James Brown & Sons funeral director raises £3k for Cruse

Funeral Partners has revealed that Andrew Neale, a funeral director at James Brown and Sons, joined a team of colleagues from funeral homes across Northern Ireland to raise over £3,000 for Cruse Bereavement Support (NI).

Neale took part in a 10 Km sponsored walk in Belfast for the charity, and the funds will be put towards bereavement services in the community.

Cruse said it is seeing the number of people seeking its specialist bereavement support rising “dramatically” due to the effects of the pandemic.

James Brown and Sons is part of the Funeral Partners network of high-quality funeral homes who run 16 funeral homes in Northern Ireland and previously partnered with Cruse (NI) to help recruit and train new bereavement volunteers.

Neale said: “The weather was on our side and the route took us around the beautiful Roe Valley Country Park in Limavady, taking in the great scenery with a mix of some off-road walking and a challenging climb. I’m pleased that we all completed the walk and had a great day, raising lots of money along the way.

“We wanted to raise money for Cruse (NI) as we knew that all the money we raised would be spent on bereavement services in our local community. We hope that the money from the walk will fund more bereavement volunteers to provide support to people whose loved ones we have arranged funerals for.”

Elaine Brannigan, community fundraising and engagement manager for Cruse (NI), added: “We are absolutely delighted to have the support of Funeral Partners NI and would like to thank everyone involved in raising such a fantastic amount in aid of Cruse. The money will help us to support more local bereaved people quicker.”