Popular receptionist raised over £75,000 at health centre
Farewell to book-selling
Jo who raised thousands
for charities
By Gabrielle Swan
A DONAGHADEE woman, who has raised over £75,000 for several charities, has retired after almost 30 years at Bangor Health Centre.
Jo Spratt retired as a receptionist at the GP surgery on March 24, after 29 years. It was while working at the health centre that Jo’s extraordinary fundraising activities began, raising thousands of pounds for a number of charities.
Over the years, Jo managed to accumulate a total of £76,404 from her make-shift second-hand book stall that she set up at the health centre.
The Donaghadee woman started at the centre in September 1994, though her fundraising journey would begin a decade later, when she was spurred on by the tragic Boxing Day tsunami, which hit over 14 countries in South-East Asia.
With a ‘scrounged’ collection of books, a table was put out by the receptionist. At £1 a book and ‘relying on people’s good nature’, £1,816 was raised in just a few weeks, which went to help those devastated by the natural disaster.
The success of the book sale for the tsunami victims spurred Jo to continue selling second hand books for charity, including sponsoring some of the Health Centre GPs who do a lot of voluntary work abroad.
This sparked a passion for helping those in need for the Donaghadee woman with thousands being raised in almost 20 years. Jo concentrated primarily on local charities, but her efforts often extended to global disaster relief.
“For £1 a book, they just flew out, everyone bought them, it was good,” said Jo. “I concentrated on some of our local charities mainly, and some of the children’s charities like Crossroads, who help young carers.”
Jo describes how she would go into work early every morning to replenish her small library, with surgery caretakers often carrying in the vast quantities of pre-loved volumes, some of which were donated by patients.
“People decided to bring me in books and it went from there,” said Jo, “The table was out, and people left £1 for their books.
“I would go in earlier in the morning, stock the table and then the next morning replenish it again.”
Some of the charities Jo helped included Shine a Light, which helped those in third world nations and families affected by natural disasters, the Red Cross, Marie Curie and one of her ‘favourite’ charities, Crossroads Care NI, which provides support for carers.
“It’s nice to see that the money went to good causes. A favourite would be Crossroads, because they are all young carers, children looking after parents,” said Jo “It meant that they could go out for a night.”
As she retired after 29 years at the centre, Jo praised her work colleagues.
“I will miss everybody, I worked with a great bunch of people,” she said. “I hope to go back to things I did before lockdown, such as trying to get a bit fitter, and I hope to spend more time with family and friends.”
Reception Manager, Ruth Campbell, paid tribute to Jo for her personality with patients and staff and her fundraising.
Said Ruth: “Jo was an amazing receptionist in Castle Park Practice. Everyone appreciated her commitment to raising money and she is just such a warm and friendly person.
“Jo was a pleasure to work with and I learned so much from her joining the practice.”
Practice manager Sarah Parkinson mirrored Ruth’s thoughts, calling her charity work ‘astonishing’.
“Jo was an asset to our team, loved by all. Her charity efforts over the years have been astonishing and it is just incredible what she has achieved in her time at the health centre.”
