Maureen said, ‘we are so lucky in our family and I wanted to give to those who maybe haven’t been as lucky’.

Maureen collected a magnificent £840 and this money will now be used to support young people and their families where there has been an autism diagnosis. 

Autism is a developmental condition which affects how people communicate and interact with the world.  It is estimated that 1 in 100 people are on the autistic spectrum.  When a young person is diagnosed with autism it can often be difficult for families to make sense of it and so Key Charity working with an individual, their family and extended family can often be life changing. 

Maureen long suspects her late brother may have been autistic but it wasn’t something people really understood at that time.  Maureen’s eldest daughter Christine White worked helping autistic children with speech therapy so Maureen felt a definite connection with the autism work that Key is involved with.  It was important to Maureen that her donation helped young people starting out in their lives and it really will make a difference.

Maureen is a sprightly 90 year old who sings in not one but two local choirs in her spare time.  Before the pandemic she and her friends from the June Baker Singers would fundraise themselves singing at various venues for causes close to their heart.  Her second choir, Freckleton Village Singers, made a generous donation towards the collected amount for Key.

Maureen said that the secret to her youthful appearance and positive outlook is ‘always having something to get up for’.  Her dream is to visit the Albert Hall, something which was put on hold due to the pandemic.  She is hoping this trip will be re-arranged soon.

Maureen is pictured here with her son Phil when they visited Key on Saturday 20th November to hand over her very kind gift.