Mortgage adviser Alison Darby will never forget how East Cheshire Hospice helped her family shortly after it opened in 1988.
Her auntie Jeanne Gleave, from Prestbury, was one of the charity’s first patients and died of breast cancer, aged 51.
So when Alison heard about Tom and George Bentham’s canoe challenge she decided to sponsor them through her company Alpha Mortgages.
Tom Bentham with Alison Darby, sponsor of a canoe challenge.
Alison, from Adlington, said: “I’ve got a special place in my heart for the Hospice which was new and quite tiny when my auntie was there.
“I go walking by Macclesfield Canal and my mum’s from Morecambe, near the start of their canoe trip. I’ve also had family members affected by cancer, so it rang a lot of bells for me.
“I had to sponsor the brothers and am proud to do so, even though I don’t know them. Good on them for doing this challenge.
“I lost a parent myself and to have some good come out of it and do something in their honour is great. I know how proud their father would be. He obviously lives on in them.”
Alpha Mortgages is a corporate supporter for the Hospice, with Alison undertaking fundraising activities for several charities.
Other sponsors of the canoe adventure are Card Industry Professionals, Pacific West, MHM Pensions and Renforth and Goddard.
* An afternoon tea will be held at Hollin House Hotel, Bollington, on Sunday, Oct 2, to mark the end of the trip. For more details contact Hannah Bentham on 07964 701027.
