Updated on
Inspirational husband and wife duo Mike and Sue Jackson, from Colchester, have reached an incredible £250,000 fundraising milestone in memory of their late son-in-law Kevin ‘Kev’ Fortuna.
Kev, of A Company, 1 Rifles, was killed in May 2011 whilst on active duty in Afghanistan, three weeks before his 37th birthday. He joined the Army at 16 and served in Iraq (twice), Afghanistan (twice), Kosovo, the Balkans and Northern Ireland (four times), being awarded nine medals during his military career.
Mike and Sue initially set a target to raise £10,000 in memory of Kev but reached a staggering £42,369 by the end of 2012 and have continued to fundraise for the Charity ever since.
They hit the £250,000 milestone at a bucket collection in Martlesham, Suffolk where they were surprised by staff, volunteers and family members, who presented them with an award and a ‘thank you’ from our friends at Room to Reward in recognition of their incredible efforts over the last 11 years.
Speaking about the surprise visit, which included our Interim CEO James Needham, and Chief Advocacy Ambassador Mark Elliott, Mike said: “It took us totally by surprise, people kept trickling in. Occasionally when we’re in Colchester we see people we know, but when we’re out of area we tend not to.”
“We keep saying we’re going to slow down, but I’ve got about ten days already booked for next year. You get to the stage now where we know what works and what doesn’t work.
“The armed forces have done so much for us, we just do a little bit to say thank you.”