A NEWPORT woman has smashed her £25,000 fundraising target for St David’s Hospice in memory of son.

At an event on Tuesday night at the Hospice’s day centre on Blackett Avenue, Jackie Lewis revealed she, her friends and family, have raised £26,200 in the last two years in memory of her son Steven.

Steven, 31, died in December 2011 after battling stomach cancer.

Brave Mrs Lewis channelled her grief into fundraising for the hospice and it’s staff, which she says helped keep her son as comfortable as possible during his illness.

Through 28 different types of fundraising events, including bingo nights, sports events, and fancy dress walk, Mrs Lewis and her team hoped to raise £25,000.

However, at the emotional event on Tuesday, Mrs Lewis and staff from St David’s unveiled the grand total on a cake iced to look like a cheque – showing they had smashed their target by £1,200.

Mrs Lewis invited 25 friends, family and fundraisers who helped them to reach their target.

She personally thanked each of them in a moving speech, while a picture slideshow of the events they have held over the past two years showed on a screen behind.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Mrs Lewis also announced the new fundraising target for their third year will be reaching £33,333.33.

Her fundraising journey started when she and her group of friends decided they would take part in a sponsored walk, hoping to raise a small amount for St David’s.

However, their ideas snowballed and soon they were meeting regularly to think of new ways of fundraising.

A fancy dress walk through Newport has raised £10,000 for the team to date, while events including a sponsored swim, Elvis Tribute night and quizes have all helped to reach the target.

The money raised has also paid for a beautiful water feature in the garden of St David’s, and a bench to go next to it.

Mrs Lewis said: “I want to thank all of the individuals in this room.

“There are many people who have helped us and I can’t mention them all as there’s too many.

“I do not know what to say – I think you are all remarkable because you all helped us to get to where we are.”