A Chester-Le-Street man has used a special family celebration to raise funds for St Oswald's Hospice.

Dean Walker and his family are music mad and his daughter Lois, 14 has recently started attending the hospice for short breaks where she enjoys her sessions with our music therapist, Bev. Lois’ love for music comes from Dean, who has been dj-ing for over 40 years. Dean said:

“Music is a big part of our lives, there is always something playing at home. I have been dj-ing since my teens and love Northern Soul, I’ve got over 4000 soul records but Lois loves rock music. The noisier the better!”

Dean recently turned 60 and chose to celebrate by hosting a big birthday bash at Riverbeat on Gateshead Quayside surrounded by friends and family. Dean chose to support our Music Therapy Appeal, which aimed to raise £20,000 to support the service for 12 months, by asking his loved ones to donate to the appeal in lieu of gifts. 

“The party was fantastic! Family and friends all came together for a great day.  Music is really important to us all, everyone there met through music in some way so it was the perfect fit to enjoy ourselves and support the Hospice.

“We visited the hospice as a chance for us as a family to look around, and I spotted a poster for the Music Therapy Appeal and thought it was the perfect way to celebrate my 60^th and our love of music too. I know Lois is going to enjoy having these sessions when she’s there so it was the perfect opportunity to help.”

Thanks to the generosity and support of Dean, Lois, their family and friends, they raised an incredible £2365.26!  To date, over £37,000 has been raised by our community in support of music therapy. This will help towards ensuring this special service continues here at St Oswald’s Hospice, for Lois and all the other families whose lives are enriched by music. Thank you to Dean and to all who supported the appeal.