A Glasgow taxi driver has raised an incredible amount of money for Parkinson’s UK after organising a gig in the city’s Rolls Royce Social Club.
Andrew Monaghan, 43, was determined to do something in memory of his mother Barbara, who died in 2019, aged 84, after living with Parkinson’s for 14 years.
As soon as restrictions began to ease following the coronavirus pandemic, Andrew set the wheels in motion and began to organise his event.
He then raised just £3,000 through ticket sales and donations before bringing in a further £1,500 on the night through a raffle, wristband sales and a bucket collection.
He said: "I had come up with the idea after my mum, Barbara, passed away in 2019. She had lived with Parkinson's for 14 years.
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"When mum passed away, I said to my wife Phyllis I would like to raise awareness and money to help fight this horrible condition.
"If I can help just one person have a bit longer with a loved one, I would be over the moon. I started to investigate how I would go about doing it, then the pandemic hit and I had to put it on the back burner.
"So, when the restrictions got lifted in November 2021, I decided that I was going to push on with the event, I contacted Rolls Royce club, Men of Motown,
"My wife and I did the planning in a joint effort but she did all the graft!
"We started writing more letters back in January to ask for donations for the raffle and Jan Mattison from Parkinson’s UK helped out with banners, balloons and wristbands.
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“Carol from KM Creations helped out with the decoration and donated balloons and a welcome sign.
"The build up to the event was chaotic but it was a great night. The band, Men of Motown, were fantastic.
"We'd raised £3,000 in ticket sales and all in we raised £4,500 after our raffle and a bucket collection. We'd bought some wristbands from Parkinson's UK and sold the lot of them!"
Jan Mattison, Regional Fundraiser for West of Scotland, said: “We were delighted that Andrew decided to put on such a great event on behalf of Parkinson’s UK.
“The event was completely sold out well in advance and it was great to see people so generous on the evening.”
