Melton's tabletop gamers raise thousands of pounds in memory of Amy
A Melton Mowbray community of tabletop gamers staged a fundraising event at the weekend in memory of a friend who sadly passed away earlier this year.
Amy Potts died in April after suffering for many years from a rare form Autoimmune Hepatitis – she received a liver transplant last year but it was not successful and her health had taken a downward turn at the start of this year.
Despite her illness, Amy spent many enjoyable hours playing Lorcana – a popular Disney trading card game – at Black Dragon Games in Burton Street.
In tribute, her friends held an all-day fundraising Lorcana event at the Melton shop on Sunday, which generated an estimated £5,000 for the Birmingham Hospital Edmonds Transplant Centre, a charity selected by her family.
Black Dragon Games co-founder, Richard Foulston, said: “Amy Potts was a much loved member of our community.
"She was known for meeting every day and every challenge with a smile, and brought no end of joy to those around her.
"Amy will be forever missed by her friends and family.
"As a community, we wanted to come together and honour her memory by raising money for those who cared for her.”
As part of the memorial, the shop lit a candle for Amy which burned throughout the day – it was blown out at the end of the day before a one-minute silence was then held.
Amy's family kindly donated a piece of needlework she made and at lunchtime there was a mounting ceremony to give her a permanent place of honour at Black Dragon Games.
This was a free event, but all participants were expected to actively fundraise with a goal of generating £100 of donations.
All participants received a ‘Goodie Box’ containing an Attack of the Vine booster, a pin badge, exciting promo cards and lots more.
The event was sponsored by three of the shop’s suppliers, including Sugar Shamrocks in Melton Mowbray, who donated some delicious cupcakes.
Director, Linda Foulston, said: “We have a lot of cash from the day, plus a number of valuable donated Lorcana cards, which will be auctioned on eBay.
"We expect reach our target of £5,000.”
Go to www.justgiving.com/page/amysday if you would like to pledge money in Amy’s memory to boost the fundraising total further.