JANUARY 6, 2018 — that’s the date for next year’s staging of the biennial charity concert, Shaggy and Friends, organised by Shaggy through his Make a Difference Foundation.

The concert is staged in aid of the Bustamante Hospital for Children in St Andrew, the country’s lone paediatric facility.

He was unable to give details, but said there are big plans in place and his team will now have to get down to working out logistics to ensure that this year’s concert tops its predecessors.

Shaggy and his foundation were at the hospital on Wednesday to hand over equipment, furniture, parts and accessories with a combined valued of more than US$529,000.

Executive director of the foundation Rebecca Burrell said this is the first of two handovers, with the second one set for September this year.

For Shaggy, this stage in the process is always fulfilling.

“It always confirms how much it is all worth it. A lot of people don’t know the inner fighting that takes place and the tension that goes into getting it done. The money from the last two concerts went into providing equipment for the cardiac lab, so we haven’t been able to give anything over that period to the hospital itself, so to be able to do this is great,” he told Splash.

Shaggy disclosed that the cardiac facility for which funds from the 2012 and 2014 concerts were designated should be ready by later this year.

“Once it is done, that will be a whole other level of joy. We will be able to provide cardiac surgery free of cost for Jamaican babies. It’s been a long time coming, but it will happen. The building is ready now; we are putting in the plates and we are aiming for about October.”

Since starting the initiative in 2009, Shaggy has donated more than US$US1.6 million worth of equipment to the hospital.

— Richard Johnson