Fundraising extraordinaire Mel Field, who lost her oldest daughter to cancer, has succeeded in raising £100,000 for Haven House Children’s Hospice.

Mel from Woodford Green reached the target on Saturday 28 November as she hosted a fundraising concert with her group, Performance, at Chigwell School.

Mel’s eight-year-old daughter, Molly, died at home from an inoperable brain tumour six months after diagnosis in September 2010. The morning after Molly passed away, Mel and her family went to stay at Haven House.

Molly was laid to rest in the Butterfly Suite which enabled the family to say their final goodbyes. Haven House left a lasting impact on Mel and her family. Molly’s younger sister, Isabella, has continued to receive support from Buddies, Haven House’s sibling support group.

Four months after the funeral Mel set about fundraising for the hospice. She initially decided to raise £8,000; the figure equated to the costs incurred by Haven House for caring for Molly and her family.

Haven House provides it services free of charge and Mel was surprised to learn that we rely heavily on donations and fundraising in order to stay open. Mel quickly reached her £8,000 target and then decided to raise even more funds for Haven House.

Together with her husband, Steve, and daughter Isabella, the family has put on a whole host of community events in aid of Haven House. Events over the years include a music concert in memory of Molly, a summer ball and several quiz nights.

In March, Steve even abseiled down the Orbit as a fundraising challenge. The efforts of the Field family have been recognised far and wide. Last Tuesday, Mel was named Community Champion at the Pride of Essex Awards and Isabella recently won a Young Citizen award.

Rotary International, the organisers of these awards were so impressed by Isabella that in June they flew her and Mel to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to present to 17,000 Rotarians about their incredible fundraising journey.

On reaching the milestone of £100,000, Mel Field said: “Raising this money for Haven House has not only enabled us to keep Molly's memory alive in many people's minds and hearts, it has also kept her legacy going of always wanting to help others.

“In particular though, as much as our money will and has helped other children and their families, Haven House provides us with ongoing support. Isabella would not be as strong today, if it wasn't for the Buddies scheme and her one to one care and the support for us has always been incredible.”

Mike Palfreman, Chief Executive of Haven House, said: “Mel is a complete inspiration and words are simply not enough to describe our gratitude to the Field Family. What they have achieved over the past five years is nothing short of remarkable.

“Through Mel’s fundraising we have been able to support other families with life-limited children across a full range of services. These include planned respite, short break and end-of-life care, as well as services designed to improve emotional and physical wellbeing.”

To find out how you can fundraise for Haven House please visit our fundraising page.