Zoe Goddard passed away in 2016 aged just 27 from cervical cancer. March 21 would have been her 30th birthday. Wendy Goddard, Zoe’s mother, is remembering Zoe this year by taking on as many fundraising challenges as possible which involve the number 30.
Before Zoe died she did a lot of fundraising for St Elizabeth Hospice raising in excess of £4,000. Zoe made her mum promise she would carry on with what she started and Wendy has been fundraising for us ever since with passion. To mark the day of Zoe’s birthday, and officially kick start her fundraising, Wendy released two doves by Zoe’s grave.
As we are also turning 30 this year, Wendy is doing everything she can to tie the two occasions together, including trying to raise £30 a week for 30 weeks in different ways (a £900 target) and getting 30 people to take part in St Elizabeth Hospice’s Midnight Walk in May with the task to raise £100 each, which would raise a further £3,000.
Wendy Goddard said:
“The fact that Zoe would have been 30 this year has really been in my mind these last few months so I wanted to do as much as possible to mark this occasion and carry on the fundraising that Zoe started. I’ve already got 23 people to take part in the Midnight Walk and hope we can get that up to 30. I’m also trying to raise £30 a week through organising events, such as a Bingo night, and doing different tasks or selling things I don’t need anymore, anything to keep bringing in the money for this wonderful charity which did so much for Zoe in her last few months. I will be eternally grateful to St Elizabeth Hospice and everything they did for us.”
Wendy is also getting as many friends, local businesses and schools to take part in the hospice’s £30 accumulator challenge as possible. The accumulator challenge is quite simple and tasks those involved to turn £30 in to the largest donation they can for the hospice, continuing the £30 theme.
There is an Accumulator Challenge programme for businesses and schools and Wendy is tasking her friends to take part too, for which she is providing the £30 out of her own money. Wendy is championing the School’s Accumulator Challenge with one of the first schools signed up to take part being Stowupland High School, the school Zoe attended.
Beth Condie, Community Fundraising manager at St Elizabeth Hospice added:
“Wendy is such a familiar face at the hospice now. She has already done so much for us over the last two years, her fundraising added to Zoe’s fundraising is well over £10,000 and Wendy has so many ideas for her fundraising this year, she’s an inspiration! We’ve been really blown away by all of her ideas and the way she’s tying together the two anniversaries. We can’t wait to see how she gets on and will be behind her every step of the way.”