BBC book sale raises £650 for @CRY_UK
Left to right, Mariita, Ruth, Jacky and Anne Marie.
A book sale at the BBC’s New Broadcasting House headquarters raised £650 for Tom and Claire’s Fund and CRY.
The event, on Thursday, December 1, the second anniversary of Claire’s death, was organised by her friend and colleague Ruth Akins-Arulanandam.
“We had a wonderful contribution of books from 5Live (Jessica Latimer) and we also had an unexpected top up of from the Victoria Derbyshire show (Monica Soriano),” said Ruth.
“The lovely Lorna Donlon bought in some gorgeous chocolate cakes which were sold within the hour.
“The book sale wouldn’t have happened without Gillian Dear who organised the space and helped collect the books in the lead-up to the event. On the day we had Suzanne Yates, Jacky Hems, Mariita Eager, Anne Marie Ballantyne, Madeline Ferguson, Dhruti Shah and Smitha Mundasad helping to sell as much as they could in aid of CRY.
“It was a day tinged with sadness as it has been two years since the passing of our dear friend Claire. This made us all the more determined to raise as many funds as we could in memory of Claire and Tom.
“It was lovely to spend the day with Claire’s friends and former colleagues, remembering her; she is missed by so many people. The sale came to a wonderful end when we realised how much we had raised in aid of CRY.
“Suzanne Yates also took the opportunity to take the remaining books to Oxfam on Marylebone high street, something Claire used to do herself at the end of a book sale.”
Ellen Clabburn said: “We really appreciate the effort made by Ruth and all those who helped. It was a lovely thing to do as Mum specialised in book sales for CRY. They are such a good way to raise both funds and awareness.”