Dad’s memory spurs on Charlotte’s fundraising

Charlotte MacDonald lost her dad,  Anthony King, on 25 May 2020.

Anthony battled cancer for two years, and during lockdown, he quickly declined. He was taken to West Suffolk Hospital, and then he came to the Hospice for a short time.

Due to the Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions, Charlotte wasn’t able to see her dad for the last two months of his life. However, little touches and actions by St Nic’s did help keep her connected and her experience has led Charlotte supporting us through fundraising.

Charlotte explained: “Not being allowed to visit was hard for the family, but we knew we could call the Hospice to pass on messages. The small touches meant so much to the family.

“St Nicholas Hospice were always happy to talk on the phone, pass on messages to him from us, and were there as support when he passed away.”

 

The chaplain visited dad several times. She gave mum and dad a knitted heart, and she was with us after he passed away. This was such a personal touch to us as a family. We are grateful to the Hospice for making dads last week’s comfortable and the support we were offered after.

Since her Dad’s death, Charlotte has gone on to fundraise for the Hospice. She started this during the first Covid-19 lockdown when she began making fabric face masks while on furlough.

Initially, she made the masks for family, but then friends wanted them. It quickly spiralled, so Charlotte decided she’d keep making them and ask for donations for the Hospice. She raised £909.00 in total.

 

Charlotte and her family then arranged a concert in Anthony’s memory which saw several local music groups come together to perform the songs he loved.

Charlotte said: “When Dad passed away, only nine of us could attend his funeral outside. Dad was a member of the church choir and loved music. His funeral did not give him the send-off he deserved, so as a family, we put this right and gave him a concert with all music he loved.”

Most recently, alongside colleagues Andrew Ross, Lee Johnson, Emma Bryant, and Lucinda Nurse from Metrita Wealth Management, Charlotte will be taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks, which will raise funds for us and another charity.

The five-strong team will tackle the 24-mile round trip route, including 1585m of ascent, on July 27.

With the idea being Andrew’s, his four teammates are a little more anxious than him – one has a bad back, one has a dodgy foot, and two are busy mums with little time to train, but they are all determined to raise as much as they can for their chosen charities.

“The Hospice offers so much support to families in so many ways, and this is our way of saying thank you”, added Charlotte.