FORMER Arsenal and Scotland goalkeeper Bob Wilson will be visiting Whittlebury Hall near Towcester tomorrow to help raise money for a charity very close to his heart.
Mr Wilson and his wife Megs will be hosting a Midsummer Ball at Whittlebury Hall to raise money for The Willow Foundation, a charity set-up in memory of his daughter Anna.
Anna died from a very rare form of cancer called malignant schwannoma in De
cember 1998 and the couple set-up the foundation a year later to help provide special days for young people suffering from life-threatening conditions.
Mr Wilson said: "Anna died on December 1, 1998, six days before her 32 birthday.
"When she was diagnosed she turned to us all and said, 'this thing will try and destroy you and me.' She wanted quality of life and she found that when she had something to look forward to her spirits lifted and she would feel better.
"For her it was Take That concerts – she loved Robbie Williams – and going on shopping trips with her mother at Christmas in a limo."
Following Anna's death, Mr and Mrs Wilson decided to set-up the Willow Foundation with the aim of helping to set-up special days for people like Anna.
Mr Wilson said: "Over the years we have had all sorts of requests, from arranging a weekend in Center Parcs to spending time in a haunted castle, which we managed."
As well as raising money for the foundation, Saturday's ball, which will feature celebrities including Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, will also help raise funds for a community centre
in the parish of the Immaculate Conception in Bicester.
Father Paul Martin said: "We are very enthusiastic about the event and are honoured that Bob Wilson and Craig Revel Horwood will be there to support us."
For more information about The Willow Foundation visit www.willorfoundation.org.uk and for more about parish community centre project visit www.marek.clara.net
