On the 15th of May, Laura passed away having given Lung Cancer a hiding for the best part of four years. I'm deliberately avoiding words such as 'battle' and 'fight' as she couldn't stand them and vowed she'd haunt me if I did. The cornerstone of her life's work was building. Whether it was building capacity in people through advice or her honest writing, building the bones and character of her three children or building pathways that challenged and changed accepted norms, she did so with grace, determination and her Cockney no nonsenseness.
As devastating as her leaving is, I feel we have an opportunity here to help build something positive, something that can make a difference. With this in mind, I have set up this fundraising page with the aim of supporting two charities, The Ruth Strauss Foundation and Young Women's Trust. The Ruth Strauss Foundation 'Provide emotional support for families to prepare for the death of a parent
and raise awareness of the need for more research & collaboration in the fight against non-smoking lung cancers'. This was a charity that Laura reached out to and they were so good in listening to her and providing support for the kids.
The Young Women's Trust 'offer young women free coaching, feedback on job applications and information to help them get where they want to be. They bring together a network of thousands of young women to support each other, build their self-belief, and have their voices heard.' Laura was passionate about women being heard and about having access to spaces previously denied them so this is a charity that she'd be proud of supporting.
Again, this is a period that feels quite dark and unfair so if we can use it to make things lighter and fairer for others then that can only be a good thing.
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