireland Hospice in just four months.

“The money raised will be used to provide specialist nursing care to patients with life limiting conditions and their families,” she said.

“Just £30 pays for one hour of specialist care. This donation will make such a difference to the local people we care for in N. Ireland.”