Christmas may be over, but the fundraising didn’t stop for Yvonne from St. Helens. During December, she made a whopping 144 mince pies to raise funds in memory of her late husband, Robin, who sadly passed away in February 2016.

“2020 was such a difficult year for many, so I wanted to spread my charity contributions across those charities that meant so much to Robin and myself.

I found out about Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation back when Robin had a donated some biopsy cells for research the charity funded into detecting lung cancer early.

I can’t say I’m a keen baker. However, I do make a mean mince pie! My pastry is to die for (even if I do say so myself!)

Making mince pies was always something Robin and I did together. My job was the pastry and it was Robin’s job to fill, egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. He’d then always claim the right to taste the first one! It became our tradition each year to make them with a little glass of sherry, so it was a lovely way to pay tribute to him and raise funds for the charity.

I made 12 dozen mince pies and asked friends and family to donate to my Just Giving page. My final total was £100, which is double what I thought I’d raise; I was really pleased to collect so much. It’s wonderful that after such a tough year, my friends and family could still come together to fundraise. Thankfully, they all really enjoyed their mince pies!

It gives you a warm feeling, knowing that a charity that means so much to me had received something to go towards their research into the early detection of lung cancer. And that hopefully, it will help to prevent someone going through the loss of their loved one.”