AFTER the passing of their mother a brother and sister have come together and raised thousands of pounds in her memory for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Bethany and Ben Wood, 24 and 27, from Farleton lost their mother Elizabeth Wood unexpectedly in November 2019 at the age of 54.

To honour the memory of their mother, who was a long-time supporter of guide dog charities, they are raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind’s sponsor and name a puppy scheme.

Bethany said: “After Mum died last November, we wanted to do some fundraising to keep our spirits up.

“Mum had always been a volunteer for guide dogs, and she even adapted a puppy named Bonnie after she was unable to pass guide dog training.

“She was always keen to support guide dogs. We decided on doing a tribute to her memory towards the charity and we looked into the ‘naming a puppy’ scheme.

“You basically sponsor and a name puppy, we thought it’d be nice to raise enough to name one. We were thinking of going with Lizzie, after mum. We aim to raise £5000. We have two years to raise it in.

“We started in January with a raffle and we got a lot of businesses donating. We thought of doing quizzes and community work to raise more, but that’s on hold at the moment due to the virus.

“We will be doing a virtual bake off and a hamper will be a prize for people sending in pictures of their cakes.”

The two have raised more than £1700 in their efforts and look to raise more.

Ben said: “The way it works is you can do three different stages of sponsoring a dog. It’s £2500 for the first stage, £5000 for the next stage and there is also a lifetime stage.

“We have plenty of ideas and hope to raise as much as we can for this great cause. This was so important to our mum, so now it’s important for us.

“It’s not the first charity that comes to mind at the moment, but it is just as important. If you have an impairment you need services like this more than ever. It’s really personal to us.”

Visit Facebook @NAPLizzie for information and donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/naplizzie.