Marian celebrates 60 years of volunteering for Dame Hannahs

Dame Hannahs supporter Marian Vanstone has been volunteering for the charity for 60 years and raised over £200,000! Supported by her late husband Wal and sons Graham and Trevor, Marian has become a much loved, dedicated and hard-working member of the Dame Hannahs family.

Now aged 87, Marian started volunteering and fundraising for Dame Hannahs in 1959 when her eldest son Graham was born and she was inspired by a friend to undertake some charitable work together. It was through a mutual acquaintance that she got the idea to raise money for Dame Hannahs. She had been told that Dame Hannahs was moving premises and needed new equipment for their school. Marian recalls raising money for many items including a horse for the physio team and the sensory garden.

Her motivation for fundraising for Dame Hannahs has always been the fact that she doesn’t have disabled children but, being a mother herself, can empathise with parents of disabled children. Over the years Marian has developed close relationships with parents of the young people at Dame Hannahs.

Her first fundraiser was a Whist Drive in her local village, Newton Poppleford. Through the support and generosity of her local community the event raised £60 and she went on to organise more whist drives and then coffee mornings. She also organised many dances where young students from Dame Hannahs would attend.

Marian is renowned for her knitted woollens, having started knitting 50 years ago with friends and other knitters. She would also make jam and passed on her passion to son Trevor who grows his own fruit trees and plants and sells jam in aid of Dame Hannahs. Keeping it in the family, he is helped by his daughter Tilly. The family has sold their knits and jams at Sidbury Fair every September as well as other events including the Dame Hannahs Christmas Fairs. For many years Marian and Wal also grew plants in their nursery which they sold in aid of Dame Hannahs. In 2000 Marian was recognised for her services to charity with an MBE.

Marian said “My family and I have loved being part of the Dame Hannahs family and being able to raise money for such a wonderful charity while being able to enjoy our hobbies at the same time”.

Head of Fundraising, Daniel Burke, said “We would like to say a big thank you to Marian for all her hard work and support for Dame Hannahs over 60 years. She has shown true dedication to the charity and raising £200,000 is a massive achievement and hugely appreciated by everyone at Dame Hannahs. She is very special to us all and a key member of the Dame Hannahs family”.