A family in Rainham decorated their house with pumpkins, cobwebs and skeletons last month to raise money for children’s cancer charity, My Shining Star.

The Hedges family invited members of the public to their house on Wigmore Road, encouraging them to donate to My Shining Star and bring packages for Medway Food bank.

The family do this every year, not only for Halloween but also for Christmas and Easter.

The decorations that hung outside Hedges Haunted Mansion were collected from “car boot sales, Facebook marketplace, freecycle sites” and a range of other places, having been collected for years.

Lavinia Hedges, the main organiser of the event, said they chose to support the local charity this year as they “love everything they stand for”.

The family chose Disney-theme to accompany the spooky display as they’re big fans and to encourage more children and families to come along.

Over October they raised £2,656 on their Go Fund Me page alone. The Hedges family also received an anonymous £2000 cheque, as well as the money they collected from the pot on their driveway.

It didn’t stop there, with bags and bags of tinned soup, instant coffee and baked beans coming in everyday, which all went to Medway Food Bank.

The founder of My Shining Star children’s cancer charity said she felt “honoured” her organisation was chosen for the Hedge’s fundraiser this year.

Anita Marinelli founded the charity in honour of her friend’s daughter who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of two.

Anita herself has done a number of fundraisers over the years and she said she hopes “more people do events like this as it brings awareness to smaller charities who don’t get any government funding.”

October was a successful month at Hedges Haunted Mansion this year and with the Go Fund Me page still up, donations continue to come in, with another anonymous £1,400 donation coming in on Tuesday this week.

Lavinia Hedges said they believe Christmas will be the best fundraiser yet, with a few exciting surprise guests in store, and even more exciting props than usual.

Go Fund me page: Fundraiser by Lavinia Hedges : Hedges Haunted Mansion (gofundme.com)

My Shining Star website: Home | Gillingham, Kent | My Shining Star Children’s Cancer Charity