12 September 2016
Newsdesk
Country star Blake Shelton has donated $600,000 (GBP450,000) to a kids' cancer hospice in his home state.
The Honey Bee singer announced the generous hand-out to the Jimmy Everest Cancer Centre after introducing fans to his cousin's daughter Aspen during a show in his native Oklahoma on Saturday night (10Sep16).
The youngster was treated at the cancer facility recently and Blake explained he and his family members would be forever grateful for the care she was given by medics there.
"We didn’t know what was going to happen," he said after shining the spotlight on his relative at the Oklahoma City show. "You can see that she’s here right now."
Raving about the Jimmy Everest Cancer Centre, he added, "They don’t turn any kids away. You come in there, you got a problem, they don’t turn anybody away, so I thought, 'That’s a place that needs some money'."
He then brought representatives from the facility onto the stage and handed them a huge cheque, made up in part from ticket proceeds from the gig.
Blake raved, "You people who bought a ticket to be here tonight and the people who bought a ticket last night, you did a real good thing. I want you to know that. This is our money, Oklahoma."
Shelton's Oklahoma City shows over the weekend kicked off the singer's autumn (16) tour, which concludes on 8 October (16), just before live shows begin for talent series The Voice, on which he serves as a judge and mentor alongside Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine and Alicia Keys.
