Charity "astonished" by generous £185k donation left in will
Woman left the windfall to MNDA despite having no known link to the charity
A charity has been left "astonished" after a £185,000 donation was left to them in a will, despite the deceased having no known connection to the cause.
Cold Ash resident Sheila Hamblin, who died last April, left the substantial sum to the Reading and West Berkshire branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).
Initial plans to spend the Sheila Hamblin Legacy include £60,000 on the appointment of a respiratory physio nurse, £80,000 on two research projects, £10,000 on training care agency workers, £4,000 for counselling services and £6,000 on training courses for health professionals and carers.
MNDA Branch chairwoman Margaret Moss delivered the news at a lunch for 100 of the charity's supporters, at Basildon Village Hall earlier this month.
She said: "The Sheila Hamblin Legacy of £185,000 will, we hope, fund several new initiatives to improve the care and treatment of people living with motor neurone disease (MND).
"Our good news this year is up there with the phenomenal Ice bucket Challenge and I am delighted to be able to share it.
"It will mean that this unknown person will live on in our work.
"We won't forget her even though we never knew her."
Mrs Hamblin died unexpectedly at her home on The Ridge in April 2014. She was the widow of Bryce Charles Hamblin, who died in September 2004, and is buried with her in a double grave at St Mark’s Church, Cold Ash.
She left the money specifically to the branch of the MND Association as part of a £2.3 million estate shared between 12 local and national good causes. Seven people also received gifts of £30,000 each.
Consultant neurologist and clinician scientist at the Oxford MND Care and Research Centre, Dr Martin Turner, said the money would make all the difference to stem cell work being carried out by colleagues there.
Also at the lunch, Thatcham woman Carol Allen was honoured with the association’s Extra Mile Award after working for 10 years as a specialist nurse for people with rare neurological conditions.
Mrs Allen, who retires in July, was presented with the badge and certificate for "working tirelessly out of hours, often at unsocial hours, to help relieve the concerns and fears of many people living with MND".
Ms Moss said: "Carol has been the prop, the ear, the wise advisor to us all and the vital link to make sure that people living with MND are in control of their own treatment at home and kept out of hospital where possible."
