The charity set up in memory of BBC presenter Dianne Oxberry has teamed up with personalised clothing business Clothes2order to launch a t-shirt fundraising campaign.
Dianne, a former BBC Radio 1 host and BBC North West Tonight weather presenter, died from ovarian cancer in January aged 51.
The Dianne Oxberry Trust, which has already raised more than £100k was founded by her husband Ian Hindle to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and its symptoms, support families affected by the condition and to fund research.
The t-shirts and a rose grown in honour of Dianne were unveiled at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show as part of the BBC NWT ‘Sunshine Garden’ dedicated to Dianne.
Sam Jones, managing director of Clothes2order, which is based in Trafford Park, said:
We are honoured to be working with the Dianne Oxberry Trust to help support their cause through the sale of these t-shirts.
Since we launched Charity Shirts, over £18,000 has been raised for different causes all over the country. We are extremely proud to be able to offer this platform for charities to make a difference through the sale of t-shirts to their supporters.
Nicky Thompson, chairperson of the Dianne Oxberry Trust, said:
When Dianne died so suddenly, it was devastating for her family and friends. What nobody expected was the mass outpouring of grief and expressions of love from thousands of viewers and listeners.
Most of these people had never met her but, after 24 years of broadcasting in the north west, Dianne had become a part of the fabric of daily life for so many.
One of her favourite programmes of the year was her annual live broadcast from the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park.
This year, her colleagues from BBC North West Tonight wanted to create a Sunshine Garden in her memory and, at the heart of it, a specially-grown rose to honour Dianne, created by internationally-renowned breeders Rosen Tantau from Germany in conjunction with Fryer’s Roses.
For every rose sold, £1 has been donated to the trust and, as an additional way of raising funds, we have created a unique Florida Sunset t-shirt which we hope will be worn with pride by people all over the region.
Over the next few months we will be looking at various ovarian cancer projects around the UK so we can decide how to allocate some of the incredible funds raised so far, so the sale of the t-shirts will make a big difference to our charity.
Image credit: Dianne Oxberry Trust donations trustee Jo Rosenberg, left, with chairperson Nicky Thompson wearing the ‘Florida Sunset’ rose t-shirts.