Hero fundraiser received a bench to honour her work in Thurcroft

A hero fundraiser has received a bench in celebration of 40 years fundraising for charities across Rotherham.

Sandra Blockley MBE, who runs a charity shop on Green Arbour Road in Thurcroft, Rotherham, has been described as a legend in the community.

She has been fundraising for more than 40 years and is believed to have raised more than £1million for cancer and dementia charities.

She won the prestigious award for fundraising at the Pride of Britain gala last year and then a plaque was revealed at the Thurcroft Welfare Community Hall, just around the corner from her shop.

Now, she has a bench – courtesy of Thurcroft Big Local who arranged this tribute for her to show “how proud we are of her and her great achievement”.

Ms Blockley said: “It’s absolutely wonderful. It was a right surprise. I did a good sit on it the other day and I’m going to sit on it on Sunday when I come out of the church.”

People in Thurcroft have called for a statute to be made to celebrate Ms Blockley.

“No, I don’t think so, I’d rather spend money on something else”, she said.

Earlier this year she told the Rotherham Advertiser that she had a target to raise £50,000 for Making Space.

Now, she told the Local Democracy Service, she’s hit that target recently.

Ms Blockley added she wanted to keep the money in Rotherham so they would set up a trust and her granddaughters as trustees would protect it and release it every year just after Christmas for the “Music for the Year”.

“So whoever’s doing it, hopefully it will be Making Space because they are wonderful, they won’t have to worry about money for entertainment,” she said.

When asked what’s next, she said she would still raise money – however, she was retiring from the shop at Christmas.

Laughing, Ms Blockley, added she was 79 years old and “it is just not nice” having a nasty back pain.

“I’ll still be around”, she said.