By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-15 22:26:15 | Updated at 2025-01-16 00:49:19
2 hours ago
A Maggie Oliver Foundation ambassador has praised the charity's vital work as a new fundraiser hits a major milestone.
Dolly Cole, herself a survivor of childhood abuse, highlighted the foundation's crucial role in supporting survivors of sexual abuse.
As pressure mounts on the Labour Government to launch a national inquiry into the historic abuse suffered by young girls across Britain, GB News presenter Patrick Christys helped launch a campaign to raise money for the victims, on behalf of the Maggie Oliver Foundation.
After launching the fundraiser with an initial target of £100,000, GoFundMe donations have since soared to over £300,000.
Dolly Cole has praised the work of Maggie Oliver as GB News continues to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for the foundation
GB News / GoFundMe
Reacting to the announcement of the fundraiser, founder Maggie Oliver told the People's Channel that she is "eternally grateful" to both GB News and Patrick Christys for their support.
Speaking to GB News, Cole shared her personal journey through the foundation's support, and how she now works with the charity as an ambassador.
Cole shared her harrowing experience of childhood abuse with GB News: "I'm a survivor of abuse from the age of five. Between five and eight, I was sexually abused by four different men in the village that I'm from."
The abuse continued into her teenage years, as she revealed: "I went on to be abused from the age of 12 to 16, by all those people, family, friends, trusted ones."
After feeling a strong connection to Maggie Oliver, Cole eventually reached out. "A few years later, she just remained on my mind, so I looked her up and I sent her an email," she said.
The foundation's support proved transformative for Cole. "Once I was in touch with the team, and I was assigned an ambassador and we'd have sessions where my ambassador would just listen to me," she said.
"It just felt like I had a friend on the end of the phone, and I felt heard, I felt listened to," Cole added. "I'm not a victim, I am a survivor, and I do deserve to live a life."
Cole emphasised how the fundraised money could expand the foundation's vital work, saying: "We could put the money you've raised into getting more people on board.
Cole told GB News that she 'wouldn't be here' without the help of the foundation
GB News
"We're quite a small team, we're more like a little family now, and we need to broaden that."
She highlighted the foundation's quick response times as crucial. Cole added: "We have so many more calls coming in, and what is great about our team and the foundation is that they don't have that overly long wait."
Cole also explained that the foundation's immediate support is essential, arguing: "There's so many people out there, survivors out there, needing that support, and there's something that Maggie and the Foundation can do is provide that in a very quick time."
"But the foundation, they need the resources to provide that, and they need more ambassadors," she concluded.
