Baron a cut above when it comes to raising funds

Baron Laird, 47, owner of Jazzman Grooves in Bull Street Burnley, has helped raise more than £1,000 for the Reedley-based charity and now has his sights set on raising further funds.

The dad-of-four decided to fundraise for the hospice after his wife Lynda started working at the hospice as an auxiliary bank nurse and gave him first hand accounts of the fantastic work they undertake.

Baron, who is currently recovering from secondary lymph node cancer, along with his son Max (17) and friends Franny Gaughan and Laurance Gorman recently ran the Burnley 10k on behalf of the hospice.

He’s now hoping to raise more money by taking part in the Lytham 10k in November.

Baron said: “I decided to raise money for the Pendleside Hospice because it’s a local charity that supports the people of Burnley and Pendle in many ways. Also, my wife Lynda recently started working with the hospice and she sees first hand what a fantastic place it is and all the aspects of work the hospice does in our area.”

Baron was diagnosed with secondary lymph node cancer and a primary unknown head and neck cancer in September 2013 after finding a lump in his neck.

He was treated at Royal Blackburn Hospital and Royal Preston Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove his blood supply to the tumours and lymph nodes. He also underwent a course of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and required a feeding tube.

“At that time I didn’t access any services at the hospice, but my wife did enquire about the services they had to offer me and my family and tried to persuade me to go,” he added.

“In retrospect, I should have used the services on offer because they really would have benefited me and my family immensely.

“At that time, I thought the hospice was for end of life care and I didn’t realise the different services on offer.”

His family have been involved in a number of other fundraising efforts for the hospice in the past couple of years including the Midnight Walk, Little Hospice Heroes walk and a coffee morning. Baron and Lynda also held a duck race at their wedding which raised more than £300 for the charity.

He added: “I would like to say a huge heartfelt thank you to all my friends, family, customers for sponsoring me and the rest of the team and for their continued support.”