Three siblings from Salford hosted their second annual fundraiser in Walkden raising over £1,700 in memory of their mum.
The trio of Ashley, Jessica and Beth hosted the charity fundraiser at the Walkden Legion on Sunday 25 May inviting friends, families, and members of the public along to raise money.
All donations from the fundraiser event went to Headway Salford – a local charity that focuses on supporting people who suffering from acquired brain injuries.
The local charity supported their Mum, Michelle Done, after a fall she was found to have had a pre-existing brain aneurysm that remained dormant, and after being placed in critical care she was slowly returning to full health.
Michelle sadly passed away on the 21st June 2023 after a second bleed to brain before she was able to recover – however, after her untimely death the family wanted to turn her loss into positive action.
And after last year’s event, raising £1,300 – they went into this year more organised and with greater expectations, as Ashley added.
“I couldn’t belief myself that we raised even more money. But the event itself went really well, and we were able to get so much support, and it did really well, as we were able to raise even more money.
“This year were able to get more traction and were able to retain the amount of people that supported us last year – as that is sometimes the most difficult thing about recurring events.”
He continued: “So many people came to the inaugural event, but it is hard to encourage people to do it again, every year, so to improve on that was special.”
And this year was bigger and better for the three siblings as not only did they raise more money, but they had more experience of how to run the event.
Ashley continued: “Now we have the second year under our belt, we know what we are doing and we can sit there and go right, this is how we are going to do it – it has been so helpful to have this experience in comparison to the first time, especially with help with the raffle tickets.”
The fundraiser was held at the Walkden Legion and offered them a chance to bring families and friends back together to remember Michelle – but it also allowed them to meet her friends and people close to her and continue to share memories of their Mum.
Ashley added: “It was nice to see my mum’s friends come over to show their support, and see so many people turn up, showing how much they care for my mum.
“And seeing how many people from different areas coming together, it was really motivating and inspiring to see the amount of support we received.”
He continued: “One of my mums friends said they wouldn’t miss it for the world, and we even had people come along who we didn’t know who had been influenced or impacted by my Mum.
“It is amazing, even people who met my Mum a couple of times, were happy to give us praise for keeping our mums memory alive, I think she would be so proud.
“And the brilliant thing is, our mum’s friends are now our friends, so it really is bringing people together.”
And with a wide variety of guests and activities including a series of events, of charity pool, snooker, and darts tournament, as well as contributions from local clubs Manchester United and Manchester City they were able to raise even more funds.
“We are lucky as we have had so much support from shops, donations of gifts from families and friends, as well as signed Manchester United and City shirts.
“And all the different people that have made an effort to help raise money with us, is wonderful – and it certainly makes all the work and effort so worth it.”
Ashley said: “And hopefully next year we can raise a bit more, as my mum said: ‘If you don’t ask you don’t get’, and you have to be cheeky. But it is all so worth it.”
Following the event, they spent time counting the money raised, with the total summing to £1,700, a £400 increase from last year’s event.
But with the money raised, the focus is already on next year, as Ashley said: “I think due to the success of this year’s event, a third year and fourth year are expected, which is positive as it gives us the chance to raise even more money.”
And with the success of this year’s event, it seems that this will be an ongoing event for the three siblings, aiming to raise money for Headway Salford and keep the memory of their mum’s memories alive in the community.
More information on Headway Salford and the work they do can be found here.
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