Fundraising in memory of Shrewsbury pupil Cleo tops £60,000

Cleo Postlethwaite, a pupil at Crowmoor Primary School, died in 2019 from a rare glioblastoma brain tumour when she was only ten-years-old.

Her mother, Dr Jane Park, co-founded the Team Cleo Fund to raise vital funds for the charity.

Now she has revealed the charity has raised more than £60,000 for the fund – and the milestone coincided with what would have been Cleo's 14th birthday.

Dr Park, an educational psychologist with Telford Council, said: "Recent concerts with Shropshire Chamber Orchestra and a generous gift from Shrewsbury Community Choir have helped the Team Cleo Fund achieve another significant fundraising milestone with the current total raised sitting at more than £60,000."

Dr Park, 44, who lives in Shrewsbury and plays the viola, said: "The last few years of lockdown fundraising have been a huge challenge for us but we kept going through giving online music performances and tried to inspire others to do whatever they could to support the fund.

"Cleo was a lovely violinist and it is so exciting to have reached this milestone in fundraising.

"It surpasses all possible belief and Cleo would have been absolutely thrilled.

"Concerts have been the primary means of fundraising but also friends have taken part in marathons and other events.

"We are so grateful for all the support which has enabled us to raise so much for The Brain Tumour Charity."

Alex Postlethwaite, Cleo's 46-year-old father, said: "A cure cannot wait and no-one else should have to experience the loss of a child to an untreatable brain tumour."

He plays the violin and is set to lead the The West Midlands Proms Orchestra at a fundraising event at Shrewsbury Proms in the Park event on September 10.

Future fundraising events will also include community concerts in October and a twilight walk.

For more information see thebraintumourcharity.org/get-involved/our-supporter-groups/supporter-groups/groups/the-team-cleo-fund/