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On Monday 8th January 2000, The Corrs performed at the Telewest Arena in Newcastle. The concert was organised by the band in order to raise funds towards extending a lung disease research centre at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital.
The Corrs' mum Jean sadly passed away in November 1999 whilst awaiting a lung transplant at the hospital. She had been suffering from a condition called 'cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis' and had been transferred to the Freeman hospital's specialist department for assessment. Her condition worsened very quickly during her time at the hospital and she died before the doctors could perform a planned double lung transplant.
Jim, Sharon, Caroline and Andrea decided that they wanted to do something to show their gratitude for the excellent care that their mum received, and to try to aid the doctors in their desire to help people who may suffer from the same kind of illness in the future. Their idea was to perform a charity concert in Newcastle and to donate all the proceeds from the event to the Freeman hospital to help the experts there finance their research and also to help fund an extension to their department.
When the Corrs announced their plans for the concert, Gavin Geddes had
the idea of coordinating a collection among the band's internet based fans
to help raise more funds for the hospital. Gavin said,
"The Corrs have given their fans so much, I thought maybe it was time,
for those of us who could, to give something back".
The appeal was a fantastic success raising in excess of £4000
for the appeal. Although Gavin arranged and coordinated the appeal, the
support of his friends played an important role,
"Running the appeal was a bit of a challenge as I'd never done anything
like this before and so I enlisted the help of my good friends Claire Sinclair
and Kerena Fussell whose support and encouragement was a vital part in
the appeal's success."
After the concert Gavin, Claire and Kerena attended a presentation ceremony
with the band, their dad Gerry and Professor Paul Corris (professor of
thoracic medicine at the Freeman Hospital).