Housebuilder donates to help Willand man raising funds for Taunton hospice

A local housebuilder has stepped in to support a man who is raising money in aid of St Margaret’s Hospice in Taunton.

Bellway South West has donated £200 to James Luker, from Willand, who wants to raise funds to thank the hospice which gave his family help and advice before his father Malcolm died of cancer.

The developer, which is delivering 125 new homes at Fox Mill Gardens in Willand, made the contribution after James approached the company for help.

James is organising two local fundraising bingo nights and is set to run the London Marathon in April 2025 in aid of St Margaret’s Hospice.

The 50-year-old father-of-two is to use the money from Bellway South West to buy prizes for raffles to be held on the bingo nights. The events will be held at Woolsery Community Hall on Saturday 14 September and at Willand Rovers Football Club on Saturday 19 October.

James, a warehouse operative, said: “St Margaret's Hospice not only supported my dad in the community but also us as a family when he was unwell and passed away in 2019. I want to run the London Marathon in my dad’s memory but also be able to give something back to the hospice, allowing them to continue providing this valuable service and amazing care.

“Myself and my wife Kim are also organising two fundraising bingo nights locally and the generous donation from Bellway will enable us to buy prizes for the raffles which will be held on both nights. We aim to buy vouchers for local attractions or restaurants so they can be offered as prizes to entice people to buy raffle tickets on the nights.

“I ran a half marathon five years ago but have never tackled a full marathon and have not really done any running since 2019. It is going to be a huge personal challenge but I am already in training and I hope to finish the course and do my father proud.”

Rachel Way, Senior Sales Manager at Bellway South West, said: “When James approached us with his story about wanting to give something back to St Margaret’s Hospice after they helped his father and the family during his battle with cancer we were very keen to help out. it is good to know that our donation will enable James to buy some prizes which might help sell more raffle tickets on his bingo nights.

“The hospice provides an incredible service to help and support people who have life-limiting illnesses and the families when they are facing the death of a loved one. We hope that the bingo nights go well and that James gets the training in so he can achieve his aim of completing the London marathon in aid of the hospice and in memory of his father.”

To donate to help James raise funds for St Margaret’s Hospice visit https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/james-luker-e62a9.

To find out more about the new homes at Bellway’s Fox Mill Gardens development, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/south-west/fox-mill-gardens or call 01884 510094