'I was at home thinking I have got to do something' - Wendy's fundraising plans snowball with £3k raised for Marie Curie
One woman's plans to raise money for a cancer charity snowballed, ultimately raising £3,000 - despite setting an initial target of £150.
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Wendy Williams, 67, and from Craven Arms, was inspired to raise money for Marie Curie after seeing cancer impact her family.
She said: "We had a bit of a bad year last year regarding cancer and deaths and family bereavement as people do.
"I don't mind saying it got the better of me and almost gave me a nervous breakdown.
"Anyway everybody has been very good and I was at home thinking 'I have got to do something'. I was sitting watching the TV and the advert comes on for Marie Curie saying 'go out and help raise money' and I called because March is their month so I said that's what I would do.
"I rang them up and they said there's nothing in Craven Arms, there is something in Leominster, something in Hereford but not Craven Arms. But the lady said 'I could send you a fundraising pack so you can do something yourself'."
That was the start of what would be a month of fundraising based around Wendy's husband David's shop, Cyril Bason.
What began with just a small table snowballed with a window display made of the store's yellow products - to match the Marie Curie daffodil colour.
Other fundraising prize competitions and draws were organised, and Wendy's daughter Sharon took the plunge by volunteering to sit in a bath while people paid £1 to tip tins of beans over her.
Overall, with contributions from other groups such as Stokesay School, and people in the town, they handed over £3,000 to Amy from Marie Curie in Solihull yesterday - Wednesday, April 9.
Wendy said the generosity of local people had been incredible to see - with the selfless winner of a £50 voucher asking to put it back into the kitty to help towards the final total.
Her initial target had only been £150 with efforts 'snowballing' to the total of £3,000.
She said: "People were so kind. Everybody. People were so generous. Very generous and very, very helpful because the day we were doing the beans people seemed to come from nowhere saying 'is there anything I can do to help'.
"We haven't done a list of thankyous in case we missed someone off, but it is a big thank you to everyone, they know who they are."
She added: "Craven Arms, you wouldn't class it as a big place but we have got a very close knit community. If someone is doing something everyone will chip in to help."
She also explained how her daughter had decided to take on her unusual challenge to help raise funds.
She said: "Sharon, my daughter, she is a great one for fundraising and she said 'I am going to sit in a bath of baked beans'.
"So we had the bath donated, we had a lot of the baked beans donated and a lot of them on sale or return and then last Saturday morning.
"She came out with her baked bean hat and got into the bath and had the beans poured over her.
"People paid £1 for a tin of beans and then they tipped them over her."
After the challenge the beans were donated to a local farmer who fed them to his pigs.
Wendy said she had been emotional seeing how much had been raised, saying she had burst into tears seeing the total.
She added: "The money we raised will give a lot of help to other families. It won't bring back our loved ones but it will help other people."
