Tŷ Hafan fundraiser Glenys Old retiring after raising almost £30,000 in 20 years

Glenys Old decided to start fundraising for the charity in 1999 after her husband passed away.

Her fundraising efforts have seen her become known as 'the Tŷ Hafan lady' locally, and have led to meeting Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall when they visited the hospice in 2018.

"Everything I have done has come from this house. I put a stall out the front and people pass for a browse.

"Many a person will say I don’t want anything, but leave a pound on the table anyway.

“I put balloons, banners, posters and a welcome sign up outside my house.

"I would be out there from 8am. I would have at least 60 people at the house throughout the day.

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"All my neighbours look forward to it. I have to borrow their chairs and kettles as I don't have enough here.

"They would all make pasties and Welsh cakes and I would take them down in to town and sell them."

"I'm a member of Gilfrach dance club and they have supported me through my fundraising, so I'd like to thank them for their help."

Mrs Old started fundraising for the charity after speaking to someone from the charity at the Big Cheese Festival in Caerphilly after her husband passed away.

"When my husband died I thought it was a big loss," she said. "I have one daughter but she lives in London.

“One piece of advice I was given by friends and will always remember, was to ‘say no to nothing’.

(Glenys Old from Bargoed if retiring after raising over £30,000 for Ty Hafan. Picture: Ty Hafan.)

"I went to the Big Cheese in Caerphilly, and spoke to someone from Tŷ Hafan.

"They don't get any national help and rely on donations and volunteers. I asked if they had any balloons that I could use for a fundraiser and it all started from there."

Mrs Old fondly remembers meeting the Prince of Wales at the Tŷ Hafan Hospice.

"Suzanne Goodall, the founder of the hospice, invited me and my daughter to come to the hospice to meet Charles and Camilla.

"I was expecting us to all be in a row and them to shake our hands one by one. But it wasn't like that, they both spoke to everyone. We had quite a conversation."

Tŷ Hafan recognised Mrs Old for her contributions over the past 20 years during the recent National Volunteers Week.

Helen Morgan, senior community fundraiser at Tŷ Hafan said: "Glenys is an inspirational lady in so many ways and we are so grateful to have had her support for all of these years.

"While we’re sad that we’ll no longer get to hear about her wonderful fundraising activities, she’ll always be remembered for her work and the amount of money she raised, especially with her name engraved on our treasured Tŷ Hafan Gift Tree.”