Charity night raises £6,000 in memory of teenager

A fundraising event to celebrate the life of a teenager who died suddenly from an asthma attack raised thousands of pounds in his memory.

Roy and Janet Peacock organised the charity night on the day their son Joel would have turned 21.

They and their partners Dawn Peacock and Carl Smith wanted to support Asthma UK and celebrate their happy memories with the youngster, who died in October 2013 at the age of 18.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Peacock said: “The event was absolutely brilliant. A lot of family and friends, around 300 people, showed their support on the night.

“It was a lovely way to remember Joel. Everybody has their own little memories of him and when you are meeting up with people to talk to them properly, everybody wants to share their own special little thoughts and stories about him, which was really nice.

“Everybody really enjoyed it. It was a fun night rather than a sad evening and that is what we wanted it to be, a celebration of Joel’s life.

“Thank you to everybody who was involved, before, during and after. Together, we all helped to make it a successful evening to remember Joel and support Asthma UK.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The event, held last month at Cedar Court in Wakefield, included a buffet, raffles, auctions and a DJ. It raised more than £6,000 for the charity, a total which Nationwide Building Society said it will also add to.

Joel’s mum Ms Peacock said she hoped the event also helped people to understand more about asthma, how to manage it and what to do in an asthma attack.

She said: “If we knew a lot of the things that we know now about asthma, before, we would have been better prepared.

“Joel did have his inhaler the night he died but it didn’t do him much good. It was a very dramatic time for us because we weren’t expecting it.”

To find out more about the condition, visit www.asthma.org.uk