Fund-raising is such fun: charity stalwart

A WOMAN who has spearheaded a mammoth fund-raising effort spanning 14 years, and raked in more than £600,000 for the Christie Hospital, is urging people to get behind the appeal.

Great-grandmother Lilian Walsh, one of Oldham’s greatest fund-raisers, said: “There is nothing hard about raising money.

“You can have a lot of fun doing it and get great satisfaction as well.

“I have been to many a fun day and enjoyed myself. You end up doing all kinds of things — I have slid down slides and all sorts.”

The 81-year-old is chairman of the Oldham and Rochdale Christie fund-raising group.

Relentless fund-raising from the six-strong team raised a massive £45,000 for the cancer hospital last year, and Lilian is throwing out a challenge for more people to join the ranks.

Many of the group’s fund-raising activities have taken place at local pubs over the years, and Lilian said: “So many are closing that we are having to look for different ideas now to raise money.

“We are selling things all over the place but we really do need more people of any age, particularly those with transport, to join us.

“There are only six of us now, and we had 23 members at the height.”

Lilian, who lives in Godson Street, Oldham, founded the fund-raising group in 1995.

“I was going to do it with a good friend, Denise Thompson, after she got cancer,” she said.

“We had been friends for years, but she died within two months, before we could get it going.

“I decided to carry on and started selling soft toys and other bits at the club I used to go to, the Three Cs Conservative Club in Oldham.

“One or two friends from the club offered to help and that’s how the group began.”

Lilian, who has two daughters, five grandchildren and one great-grandson, has always helped others, and spent a decade fostering children — around 100 in all — before she worked as a nurse at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

She took a back seat in fund-raising for a while after her husband, Ron, died from lung cancer less than two years ago.

But she is now back in full swing, with the help of her deputy chairman, Pete Snow. “He runs me about a lot,” she said. “He’s a real help and I couldn’t do it without him.”

Anyone interested in joining the fund-raisers should contact Jacky Plant, regional appeals officer for the Christie Hospital, on 0161-446 3979.