Joanne Garside, 42, originally organised to host a Mother’s Day floristry workshop fundraiser in memory of her late mother Jenny, who was cared for at the end of her life by Fair Havens Hospice 10 years ago but had to cancel recently due to the current Coronavirus situation.

This then led her daughter Molly, 10, to write a letter to her with the lovely idea to instead have an afternoon tea at home to remember Nanny.

Joanne is still asking for people to kindly donate to the local charity if they can in memory of her mother Jenny via her Just Giving page. She says, “I support the work of Havens Hospices as without their help 10 years ago, my Mum would’ve been in so much more pain. They took the pressure away from myself, my brother and my sister at a really difficult time for us and for that I will always be so grateful.

“I will never forget the kindness and compassion the nurses showed towards us as a family. By fundraising for them I feel like I’m doing my bit to help this wonderful charity to carry on helping other families just like they helped us.”

Sally Bridger, Community Fundraiser at Havens Hospices says, “When I saw the letter Molly had written to her mum, my heart warmed. This really illustrates that love and kindness is so important in helping us all get through difficult times together.

“The Havens Hospices’ nurses are still caring for patients in our hospices and in patient’s homes – we couldn’t continue to do this without the support of our local community and families like this, so we are truly grateful.”

Havens Hospices provides palliative nursing and supportive care to adults and children living with complex or incurable conditions across Essex. They don’t charge a penny for their care – and that’s only possible because of donations made by people like you.

To support Joanne’s fundraising efforts and to help her reach her target of £150, you can make a donation on her JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joanne-garside2