'Lottie's Way' charity being set up to honour legacy of trainee primary teacher who died in crash
A charity is being set up to honour the legacy of a 19-year-old woman who was killed by a dangerous driver.
Lottie's Way will celebrate the memory of Charlotte Hope, from Shawbury, who died in April last year.
Since the tragedy Charlotte's family and friends have set about a series of fundraising efforts to support causes close to her heart – particularly charity work with children in Kenya.
Now Charlotte's parents, Wing Commander Neil Hope and Helen Hope, have announced their intention to launch a dedicated charity as a lasting legacy to their daughter.
To date the fundraising in Charlotte's name has raised nearly £50,000, which is being used to pay for children helped by the Restart charity in Kenya to go to university.
Wing Commander Hope said that the new charity would be "dedicated to empowering and providing opportunities for underprivileged adults and children around the world".
The first target will be to raise £5,000 so that Lottie's Way can be registered as a charity.
A fundraising page opened yesterday and has already raised nearly £1,700.
Wing Commander Hope said: "We did the fundraising for Restart thinking it would raise £5,000 or whatever and it raised £50,000 so it was like 'wow – that will put five kids through university in Kenya', which is incredible.
"People have asked us for other things, food, school equipment, and we decided if we went down the full charity route we will have a fundraising line where we can do things like that. So that is why we have decided to take the next step and set up the charity."
Wing Commander Hope said they were forever thankful to the people who supported the fundraising in Charlotte's name, explaining how they had wanted to create a suitable legacy after their heartbreaking loss.
He said: "People are so generous and we really appreciate it, it has meant the world to us."
People can find out more and support the charity at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lottieswaycharlottehopefoundation.
Ashley Kosciekowski, of Knypersley Road, Stoke-on-Trent, is serving a jail sentence of six years and eight months after pleading guilty to causing Charlotte's death by dangerous driving in a head-on crash on the A53 at Upper Astley.
