Join David Fitzgerald’s charity quiz night

The Medical Imaging team at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has launched a new campaign – The Big Raise for Little Rays: Project Play – aiming to transform waiting areas into bright, playful spaces for young patients.

With over 15,400 children passing through the imaging department last year – including services such as MRI, X-ray, ultrasound and CT – staff say the current waiting rooms are “uninspiring” and lack any paediatric provisions.

Project Play hopes to raise funds to install themed wall murals, interactive wall-mounted toys, iPads, and colourful activity areas to help calm and distract children before procedures.

The project is being run entirely through fundraising and donations. Thanks to kind support from local businesses, individuals and NHS staff, the team has already raised £10,000 in its first phase.

Now, they’re appealing to the wider Exeter community to help take it even further.

As part of the fundraising push, supporters are invited to join a special Quiz Night at the Double Locks in Exeter on Saturday 26 April, hosted by popular local media personality David Fitzgerald.

The evening will feature multiple quiz rounds, a raffle with fantastic prizes and all proceeds going directly to Project Play’s Big Raise for Little Rays Appeal.

Tickets are £10 per person, with a maximum of six people per team. Doors open at 7pm and the quiz kicks off at 7:30pm. With the bar open until 11pm, organisers are hoping for a sell-out evening of trivia, prizes and community spirit.

“A donation of just £5 can help bulk buy stickers and stamps, while £500 could purchase a wall-mounted toy,” the team explained. “We’re asking local businesses to consider supporting us – whether that’s with a financial gift, a raffle prize, or taking us on as the beneficiary for a fundraising event.”

The department is also offering to include the names of all donors on a permanent “Wall of Thanks” in the new paediatric space, as a way of recognising those who contribute.

The team adds: “We’re a large department that includes X-Ray, CT, MRI, Interventional Radiology, Fluoroscopy, DEXA, Ultrasound and Nuclear Medicine – and all of our patients, especially the youngest ones, deserve a warm, welcoming environment. Every donation, big or small, will make a difference.”

You can donate to Project Play by visiting the team’s JustGiving page here.