Sammy sings away the COVID blues

Sammy-Jo Evans
Written by: Joe Emery

She's sung on The Voice UK, qualified as an engineer at Stansted Airport, and strutted her stuff as a Miss England finalist. Her most recent accomplishment was raising over £1,000 for Saint Francis Hospice.

 

Singing tunes from the 1940s to the present day, Sammy entertained shoppers waiting in the socially-distanced queue for Tesco in Hornchurch. She opted for some happy songs in her repertoire to give them a much-needed boost.

 

"As soon as people saw the orange bucket and discovered I was raising money for the Hospice, the donations started rolling in," Sammy recalled.

 

"People kept telling me how much I'd cheered them up with all that's going on in the world right now, so it was a nice feeling knowing that I was lifting their spirits."

 

Sammy streamed her performances live on Facebook and attracted more than 8,000 views. Anyone who couldn't make it to Tesco but wanted to chip in did so via her Just Giving page. Last year, Sammy swapped her beauty pageant sash to model and promote the latest fashions in our charity retail stores.

 

"The Hospice has always been close to my heart, having grown up just down the road," she explained. "I've been lucky enough to be invited to the Hospice to have a look at the amazing work everyone does there. It's such a lovely place to be."

 

Sammy's been singing for as long as she can remember. She admitted that she's a little anxious about the outbreak of COVID-19 but has some advice for anyone who'd like to help our Hospice get safely through the pandemic.

 

"When I sing, I seem to forget my troubles," she revealed. "Raise money through doing something you're passionate about whether that's baking, singing or cycling. People love to watch people engaged in their passion, as I soon discovered."

 

Thank you, Sammy!

 

The need for our Hospice to find the £8.3m a year in voluntary income that will keep our doors open is now more prevalent than ever. You can do your bit to ensure local people living with life-limiting illnesses will always get the care they deserve by supporting our Urgent Appeal for as little as £3 a month. You can find out how you can make a difference here.

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