Fundraiser makes 'top mum' list

From the archive, first published Wednesday 6th Dec 2006.

The mother of a 17-year-old who died of cancer has been nominated for a national award after raising almost

£1 million in her daughter's name.

For a decade Jacquie Roeder, 61, has worked tirelessly without pay to raise cash for research into teenage cancer.

Her daughter, Brighouse High School student Laura Crane, died from a complex mix of four types of cancer.

At the time of her death there was no UK charity funding research into cancers affecting teenagers and young adults, so Jacquie set up the Laura Crane Trust, which has since grown from a small organisation based at her home to a thriving charity in an established office backed by celebrity patrons.

Actress and comedy star Catherine Tate is the latest famous name to back the trust, which in the past has had comedian Jack Dee and actress Zoe Lucker as active supporters.

With the fundraising almost at the

£1 million mark, Jacquie has been shortlisted for Mum of the Year award by Tesco Magazine.

In January she will join nine other finalists for a glittering ceremony at the Waldorf Hotel in London.

Jacquie said she was so pleased to be nominated and shortlisted that she would be happy to sit back and watch someone else scoop the title.

"If I win, fine, that's great, but I'm not going for that," she said.

"I have worked very, very hard for ten years. It's very nice when people give you recognition. I don't want it, I didn't ask for it, but when people say you have done really well it's nice."

True to Jacquie's busy schedule, the ceremony will be squeezed in between family commitments and work for the charity.

Last weekend Jacquie flew to the US to meet her new grandson and will return from her trip the day before the awards ceremony. But duty calls in Yorkshire, and Jacquie said she was keen not to linger too long in London, but to head back north to work as soon as possible.

Despite her time restrictions Jacquie said she planned on having a good time at the event and has invited five guests to celebrate at the ceremony with her.

"My husband and son, a friend and two of Laura's friends are coming, because it's not about me it's all about the charity," she said.

And she paid tribute to the support provided by her husband.

"I sometimes think if I hadn't met him before this happened to Laura I don't know where I would be now," she said.

e-mail: rebecca.wright@bradford.newsquest.co.uk