Strabane man raises £1,600 in memory of his beloved partner

A STRABANE man has thanked the community for their generosity after raising £1,626.20 for the Koram Centre through a charity shave in memory of his late partner.

Stephen Kelly had been growing his beard since the passing of his beloved Brenda last year and decided to raise money for the mental health organisation in her honour.

Speaking as he presented the cheque to Koram Centre manager Adrian Loughrey, Stephen said: “It was a good night and a really great turnout. Alongside the money I raised through a sponsorship sheet and through donations from others handing me money, generous donations came in from Holy Cross College and McColgan’s, who each donated £500 and Hen in Dicey’s donated £100. We also had a raffle which bumped up the total that came out at £1,626.20.

“Fortunately there were no hitches on the night. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone who donated money, who came along on the night to support me and to Viv who did the shave. The support was wonderful and greatly appreciated.”

Koram Centre manager Adrian Loughrey praised the fundraiser’s success.

“Many thanks to Stephen and to all the staff at Dicey Reilly’s for all their efforts with the fundraising event and to everyone who donated, raising an amazing total.

“These funds will be used to help support the Koram Centre continue to deliver vital services to individuals experiencing emotional health and wellbeing issues living in Strabane and district. We appreciate the continued support shown to us by the local community.”