Stan's birthday presents go to charity

WHEN Warrington pensioner Stan Jackson celebrated his 80th birthday he asked his guests – almost 200 of them – to donate money to charity instead of buying him presents.
His generous act resulted in a whopping £900 being raised which Stan split between two charities close to his heart – Warrington Disability Partnership (WDP) and Cancer Research.
Stan, from Great Sankey, said: “Two of my mates had cancer – thankfully they’re both in remission now and doing well – and I’ve been attending IT classes at WDP’s Marjorie Griffiths Learning Centre for the past three years, so that’s why I chose those two charities to donate the money to.
“I thought it would be a good idea to ask people who came to my party to donate to my chosen charities rather than buy me presents because when you get to my age there’s not an awful lot you need so I wanted to give something back to two charities that mean a lot to me.”
Stan’s fundraising endeavours do not begin and end with his generous display at his landmark birthday celebration. He also sells poppies every year during October and November in support of Penketh British Legion and is a member of a Masonic lodge which makes charitable donations throughout the year.
Although Stan no longer attends IT classes – he completed his studies during the summer – over the three years Stan has been studying he has built up friendships with his teachers, Nick and Maria, that go beyond the confines of the IT Suite.
He said: “Maria left WDP at the end of December to develop her family’s business and I attended her leaving do so I could say goodbye and to thank her in person for all the support she has provided me with.”
Dave Thompson, WDP’s chairman and founder said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Stan for his incredibly generous donation to us which will be used to refurbish IT kit in The Marjorie Griffiths Learning Centre.
“The way in which he went about raising the money both for WDP and Cancer Research was a genuine and touching act of kindness. All of us here at WDP are sincerely grateful to Stan for his continued support of our charity.”
Picture: Stan Jackson (right) with Dave Thompson.