Scarborough family raises £7,700 for Saint Catherine’s in memory of Sonia Swales

A fundraising event was held in February as it would have been Sonia’s 60th birthday and marked three years since her passing.

To raise this amount, the evening had an auction, raffle and tombola with attendees giving generously.

The family set themselves a target of raising £11,000 for Saint Catherine’s after the care that Sonia and themselves received during the latter stages of her life and through this event and others, including Frankie taking on the Great North Run, the family have now achieved this feat.

David said: “This is just our way of giving back after the incredible care that Sonia and us all as a family received when she was with Saint Catherine’s.

“Every single member of the team at Saint Catherine’s were absolutely incredible for us all.

"During the 10 days that Sonia was on the In-Patient Unit, nothing was too much trouble.

"We were able to stay overnight and we even had Sunday dinners made up for us, a tremendously difficult time was made a lot easier by their care and compassion.

“A huge thank you to everyone who came along on the evening and helped us raise so much money for this very worthy cause.”

Tom Thornton, Marketing and Communications at Saint Catherine’s, said: “We cannot thank David, his family and all who attended the fundraising evening enough for their incredible generosity and support.

“It costs £5million a year to provide our services, free of charge, to patients and their loved ones in our area and only a third of this is covered by commissioners.

"The rest we rely on the amazing support of families like Sonia’s to fundraise.

"Thank you all so much.”

Saint Catherine’s provides care and support in people’s homes, the community and in our hospice for adults with a terminal illness, and to their families, carers and friends.

Its services are free and the charity relies on the tireless work of its supporters and donors to raise the cash needed to deliver its specialist care.