A Newtown family has raised an amazing £6,000 during a special birthday party, music festival and celebration of the life of their son Ronnie

Hundreds of people showed out at the Festival on Ronnie Street which took place in July, at Seasons Café in Caersws, and marked Ronnie Jones’ 5th birthday.

Ronnie, who lived with his family in Newtown, was born with complex needs and received care at Hope House children’s hospice until he passed aged 15 months in November 2021.

The annual celebrations, organised by Ronnie’s mum and dad Alice and Lewis, have raised more than £30,000 in total over the last three years.

Alice said: “The parties have been a lovely way to bring friends, family and community together to celebrate Ronnie’s life and remember him.

“It was a really good event and lots of people turned up both during the day and for the evening entertainment.

“We raised double the amount this year than we have in the past, which is so wonderful and really special.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to the generous businesses and supporters who have offered their time and commitment to help us,” said Alice. “A huge thank you to our sponsors, Williams Plant Hire, Redkite Glass Ltd, Hilltop, EvaBuild, Mid Wales Property, Deano’s Tiki Bar, Lee Hughes & Son Haulage for all their contributions.”

While this event is now over, Alice and Lewis aren’t done with fundraising this year.

Alice recently helped set up a local support group in Newtown for bereaved parents called The Loss Lounge which runs the last Friday of each month at 6.30pm at Platform 1, Newtown Train Station. They are all holding a special dinner party in September with food, mocktails and a raffle to raise money as part of Hope House’s Let’s Do Dinner month, while Lewis is currently in training to run the London Marathon next year.

If you would like to get involved and support Hope House then you can find an event and way to fundraise that is just right for you at hopehouse.org.uk.