Newtown family raise £6,000 in memory of son Ronnie

A Newtown family has raised £6,000 for Hope House children’s hospice during a special birthday party and music festival held in memory of their son Ronnie.

Hundreds of people attended the Festival on Ronnie Street in July at Seasons Café in Caersws, which marked what would have been Ronnie Jones’ 5th birthday.

Ronnie, who lived in Newtown, was born with complex needs and received care at Hope House until he passed away aged just 15 months in November 2021.

Since then, his parents Alice and Lewis have organised annual events in his memory, raising more than £30,000 for the hospice over the past three years.

Alice said: “The parties have been a lovely way to bring friends, family and community together to celebrate Ronnie’s life and remember him. It was a really good event and lots of people turned up both during the day and for the evening entertainment. We raised double the amount this year than we have in the past, which is so wonderful and really special.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to the generous businesses and supporters who have offered their time and commitment to help us. A huge thank you to our sponsors, Williams Plant Hire, Redkite Glass Ltd, Hilltop, EvaBuild, Mid Wales Property, Deano’s Tiki Bar, Lee Hughes & Son Haulage for all their contributions.”

The family’s fundraising doesn’t stop there. Alice recently helped set up a local support group in Newtown for bereaved parents, called The Loss Lounge, which meets on the last Friday of every month at 6.30pm at Platform 1, Newtown Train Station.

They are also planning a special dinner party in September, with food, mocktails and a raffle, as part of Hope House’s ‘Let’s Do Dinner’ fundraising campaign. Meanwhile, Lewis is currently training to run the London Marathon next year.

Anyone wishing to support Hope House can find more details about events and fundraising at hopehouse.org.uk.