We want to say a big thank you to Dawn Burrows and Christine Wardle, who have raised money for Galloway's by setting up donation pages in memory of their loved ones.
This means a lot to the blind and partially sighted people who we support.
Here are their stories:
Sight loss charity Galloway’s provided a great deal of comfort to Dawn Burrows when her husband lost his sight following a brain tumour.
Geoff Burrows died on December 19, aged 59, after being diagnosed with a high grade glioma in August last year.
Instead of flowers, Dawn, from Halton, set up a donation page in his memory on Facebook, which raised more than £1,300 for Galloway’s.
Dawn, 54, said: “Geoff didn’t have any problems until two years ago when he lost most of his sight in his left eye. At first, we were told this was because he had a small bleed on his brain after a stroke, but his sight started getting worse. After an MRI scan, we found out he had a grade glioma (brain tumour).
“He then lost all his sight.
“We didn’t know where to go for help until a friend told us about Galloway’s because he had been in the Brew Me Sunshine cafe. We contacted the staff there and found them really helpful. They talked us through all the gadgets that would help Geoff around the house. I even went to see them without Geoff and they could not have been any more helpful.
“It was really good as there was someone there to listen to me.
“So I wanted to set up a Facebook donation page to say thank you to Galloway’s for their support and it was important to us to keep it local.
“Geoff was such a nice person and because of that, everyone who knew him wanted to donate to Galloway’s. We had around 200 people come out to watch the funeral car at a safe distance along the route.
“He was really caring and had completed a degree in social work and had been working on a PHD at Lancaster University. He loved his nieces and nephews and will be missed by us all.”
Another family member who is appreciative of the advice Galloway’s has given is Christine Wardle.
When her 89-year-old dad Ken Roe died in December, she set up a donation page on Facebook, in lieu of flowers. This reached more than £600, with further offline donations.
Christine said: “Dad lost his sight suddenly in 2008 and it deteriorated. “He had glaucoma, wet and dry age related macular disease and cataracts. I had heard of Galloway’s through my job at CancerCare in Lancaster and when we visited, we found that everyone was very kind.
“They helped him with equipment which was great as it enabled him to remain independent, which was important to him. It was that level of service which he appreciated and he loved going to Brew Me Sunshine.
“So when he died, we knew Galloway’s was the right charity to support.”
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For more information on ways to support Galloways, call 01772 744148 or visit www.galloways.org.uk