George Baker, Managing Director of KRL Group who is living with the same cancer that killed his father, is backing a campaign to help others by improving medical scanning services for a range of life-limiting conditions.
Baker has adopted the Daisy Appeal – which has raised around £23m since it was set up in 2000 to fund treatment for cancer, heart disease and dementia – as
his company’s charity of the year. He will also sponsor a giant rat in the latest animal sculpture trail which will be unveiled across East Yorkshire during 2025, and he hopes other businesses will join in.
Mischief of Rats has been devised by the team which has previously delivered Larkin with Toads, A Moth for Amy and Puffins Galore! The inspiration for the latest project was Hull musician Mick Ronson, who died from cancer in 1993.
The mischief of vibrantly decorated rats, each standing six feet tall, will be appearing in locations across Hull and East Yorkshire in summer 2025. Sponsored by local business, the rats will be auctioned to raise much needed funds towards the cost of a new state-of-the- art scanner to add to the life-saving facilities that have been provided by the Daisy Appeal at Castle Hill Hospital since 2008.
Baker said: “I see the charity of the year commitment and the sponsorship of a rat as sound investments on behalf of the people living in our region. My dad died from myeloma in 1979. I’ve been ill with it since 2010 and the fact I’m still here is evidence of the medical advances that have been made. Castle Hill has done a lot for me. The consultants there have been brilliant and I felt I should give something back.”
He continued: “Our team will be taking on all sorts of challenges including cycling
and running as part of our charity of the year campaign. The sponsorship of Mischief
of Rats is specifically aimed at raising funds for the new scanner. The organisers have already secured quite a few business sponsors and hopefully they will sign up many more. People need to understand that these illnesses can strike anybody at any time – family, friends and colleagues – and we now have a better chance than ever to detect them.”
