Kevin lost his mum, Carol, to cancer last year. As the six-month anniversary of her death approached, he decided to mark it with a party in her memory.

"After a very short illness – just 29 days from diagnosis to her death – we lost Mum on 5 April last year. I was about to turn 30 and my world was turned upside-down.

"I felt consumed by grief, but also empowered by Mum’s bravery in the face of something so terrifying. Not long after she died, my sister and I started talking about doing a fundraising event in Mum’s honour."

My sister Alice and I decided to organise a party in memory of Mum, on what would have been her 56th birthday.

Making plans

"When Mum was really ill, we’d had Marie Curie Nurses stay overnight at home and their presence made us feel safe. We were so impressed by the quality of care that she received.

"When it came to choosing a charity to support through our fundraising, there was no question – it had to be Marie Curie.

"Chatting with my sister about how best to celebrate Mum’s life, we hit on the idea of marking the six-month anniversary of her death. It would also have been her 56th birthday. It seemed the perfect moment to get everyone together to remember Mum."

Spreading the word

"Social media is such a great way of promoting your fundraising, so we set up a Facebook event called ‘A Night in Celebration of Carol Doonan’s Life’. We invited all of Mum’s family and friends, and got a great response. We also put posts on Instagram and Twitter.

"Thinking big, we even contacted our local newspapers in Belfast. Some of them ran stories promoting the event, which was amazing. Local businesses donated prizes for our raffle, including romantic hotel mini-breaks, clothing vouchers and even £200 in cash. We were delighted and overwhelmed by the response."

More than we were expecting

"Marie Curie sent us collection buckets, badges, daffodil pins and leaflets to give out at our event. Everything was set up and we were so excited to do something memorable for everyone who knew Mum.

"On the night, we all worked together really well and everyone played their part in making the evening a huge success. The room was filled to capacity with 250 people and we raised £2,000 for Marie Curie – much more than we were expecting!"

Planning your event

"If you’re thinking of hosting a fundraising event of your own, my one piece of advice would be to relax. Share the stress with other people involved in planning the event – that’s what they’re there for!

"Give people as much notice as you can, so they can book time off work or get childcare. We put the word out almost four months before our event. We chose a venue that was somewhere Mum would’ve gone out when she was younger, which made it feel really poignant. Everything worked out perfectly."