Pamper evening raises £2,100 for charity

Published 20 Nov 2008 06:00 0 Comments

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AN EVENING of indulgence raised funds for a charity which has supported a family whose daughter died from Down's Syndrome-related illnesses.

Saturday's pampering session event was held in memory of Faith Cook, who died from heart failure in March aged 18 months. It is the second time her mother, Stephanie Cook, 29, has organised the pampering session in aid of the West Berkshire Down's Syndrome Support Group.

Mrs Cook, who lives in Tilehurst with husband Paul, 37, and children Ethan, six, and Grace, four, said: "There was fantastic community support. I was chuffed with how many people turned out on a gloomy wet and cold night to support the event.

"Many people knew Faith personally or had heard of her, so everybody chatted to each other. It's a social evening out as well. People that sometimes wouldn't normally come out on a Saturday night came and had a glass of wine."

Mrs Cook said they want to set up a website and get a centre of excellence speech and language classes and drama groups can be held.

She added: "I'd just like to really thank everyone for their time and support and those people who helped me set up the stalls and helped with the preparation behind the scenes. It was a fantastic evening. It went really, really well."

The event was held in St Michael's Church Hall in Routh Lane, Tilehurst, and featured 16 stalls selling jewellery, handbags, chocolate, cookies and Avon and Virgin Vie beauty products. Hairdressers Style Guru donated seven prizes to the raffle and there were also three beauticians offering manicures and henna painting and four people giving massages.

Mrs Cook sold 124 tickets for £3.50 before the event or £5 on the night, raising £2,100 for the charity, including a donation from a local security company.

The West Berkshire Down's Syndrome Support Group holds a coffee morning 9.30-11.30am on Fridays at the Hilltop Christian Centre in Hilltop Road, Woodley. Contact Stephanie Cook on 07900 544095.

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 20 Nov 08

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