The family of Gareth ‘Gaz’ Powell have been hosting an annual event in his memory since he passed away in 2021.
Gaz was treated by the North West Air Ambulance Charity (NWAA) after he was involved in a road traffic accident three years ago. Gaz’s family have been raising money for the charity since the accident and have set up a music night called ‘Gazjam’, in his memory. The night features performances from various musical talents, from local acts to people who knew Gaz personally.
The family have held the event for the past two years, but this year they raised a huge £3,685.56 at Gazjam, taking their overall fundraising total for the NWAA charity to an incredible £16,173.42.
Emma Travis said: “My brother Gaz was tragically hit by a car whilst crossing the East Lancashire Road in Haydock on the 24th of August 2021. The air ambulance attended and thanks to the amazing medical team they kept him breathing and transferred him to Aintree Hospital where, as a family his loved ones got to say goodbye as a family along with his friends, we will be eternally grateful for that.
“At his funeral, we made it a celebration of his life and at his wake, his friends and family sang songs and celebrated his love of music. This is where the idea for Gazjam came about.
“This is a night of live music with a raffle and an auction where friends of Gaz’s that are local musicians and also new friends we have made through Gazjam perform. This June was the 3rd Gazjam and it was a sellout once again. Alongside Gazjam people have completed other things to raise money we have managed to raise just over £16,000 since he passed away.”
The Powell family have not only held the music nights, but they’ve also had coffee mornings in the local community, and local sports clubs have also been involved with raising funds for the lifesaving charity including St Helens Hockey Club and Haydock Cricket Club.
Rhianna McDermott, NWAA’s Regional Fundraiser for Merseyside said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you for raising over £16,000 in Gareth’s memory. This year the charity has celebrated its 25th Birthday and we are grateful to people like the Powell family who enable us to make a lifesaving difference as we are a charity and receive no government funding and are not part of the NHS.”
To find out more about how you can support NWAA follow this link.