Ambassador thanks Winsford mayor and local firms for backing child loss charity

A Winsford ambassador for the baby loss charity 4Louis has praised the town’s mayor and businesses for rallying behind her cause.

Among the supporters is Lock Stock Self Storage which donated a luxury food hamper to mayor Graham Newton’s fundraising raffle as part of its backing for the campaign.

Cllr Newton chose 4Louis as one of his mayoral charities after losing a child in 1997 and hopes to raise £5,000 this year to share with St Luke’s Hospice.

His next event - a Mega 80s Night at Winsford Conservative Club on Friday, November14 – will feature more than 40 raffle prizes gifted by generous local companies.

Leah Banks, 25, said she was touched by the response:

“It’s so nice to have Graham’s support as mayor and I want to give a massive thank you to Lock Stock Self Storage and all the other businesses.”

The North Wales-based storage company opened its site in Winsford’s Nat Lane earlier this year.

Councillor Newton visited the facility to pick up the food hamper from Lock Stock’s Regional Manager Richard Warner.

Leah got involved in helping the 4Louis charity after her sister Chloe and husband Philip suffered the stillbirth of their son in 2019 and received a memory box from the charity.

Leah said:

“4Louis supports families who sadly experience pregnancy loss, have a stillbirth, neonatal death or lose a child under the age of 18.

“The charity provides various kinds of support. One of the things they do is provide memory boxes, and they are all age-appropriate and gestation-appropriate.

“They also provide cuddle blankets for the older children.

“The charity also funds certain medical equipment where they can, and they fund training of bereavement staff.”

Lock Stock’s Regional Manager Richard Warner said the firm was delighted to offer support to the mayor’s fundraising efforts.

He said:

“We are always keen to back important community projects and Councillor Newton’s fundraising initiatives are hugely impressive.

“We see ourselves as part of the Winsford community and the response from local people since we opened earlier this year has been terrific.

“Lock Stock decided to bring a slice of North Wales to Winsford and share the delights of our roots, with every item in the hamper produced locally by independent traders via a Community Interest store in Denbigh.

“We would wish the mayor every success with his fundraising projects.

“He has chosen two fantastic causes to support in his mayoral year and it’s brilliant to see so many people supporting him.

"The 4Louis charity offers key support to people who have suffered a terrible loss and St Luke's Hospice offers outstanding care.”

Councillor Newton was pleased with the support he had received from local businesses.

He said:

“I have been round a lot of the local businesses asking for raffle prizes and Lock Stock Self Storage gave a hamper full of local produce from Wales.

“I’ve got more than 40 raffle prizes now and got about 90 per cent of that myself by just going into local businesses and asking the question.

“I’ve got a range of different things, from a car service at a garage to a brand new mattress, to lawn mowers and strimmers, and food vouchers for Greggs and Subway.

“We will raffle off 10 of the prizes at the 80s night and then on the following Monday we will go back to the council offices and do the other 30 and video that draw and put it out on Facebook.”

The mayor said he hoped the 80s evening would significantly contribute to his target of raising thousands of pounds for his two good causes.

He said:

“St Luke’s Hospice is in Winsford so I wanted to support something local.

“The 4Louis charity supports people affected by miscarriages and stillbirths.

“I chose that because me and my partner Jaki had a stillbirth child in October 1997, a boy who we called Owen.

“The 4Louis charity started up a bit later than that, it started up in Sunderland, and Leah Banks is the charity’s ambassador in Winsford and she does a lot of work for the charity.

“The charity does great work and really helps people - they give memory boxes and all sorts of support.”

The 80s night is the next event lined up by Councillor Newton in a list of charitable activities he has planned for his mayoral year.

His fundraising total is standing at about £1,000 so far and he’s been busy taking part in a series of events.

He said:

“I’ve done quite a bit already, I’ve done a 50-mile bike ride, I’ve done a tandem parachute jump which was really enjoyable and that is one of the raffle prizes we have available.

“The bike ride was the Salt Line Cycle organised by St Luke’s Hospice.

“And I did St Luke’s Midnight Walk in June which is an 11-mile walk from Reaseheath College to Crewe train station.

“I also did a pub crawl where I played darts, dominoes and pool against a member of staff for £20, where I went to all the 14 local pubs in Winsford - that raised about £500.

“Next April I am doing a bike ride from Winsford in Somerset back to here in Winsford.

“That is 250-odd miles, we’re leaving on April Fool’s Day, so I will be getting the bike out again to get ready for that.

“My overall target is £5,000 and if I get that by the end of my mayoral year I will be made up.”

Tickets for the Mega 80s Night are available by visiting Winsford Town Council’s website or the Friends of Winsford Mayor Facebook page.

Pictured - Winsford Mayor Cllr Graham Newton with Lock Stock’s Regional Manager Richard Warner.