Lorraine Worsley Carter caught up with MaryHD at Media City to find out about her latest role.

Can you tell us about your role as Ambassador assisting KitAid?

MaryHD: “KitAid receives kit from every level of the football pyramid including Premier League clubs and many hundreds of grass roots clubs from across the UK. Each year around 70,000 items of kit are received, sorted and sent to projects via trusted charity partners.

“The charity has a saying – ‘It’s more than just a shirt…’ This is highlighted by feedback from many charity partners, as they use the kit for their projects. These range from Health/HIV education, gang crime prevention and even a recent example of a partner charity in Uganda using the donated kit to engage with poachers to stop them killing chimpanzees. The donated kits have also helped many thousands of teams who are often prevented from entering a league if they do not have a full kit. KitAid has over 30 charity partners and has delivered kit to 55 different countries in 4 different continents.

“I am honoured to be the first Ambassador since the death of Graham Taylor OBE in 2017, who was Patron of KitAid. My vision in my role of Ambassador for KitAid, is to raise as much public awareness of the incredible work that they do, providing hope, joy, and breaking down barriers and making a difference in the lives of those faced with immensely difficult circumstances. It is my hope to do so, using a diverse set of avenues through the media, music, fashion and sport, to bring to light new audiences who would not already be aware of the work that KitAid do.

How did your career begin?

MaryHD: “I got scouted by a photographer with regards to modelling, when I was 12-years-old, when I was with my mother in Manchester. He gave us the info of a Manchester model agency to go and see. I had some images done at the time, yet waited a further few years, until my height had increased, then I embarked on my journey in the modelling industry.

“My music career commenced via Fred Jerkins of DarkChild Entertainment (credits include the late Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey) he contacted me through my modelling website at the time. He saw on my bio, that I also write songs and wanted me to record some music to hear my vocals.
“This was followed by further recordings, with different music producers and encouragement from Nathan Morris (Boys II Men).

“Another music producer and songwriter I have worked with, whose work I had admired from a young age, is Jack Knight (known for his works with Bad boy Entertainment, Made in East New York, Hip Hop Period TV, (Credits JLo, Christina Aguilera, Faith Evans, Sean Combs). This came at such a time, that really aided me in faith and self-empowerment. He is such a wonderful man, we met in Los Angeles in 2017, after many years of online communication. It was lovely”.

Are you still modelling?

MaryHD: “I still do photoshoots. I started modelling from a young age and had periods later whereby I withdrew to focus solely on my music and charity work.
However, I love fashion and I enjoy the art of doing photoshoots. Clothing for fashion designers/brands and of course photoshoots for my music artwork -single/album covers.
Moreover, I am appreciative and thankful for the wonderful experiences and equally the lessons learned from the fashion industry to aid in my growth”.

You were invited to Buckingham Palace Garden Party for your work, how did that come about?

MaryHD: “I am also very proud of the work that I have done for Prince’s Trust by my work on a project called ‘Dreams’. I wrote the music for this, and coached girls between the ages of 16-25, to assist with confidence and to help raise their self-esteem.
“We performed the finished piece for Prince Charles, and I had the opportunity to meet him. More recently I was invited to a Buckingham Palace Royal Garden Party”.

What is your proudest moment in your career?

MaryHD: “I am proud of all the moments in my career, as it is in all the experiences that allow lessons to be learnt in life and adds towards the whole essence of continued persistence towards achievements and ultimately purpose. There are a lot of moments that are very dear to my heart, however, there are highlights that shine out to me, which include, doing meaningful music videos, filled with positive messages. I’m proud of ‘The Send A Heart Campaign’ that I orchestrated, which was sponsored by John Lewis in Partnership and received support from Tinchy Stryder, Amir King Khan and Sajid Mahmood among others. The campaign raised funds for the special baby care charity Bliss and of course singing for HRH Prince Charles and being invited to a Royal Garden Party.

“I’m also very proud and thankful of the music that I have done with Neil Shaw-Hulme and Johnny Douglas (Credits include the late George Michael, Kylie Minogue and Tina Turner…) I am very proud of my latest album to be released ‘Pure Love’ and of course being invited to become the first female ambassador for Kit Aid.”

For more details about the charity visit kitaid.net

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What is the work of Kidscan charity?

“In short, we are one of a small number of charities in the UK, solely dedicated to combating children’s cancer. We fund and manage research into new and improved treatments for children with cancer.  The charity is 17-years-old, set up by a group of medical scientists who were concerned that research into the life-threatening issue of children’s cancers was not improving at the rate they felt it should.

“We receive no statutory funding, but with the contributions from the public, volunteers and businesses we fund research to develop new treatments that not only cure children with cancer but also prevent the side effects of current treatments such as learning difficulties, mobility issues and infertility”.

What is its connection to Salford University?

“People are sometimes surprised to learn that there is a lab at Salford University, headed by Professor David Pye dedicated to the charity’s research. Since we launched in 2002, Kidscan has funded over 50 research projects and a development of one treatment is currently undergoing pre-clinical evaluation.

“The University also hosts our offices and supports us on many different operational aspects involving staff and students on all levels”.   

What developments have been enabled because of Kidscan?

“Our development of a treatment obtained from complex sugars derived from Irish Sea shellfish is currently undergoing preclinical evaluation. A new drug designed and synthesised by University of Salford scientists supported by Kidscan has helped to discover a way of allowing healthy cells to take charge of cancerous cells, stopping them developing into tumours. This could provide a new approach to treating early-stage cancers. Researchers at Salford and the University of Manchester found that a special type of the chemicals known as ‘kinase inhibitors’ opened up communication channels on the surface of cells, enabling healthy cells to ‘talk’ to the cancer cells and make them behave like normal healthy cells.

“We have also shown that manipulation of the amino acid Methionine in the blood can affect the proliferation of cancer cells. It was found that depletion of Methionine made the cancer cells more resistant to the clinically-used anticancer drugs Cisplatinum and Temozolamide, indicating that modulation of Methionine may be damaging when used in combination with these drugs”.

What does your role as CEO of the charity involve?

“My role is to forge partnerships with individuals, businesses, companies, other charities and voluntary organisations and to lead our great Kidscan team, where together, we can enable more research to be funded in order to develop treatments that are less damaging to the bodies of children and young adults.

“Over the past three months I have had the opportunity to take a number of our corporate and individual supporters to see the laboratory and supporters or would be supporters are able to find out for themselves about the ground-breaking research happening here in Salford”.

What was your background before joining the charity?

“I joined the charity in January 2019. My professional life began in print media, where I progressed to senior management positions with a number of major regional evening newspapers. In the early 90’s I moved to the charitable sector as Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Youth Games attracting the highest attendance of International Olympic Committee Members to a youth event. Since then I have led many charitable organisations including Greater Manchester Community Foundation, and the International Variety Club Children’s Charity in the North West”.

How can people get involved and or support the charity?

“Whether we are working alongside a large corporate organisation such as Squires Patton Boggs or a local business or individual we believe we are all in this together and so we work to find the best way we can assist Kidscan supporters’ efforts. Whether a company chooses us as charity of the year, a business agrees to take one of our collecting tins or organises a coffee morning we are delighted to help. For instance, recently Lime Bar at Salford Quays held a coffee morning for us. No idea or support is too small or too big – we can customise any initiative to suit any person or occasion”.

For more details about Kidscan visit www.kidscan.org.uk or for an informal chat about how you can get involved call Bob on 0161 295 3864.

Read: ‘Cancer does not make you look at death but at the life you are living,’ Zoë Law

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The bank holiday event takes place on Good Friday outside the Helly Hanson Water Sports Centre where you can choose a rubber duck for £2 to take part in the main race.

The event is sponsored by the Lowry Outlet, which means that all funds raised by the event will go to directly to support the charity’s work providing paediatric medical equipment and facilities for hospitals and community health teams.

Centre Manager for the Lowry Outlet, Kelly Hurst, says: ‘We are so pleased to be able to sponsor the Quays Duck Race, which is for a brilliant cause, that raises much needed funds for children in Salford and the surrounding areas. The event has a fantastic community spirit to it, which see families enjoying a great day out and raising money for charity’.

The charity is encouraging more businesses to get involved by sponsoring individually decorated Mega Ducks which will open the event with the first race of the day.

The charity is currently fundraising for a number of projects across the region including a hand-held blood analyser and other essential equipment for Salford Royal Hospital’s Paediatric Accident and Emergency Unit.

Currently staff process blood samples in other departments in the hospital, requiring a member of staff to leave the Unit during critical times. The hand-held device could be taken to a patient’s bedside and requires a much smaller amount of blood meaning a far more comfortable process for the patient.

Rachael Baird, the Unit Manager explains: ‘‘Having this device would quicken time critical decisions and improve emergency care, by enabling staff to stay by the patient’s side where they are needed the most’.

The event kicks off at 12.30pm on 19 April 2019 with refreshments, tombola stall and a chance to try out the Helly Hanson Centre climbing wall. The Business Challenge Mega Duck Race starts at 3pm followed by the Big Duckling Race at 3:30pm.

Ghazala Baig, Chief Executive at MedEquip4Kids says: ‘We are so thankful for the fantastic support received from Lowry Outlet and our Mega Duck sponsors. We know that this is going to be the best year yet for the Quays Duck Race which will enable us to support even more children.’

For more details about how your business can sponsor a creatively decorated Mega Duck contact the MedEquip4Kids office on 0161 798 1600 or email info@medequip4kids.org.uk.

Visit the website for more information about the event.

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