An American paediatrician has pledged her support to a Northamptonshire charity from across the Atlantic, after signing up to become the latest Cynthia Spencer Hospice Charity Big 50 Fundraiser.

New Yorker Dr Cheryl Vinograd had recently lost her father when she came across the charity on her social media channels and found herself inspired to help, despite being an entire ocean away.

Cynthia Spencer Hospice celebrates its 50th anniversary during 2026 and as part of the celebrations, the charity has been urging the community to join a select group of just 50 people, the Big 50 Fundraisers, who have helped to mark the milestone year by pledging to raise more than £2,000 and shape the next chapter of hospice care for the Northamptonshire community.

But for Cheryl, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, her contribution is unusual, as she has no connection to Northamptonshire or to the local community.

“I recognise that I’m a little bit of an outlier in all of this,” she admits. “I have no familial ties to this hospice whatsoever. I know nothing about Northampton, other than there was once a girl from here called Diana Spencer, who grew up to change the world in profound ways, but apart from that, I have no connection whatsoever.

“It was the alignment of the algorithm of social media. I had seen a post about a year ago profiling a fundraising event on the Althorp estate, and that’s when I first learned about Cynthia Spencer Hospice.

“I came upon it on the heels of my father’s passing, so hospice care was very much on my mind at the time. Over the months I began to learn more, in the Spring I came upon a call to action for people to sign up for the Cynthia Spencer Big 50 Fundraiser challenge.

“For whatever reason I felt a calling to sign up, and it ended up being one of the most beautiful experiences that I’ve ever had.”

After vetoing the traditional physical challenges, Cheryl decided to play to her strengths and take photographs of strangers in Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York, in return for a donation to the cause.

Cheryl said: “My father was an amateur photographer and I’m an amateur photographer as well, I learned from him, so I began taking portraits for donations. At first, it was straightforward, I asked some friends and they were all willing to oblige. The catch was if you like what you see, donate what you feel moved to donate and if you don’t like what you see then that’s ok too and we can all move on.

“Then I started spreading out to the local neighbourhood, so there’s now a whole bunch of folks in Brooklyn who know about Cynthia Spencer Hospice now too as a result of all of this.

“So many people said no but the ones who said yes were so willing to support a great cause and help a stranger an ocean away. It was incredibly moving to experience the generosity of complete strangers who were incredibly willing to help. I was able to raise the money through the generosity of New Yorkers in less than eight weeks.”

Now Cheryl hopes that her experience will encourage others to think outside the box and commit to join the Big 50 Fundraisers team.

She said: “I hope this inspires someone else to sign up. You don’t have to do anything physically exertional, just follow your heart, follow your passion, and run with that.

“If I had said no the world would be none the wiser, but I decided to jump into this because even though it might be a little bit uncomfortable to explain myself so to speak, it shares light with the world in some capacity and if that means leaning into a little bit of discomfort then that’s not such a bad thing. If there’s someone on the fence about doing this, maybe this will be the one thing that moves the needle a little bit for you

“We have a finite amount of time to share an infinite amount of light so do the uncomfortable thing.”

Cynthia Spencer Hospice Charity’s Community & Events Fundraiser Sarah Sturman said: “Cheryl’s commitment all the way from the USA is an incredible example of how one person can make such a huge difference to someone else, whoever they are and wherever they might be in the world.

“Her selflessness, determination and kindness has raised £2,000, which could fund a weeks’ worth of palliative care for a patient and their family, providing comfort, reassurance and expert support when people need it most.

“We can’t thank her enough for her contribution, and, like Cheryl, hope that other people might be inspired by her story to create their own challenge and become a Big 50 Fundraiser too!”

To find out more about becoming a Big 50 Fundraiser, visit https://cynthiaspencer.org.uk/big-50-fundraiser/