A WEEK after the tragic death of Samantha Thomas, friends and family have rallied around raising funds to give her the send off she deserves.

Two fundraising pages have been set up in memory of the ‘kind hearted’ 29-year-old who died in a house fire in Cwmbran last Tuesday.

So far a Go Fund Me page set up by Miss Thomas’ brother Michael Thomas has raised £20 of its target of £1,000 from a donation by Abersychan Labour councillor Giles Davies.

A Just Giving page set up by Kelly Webster has also raised £351 towards its £500 goal after rugby player Sam Warburton backed the appeal by retweeting the page.

“We are trying to raise as much as possible,” Sam’s sister Rachael Jenkins said.

“We are using the money for her funeral and to help towards the community as well, as we are going to split half the money to help do up the houses for the [neighbours] who lived near Sam.

“The fundraising is helping us come to terms with it.

“We are just taking it day by day.”

Miss Jenkins is also taking part in a sponsored walk from The Royal Oak pub in Pontnewynydd, through Pontypool town centre next Saturday, May 30, to raise funds.

So far she has raised £145 from sponsorship for the event.

“I have dropped a sponsor form at the George Pub in Pontypool and they will be holding a charity event in memory of Sam,” she added.

Taking part in the walk will be Miss Jenkins’ partner, Jason Webb, and her mum Kelly Webster along with other family and friends, but she hopes member of the public will get involved as well.

Any funds left over will be donated to the emergency services and All Creatures Great and Small, as Miss Thomas was a huge animal lover-spending much of her life volunteering in shelters and vet surgeries.

“It is a big shock to see how many people want to help raise money and lots of people have been sharing it [the pages] all over Facebook,” Miss Jenkins said.

“I am really happy with people helping us at this hard time-it is really nice to see that people do care.”

To show her appreciation Miss Jenkins asked officers stationed at the scene last week to pass on the families thanks to the neighbours who helped.

Cllr Davies ,who was the first to donate to the Go Fund Me page, said:

“I feel for the family.

“It is tragic.

“I donated £20 in the hope it will encourage other people to donate.”

Anyone wishing to take part in the walk can meet at the Royal Oak in Pontnewynydd on May 30 at 11am.

To donate visit: http://www.gofundme.com/Samanthathomas

https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/kelly-webster-2