Heart charity receives £1,400 boost as family salutes tragic John
Family and friends of the late Renfrewshire man John Clark have handed over more than £ 1,400 to the British Heart Foundation.
John, 34, who was the office manager for Derek Mackay MSP, died in October while on holiday in America.
He was tipped to have a bright future in Scottish politics. He previously ran as an SNP candidate in the Paisley Northeast and Ralston ward in 2017 and was also the official SNP member support convener.
More than 300 people attended John’s funeral service at the Glynhill Hotel in Renfrew with friends travelling from across Scotland, throughout the UK and as far away as the USA to pay their respects to the man who grew up in Kirklandneuk, lived in Paisley and who many knew as a ‘gentle giant’.
Donations totalling £1,205 were collected for the British Heart Foundation at the service with an additional £ 200 raised in John’s memory during an event marking Gavin Newlands’ adoption as the SNP candidate for the Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency.
John had already raised money for the British Heart Foundation after taking part in a 62-mile trek from Glasgow to Edinburgh in July.
And his sister Michelle Clark said it was an easy choice to collect for the charity.
She told the Express: “We were delighted to raise that amount of money, we weren’t expecting so much.
“John had raised money for it before. Our gran passed away 11 years ago and it was heart-related. John was so passionate about raising money for the charity and was gutted when his sore back and dislocated shoulder caused him to stop 42 miles into the trek.
“He was so keen to complete the challenge that he immediately signed up to do it again next summer.”
Michelle said there’s a group of around 14, including her, who have agreed to do the Glasgow to Edinburgh trek in July 2020.
She said: “The training starts in January! It’s 30 hours of walking so it’s a big challenge.
“It’s all about the taking part and raising as much money as we can.”
Laura Stockwell, BHF Scotland fundraising manager west of
Scotland, said: “We were so sorry to hear the sad news about John. We’d like to thank his friends and family for their generous donation in his memory and our thoughts and best wishes are with them.”
To register for BHF’s Glasgow to Edinburgh Trek, which takes place on 25-26 July 2020, go to www.bhf. org.uk