THANKS to your generous donations, The Big Push has smashed the £20,000 mark.

Since we launched the campaign in July, the cash has been rolling in and our total currently stands at £20,964.

With the kind donations, Russells Hall Hospital has been able to buy 34 new wheelchairs, which cost £600 each.

Karen Phillips, fundraising manager for the Dudley Group NHS Charity, said: “We have just topped the £20,000 mark, which we are really pleased about and we have a further £4,000 in pledges from ongoing fundraising.

“We have been really pleased with the response. We have had businesses sponsoring wheelchairs, people running marathons to sponsor one, schools fundraising - everyone seems to be taking this to heart.

“Also readers of the News have donated nearly £4,000 by dropping off cheques at the office in Stourbridge.”

She added: “The new-style wheelchairs have been really well received. Patients are really liking them, patients’ families are finding them easier to push and manoeuvre and our staff obviously love them.

“We do still have a little way to go so please get behind us to reach 50 wheelchairs.”

Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Trust, added: “We have received such overwhelming support from our local community and we are delighted to be so near our target of 50 new wheelchairs.”

Every donation or fundraising event, large or small, will take us one step further to our £30,000 target.

If you want to make a donation, you can call into our offices at St John’s House, Stourbridge, and give cash or cheques - made payable to Dudley Group NHS Charity/Wheelchairs.

People can also donate by texting NEWS66 and an amount of £2, £5 or £10 to 70070 or online via www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/dghc/wheelchairs.

Online donations made by UK taxpayers can be boosted by 25 per cent - at no extra cost - by selecting the GiftAid option.