THE family of a man who died after being knocked down on the East Lancs held a celebration of his life to raise funds for the air ambulance that enabled them to say goodbye to him.
The family of Gareth ‘Gaz’ Powell have been hosting an annual event in his memory since his death in 2021.
Gaz tragically died aged 39 after being hit by a car near Haydock Island on August 23, 2021.
Gaz was treated by the North West Air Ambulance Charity (NWAA) who took him to hospital, which enabled his family to say goodbye to him.
Gaz’s family have been raising money for the charity since the collision and have set up a music night called ‘Gazjam’, in his memory.
A “larger than life personality”, Gaz, from Haydock, had a big passion for music and was also well known in the St Helens sporting community.
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'Gazjam' features performances from various musical talents, from local acts to people who knew Gaz personally.
The family have held the event for the past two years, but this year they raised a huge £3,685.56, taking their overall fundraising total for the North West Air Ambulance Charity to an incredible £16,173.42.
Gaz's sister Emma Travis said: “My brother Gaz was tragically hit by a car whilst crossing the East Lancashire Road in Haydock on August 24, 2021.
"The air ambulance attended and thanks to the amazing medical team they kept him breathing and transferred him to Aintree Hospital where, as a family his loved ones got to say goodbye as a family along with his friends, we will be eternally grateful for that.
“At his funeral we made it a celebration of his life and at his wake his friends and family sang songs and celebrated his love of music. This is where the idea for Gazjam came about.
"This is a night of live music with a raffle and an auction where friends of Gaz’s that are local musicians and also new friends we have made through Gazjam perform.
"This June was the third Gazjam and it was a sell-out once again. Alongside Gazjam people have completed other things to raise money we have managed to raise just over £16,000 since he passed away.”
Gaz's family have not only held the music nights, but they’ve also had coffee mornings in the community, and sports clubs have also been involved with raising funds for the lifesaving charity, including St Helens Hockey Club and Haydock Cricket Club.
Rhianna McDermott, NWAA’s regional fundraiser for Merseyside, added: “We’d like to say a huge thank you for raising over £16,000 in Gareth's memory. This year the charity has celebrated its 25th Birthday and we are grateful to people like the Powell family who enable us to make a lifesaving difference as we are a charity and receive no government funding and are not part of the NHS.”
- To find out more about how you can support the North West Air Ambulance Charity head to https://www.nwairambulance.org.uk/
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