Jamie McDonald, a renowned adventurer and fundraiser from Gloucester, has launched a groundbreaking charity named Ward Buddies, dedicated to supporting children who experience loneliness during hospital stays. Known widely as Adventureman, the 39-year-old aims to combat the emotional abandonment that many young patients face.
As a recipient of the Pride of Britain Award and a seasoned record-breaker in endurance challenges, Jamie has long been committed to causes close to his heart. He previously established the Superhero Foundation to assist children and families affected by syringomyelia, a rare spinal condition. Now, with Ward Buddies, he turns his focus to offering emotional support to hospitalized children left without visitors.
Ward Buddies is staffed by a team of medical professionals, including pediatric doctors, nurses, and child psychologists who understand the severe impacts emotional neglect can have. Children left alone in hospitals often become withdrawn, depressed, and develop behavioural problems. Some even face difficulty in physical recovery or struggle to reintegrate back into normal life after discharge, burdened by the emotional toll of isolation.
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Jamie’s inspiration stems partly from his own childhood battles with an immune deficiency that caused him to spend the first nine years of his life frequently hospitalized. During those times, his parents were sometimes unable to visit, leaving him with lasting feelings of abandonment. “No parent wants to leave their child alone in hospital,” Jamie explains. “Yet work commitments, distance, and family needs often make it unavoidable. Nurses and doctors do their best, but they are stretched thin. Ward Buddies fills this crucial emotional gap.”
At its core, Ward Buddies offers a personalised “Buddy” service, where trained volunteers and professionals provide consistent companionship and emotional care for children when family cannot be present. The charity’s pilot program at Birmingham Children’s Hospital has already demonstrated promising results, and now Jamie is appealing for donations and volunteers to broaden its reach nationwide.
“We believe that no child should ever feel forgotten or alone in hospital,” says Jamie, a father of three. “Through Ward Buddies, we’re committed to nurturing the heart alongside the body during recovery. Every donation counts, and every volunteer makes a difference.”
To raise funds and awareness, Jamie plans to don his Adventureman superhero costume once again for a bold fundraising challenge this December, continuing his legacy of incredible endurance feats. From setting a Guinness World Record for treadmill distance in 2019 to completing a grueling 5,500-mile unsupported run across the US, Jamie’s passion and perseverance fuel this vital cause.
His journey began in 2012 with a monumental 14,000-mile bike ride from Bangkok to Gloucester on a £50 secondhand bike, followed by world records and inspiring runs across Canada as superhero The Flash. Now, with Ward Buddies, Jamie McDonald is channeling his adventurous spirit into ensuring no child faces hospital isolation alone.