Chart-topping Tainted Love group Soft Cell helped a Hertfordshire super-fan raise £10,000 for a Welwyn Garden City hospice in memory of her late husband.
Ange Chan raised the five figure sum for Isabel Hospice after the WGC-based charity helped care for her late husband, Steve.
Steve Chan was a loving father and Metropolitan Police officer decorated for his bravery. He was cared for at the Isabel Hospice in-patient unit for 11 weeks before passing away on November 10 last year.
Devoted Ange, from Sawbridgeworth, stayed by her husband's side for every day of his stay.
A huge fan of Say Hello, Wave Goodbye stars Soft Cell, Ange decided to raise money for the hospice — and some celebrity help lifted the fundraising total.
Chris Smith, the manager of Soft Cell — best known for their 1981 number one hit Tainted Love — contributed to Ange's fundraising appeal.
The synth-pop duo — Marc Almond and Dave Ball — later donated a platinum disc for auction to boost the total further.
"When Chris Smith, the manager, said that they were auctioning this platinum disk, I thought what a generous thing to do, completely generous," said Ange.
"Chris has just been amazing, absolutely amazing."
After relinquishing the role of being Steve's carer — which she had done for the two years following his diagnosis — to the hospice nurses, Ange remained driven to continue helping in any way that she could.
Overwhelmed by the high level of care Steve was receiving at the WGC hospice, Ange decided to create a fundraising page in Steve's name.
"I thank the Lord every single day that he was at Isabel Hospice, instead of in an NHS hospital because he wouldn't have had anywhere near the level of care, the food that he received, or the company," Ange reflected.
"I know when I left, at the end of the day, various members of staff would go and sit with him and chat with him when he was able to, so he didn't feel alone."
With Ange's friends and family eager to show their love and support for Steve, the fundraising page quickly surpassed its initial target, reaching over £1,000 within days and eventually hitting £6,580 from 261 donations.
The fundraising efforts received a significant boost when Soft Cell manager Chris Smith showed his support.
Ange, a Soft Cell fan since the 1980s, has attended countless concerts by the music icons over the years, and is such a loyal fan that she was even invited to band member Dave Ball's 60th birthday party.
In a display of the group's gratitude for Ange's decades of support, Soft Cell later made a further cash donation and listed a platinum record for auction and donated the proceeds, bringing the total raised in Steve's name to £10,000.
“We heard about [Ange’s] situation and obviously we knew her through the fan base,” said Soft Cell manager Chris Smith.
“We saw that she’d posted the fundraiser for the hospice and we decided we wanted to get it above £10,000, which we did in the end.”
Conor Williams, Isabel Hospice's senior individual giving officer, said: "It was Isabel Hospice's privilege to care for Steve, and we are deeply grateful to Ange, Chris, and Soft Cell for the incredible sum they have raised.
"Their generosity will go a long way towards allowing us to continue providing essential palliative care to others in eastern Hertfordshire."
Founded in 1982, Isabel Hospice has been a cornerstone of support for those facing life-limiting illnesses in eastern Hertfordshire for over 40 years, providing compassionate care through services like their Hospice at Home team, In-Patient Unit, and Living Well Day Centre.
With the help of donations from generous supporters like Ange, Isabel Hospice is able to provide this care at no cost to its patients.
"The hospice makes a real difference to end-of-life care," said Ange.
"It gave me peace of mind and confidence that he was being well looked after and that he was truly in the best place that he could be at the end of his life."
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