Winston’s Wish charity to benefit from two years’ support

Winston’s Wish, a charity which supports children and young people after the death of someone close to them, has been chosen as our charity partner for the 2022-2023.

They help children across the UK and will benefit from the next two years’ worth of fundraising activity by the Birmingham Publicity Association. Not only are they a very worth charity, but it will also allow the BPA to honour Jo Harrington, who passed away in 2020.

Jo was a supporter and member of the BPA for over a decade and was chair in 2013, was known throughout the Midlands for being a hardworking, passionate, talented, fun and outgoing woman who worked in the media industry

Her charity of choice was Winston’s Wish as she lost her mum at the age of 13, and as she was such a huge supporter and contributor to everything the group did, they wanted to also give something back to a charity she was so passionate about.

Mark McDonagh, chair of the BPA said it was a way for Jo’s memory to live on and is a huge reason for the organisation to try even harder to not only get ‘back to a normal’ as Jo would have liked to see, but also raise as much money as possible for the charity in its process.

“We were all devastated to lose Jo in 2020 and we made sure at our last event just before Christmas we all raised a glass for her and shared memories about our friend.

“We are able to raise thousands in our activities throughout the year which are then donated to our charity partner at the Christmas event, and so this is another way we can continue her legacy and help bereaved children in the Midlands,” he said.

Acorns Children’s Hospice were supported for a total of three years due to the COVID-19 crisis, and the BPA raised a total of £22,500 during that time for them, before the ‘baton’ was handed over to Winston’s Wish for the start of 2022.

The BPA Leadership Team were keen to ensure that Jo’s memory would live even further, so with the blessing of her family we have named the charity fund that gets donated each year as the ‘Jo Harrington Fund’.

Mark added: “This will mean that we will all be able to remember Jo in our own way, and know that her contribution to helping people will go even further. She was such a generous and selfless person, that this was entirely fitting.”

Nina Harrington, Jo's sister said: “We as a family are immensely proud and grateful of this lasting legacy that the BPA has organised in Joanne’s memory, the ‘Jo Harrington fund’.  Giving to those who’s needs are more, was at the very ethos of everything Jo did and stood for, this is a perfect way to continue her purpose.  She was a workaholic, driven to make a positive difference to all who knew her whether at work or socially”.

“It hit Jo hard when we lost our mom at such a young age.  The BPA supporting ‘Winston’s Wish’ in this way, by raising money to help other young children like herself to heal and refocus without their loved one around, is the best tribute that Jo herself and her family could have wished for."

Fergus Crow, CEO at Winston’s Wish said: “We are honoured that the BPA has chosen to support Winston’s Wish for the next two years in Jo’s memory. We know that there are over 257,000 children who live in Birmingham, and that sadly, statistically 1 in 29 five to sixteen-year-olds are bereaved of a parent or sibling in the UK; this equates to approximately 8,800 grieving children in your city who need our help.  Having the support of the Association to raise not just funds, but awareness of the support available for children, young people and those who care for them across the West Midlands, is a huge opportunity for us.”