Marathon Man Steve Raising Money For Charity

On 27th April this year, Frampton Cotterell Parish Council’s Estates & Amenities officer, Steve Bassett, will be running his first London marathon to raise funds for the fantastic Ben Saunders Foundation.

The Ben Saunders Foundation raises money for children and young adults with cancer. Ben Saunders was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in October of 2019. Whilst facing two major open-heart surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy, Ben founded this charity with the hope of helping other young people with cancer.

Sadly, Ben passed away aged only 18. His foundation is continued in his memory.

The foundation provides holidays for families with young adults and children with a cancer diagnoses, as well as for families struggling with a bereavement due to cancer.

So far, the foundation has raised over £750,000 in memory of Ben and has provided holidays for over 370 families at holiday homes in the Cotswolds.

Marathon-Man Steve

Steve Bassett was a former work colleague of Ben Saunders’s father, Tom. Steve’s son played junior football with Ben when they were younger. Steve has since joined Frampton Cotterell Parish Council as our Estates & Amenities Officer, and has become a real part of the community in Frampton Cotterell.

On raising money for the Ben Saunders Foundation, Estates & Amenities Office Steve said,

“The parish council have kindly agreed to support me and my fundraising, allowing all donations from Coffee and Cake mornings through February and March to be donated to the foundation. We will also be running a fundraising day to raise funds.”

Steve is currently well into his training, running up to four times a week! He has some longer runs coming up over the next weeks in preparation for the London Marathon…

“The marathon is only 8 weeks away this Sunday [March 2nd], so it is coming around fast. Training was going really well, but I picked up a small injury after my 14 mile run last Sunday, so I am resting for a few days before I get back out there running.”

Steve currently lives in Stoke Gifford, but you will probably spot him running around Frampton Cotterell as part of his training over the coming months.

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Fundraising Event

On Saturday 5th April, 2025, the parish council will be hosting a fundraising event to support Steve’s efforts and the Ben Saunders Foundation.

Join us at The Brockeridge Centre from 10am – 1pm for a fun morning of coffee, cake, craft stalls and a tombola!

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Donations

If you would like to contribute to this very worthy cause, you can give your donation online at Steve’s Just Giving page.

You can also donate in person at the Brockeridge Centre reception at any time during our opening hours (9am – 2pm Monday to Friday) or during our weekly Coffee & Cake mornings (every Tuesday, 11am – 1pm).

Tombola and Craft Donations

Could you donate any items to our tombola?

We are looking for new / unused items suitable for tombola prizes, such as toiletries, food, drinks, unwanted gifts, etc.

Our wonderful Crochet & Knit Club volunteers will also be running a “Shared Craft Table” stall, for selling donated hand-crafted items to help raise money.

They welcome donations of crafted items from any member of the community to sell at this stall.

(Please note: our volunteers cannot make any part-payment to the crafter for items sold on this table, nor return any unsold items. Any unsold donated items will be passed on the the Floral Friends of Frampton for their fundraising sale at the end of May).

If you have anything you could spare, please drop your items off at The Brockeridge Centre during our opening hours, or contact us by email on office@framptoncotterell-pc.gov.uk or telephone on 01454 864442.