Calendar Girls’ date with Lee supporters
Star-studded visit as Bloodwise total hits £150,000
East Kilbride charity Live it for Lee had two reasons to celebrate this week after hitting £150,000 in fundraising cash – and meeting the Calendar Girls.
Pedal power generated nearly £2,800 for the charity’s dedicated cause Bloodwise during last month’s London to Paris cycle, which, as reported in the News, Westwood mum Elizabeth Anne Holmes completed in memory of her son, Lee Jamieson.
And now a whopping £10,000 donation has been added to the fund from an anonymous donor who was touched by Lee’s story.
The charity foundation was formed following the death of Murray Primary pupil Lee, who tragically lost his ninemonth battle with leukaemia in August 2014 at the age of 12.
Elizabeth Ann told the News: “The cycle has now generated a further £10,000 in the form of a donation from one person, who along with so many others, has taken Lee’s story into his heart.
“This has taken our Live it for Lee total raised to date for Bloodwise to over £150,000!”
And Elizabeth Ann had more to shout about this week after meeting original Calendar Girl Angela Baker and telly star Fern Britton while campaigning for Bloodwise.
The former This Morning host is currently starring in Calendar Girls at Edinburgh Festival Theatre which tells the true story of Angela Baker’s bid to put a comfy couch in the hospital waiting room where she lost her husband John to leukaemia in 1998.
A scheme to raise the memorial cash hatches and a group of middle-aged ladies bare all for a charity calendar.
“I had the pleasure of volunteering at The Calendar Girls show and as I was chatting to the staff about the work that Bloodwise do and telling them how much it means to me to know that through their funding there is now a new medicine in the cupboard where there was once nothing for Lee”, Elizabeth Ann explained.
“Then Fern Britton approached me and said she’d been listening to Lee’s story and just wanted to give me a hug.”
All of the Bloodwise volunteers were invited to bring friends and family along to the gala performance of Calendar Girls last week and even arranged a photo shoot with all of the cast surrounding the Live it for Lee charity jeep at the stage door.
Elizabeth Ann added: “It was an exceptional experience – for Lee’s story to be embraced by Fern Britton, Denise Welch, Karen Dunbar and Ruth Madoc really was very special – Lee really does get everywhere!”
“The show itself is so emotive sharing the story of the original Calendar Girl Angela Baker. They have gone on to raise £5 million for Bloodwise which was at that time Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.
“It was wonderful to meet her.”