Jaguar Land Rover employees raise £55K in memory of former colleague

Fundraising for Jacqui Evans

Jaguar Land Rover staff have raised more than £55,000 in memory of a former colleague who died of cancer.

Jacqui Evans was a former senior purchasing manager at the manufacturer. She passed away in December 2015 at the age of 53.

Purchasing colleagues from JLR’s operations in Coventry, Gaydon and Whitley, have been raising funds for Penny Brohn UK, the holistic cancer charity which helped Jacqui prior to her death.

One of the major fundraising events was a memorial ball, held at Hogarths Hotel, near Solihull, which attracted 180 guests and raised £37,875 on the night – twice that of the ball held in 2016.

Guests were also offered a sneak peek of some of the carmaker’s latest products, including the Range Rover Velar.

Jacqui Evans

Emma Bailes, who works at JLR and was a friend of Jacqui, said: “We were overwhelmed by people’s support and generosity towards Penny Brohn.

“Jacqui’s cancer battle was undoubtedly made easier when she met the Penny Brohn team.

“She spoke fondly of her time there and the great friends she made, which is why we wanted to raise funds to help people facing the disease.”

Jan McLure, 43, also a senior purchasing manager at the firm, has been fundraising on an individual basis, having completed in a series of races. She has completed seven half marathons, a 15-mile run, a nine-mile event and a 10km race.

The Stratford Athletic Club member has so far raised over £2,200 for Penny Brohn.

She said: “Younger colleagues challenged me to do The Wolf Run with them. I trained hard so I didn’t embarrass myself.

“I came third out of our group and thought, I have this level of fitness, why not keep going and do something worthwhile to honour Jacqui?

“It’s extremely tough, but strangely enjoyable and I’m motivated by the fact it’s for Jacqui and Penny Brohn, a charity close to all of our hearts.”

Penny Brohn spokeswoman Samantha Young said: “Jacqui was a vibrant woman who fully embraced our Living Well with Cancer concept and we’re overawed by the support we’ve received in her name.

“Penny Brohn relies on donations, so without caring people and companies like JLR we couldn’t continue to support people with cancer, before, during and after treatment.

“This partnership continues to enable us to invest in our Midlands services, so everyone there needing our vital support can access it.”

Pictured from left are: Dawn Poyner and Emma Bailes, both JLR, with Penny Brohn’s Samantha Young and Sarah Crooks.

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