The Health Tree Foundation The Health Tree Foundation

Family fundraise in memory of popular Keelby woman

Patients at the breast unit at Grimsby hospital will benefit from a donation of £4,000 raised in memory of a popular wife and mum from Keelby.

Over the last year, the Atkin family have helped to raise thousands and their generosity has resulted in a donation to the Pink Rose Suite.

Gary Atkin said: “My wife Sonia was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2015 and sadly passed away in 2018. It’s great to be able to donate £4,000 to the Pink Rose Suite as they took great care of her.

“The money was raised by hosting a charity ball at Don Amott’s Lakeside Park in North Somercotes where we have a static caravan. The event was organised by residents Roger and Sheila Thorpe. There were 160 guests at the ball so it was hard work and many people putting in a lot of unseen effort to make it a great success.”

The highlight of the evening was a very well supported raffle together with a charity auction, which raised significant amounts of money. One item in the auction – a watercolour painting by local artist Grace Lawrence – contributed over £500 to the total.

Other events over the last 12 months helped boost the total, with generous contributions from residents, local businesses and kind donations from Don Amott Parks.

The event also raised £2,000 for Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance.

The donation to The Health Tree Foundation – the hospital’s official charity – will go to the Pink Rose Suite, which is a dedicated breast unit at Grimsby hospital providing a breast imaging and diagnostic service with follow-up imaging for patients undertaken for the surgical teams across the Trust.

Jennifer Smith, consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon at the Pink Rose Suite, said: “Donations like this have a massive impact. We will use the money to purchase things that benefit patients.

“In the past, we have spent money on things like specialist training courses to improve patient care. My thanks go to Gary and family and to all our dedicated fundraisers for their ongoing support.”

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