A Suffolk band has released a charity Christmas song in memory of Kerry Thorpe, the brave Kesgrave youngster who lost her battle with cystic fibrosis.
All proceeds raised from Fisti Kuffs’ festive track Let Me Feel Your Presents will be donated to the Kerry Alex Thorpe Trust, which helps children living with cystic fibrosis.
Kerry raised awareness of both the disease and the desperate need for people to register for organ donation. Her fighting spirit shone through and she became an ambassador for Live Life Then Give Life.
She was added to the list for a double lung transplant two years ago but her call never came. Kerry died from end stage cystic fibrosis at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge on March 21.
Since then, fundraisers have helped her loving fiancée Josh Nelli set up the Kerry Alex Thorpe Trust and raise £15,000.
The three-piece band, which formed in 2010 and released their second album this year, released the light-hearted comedy charity Christmas song on Tuesday.
Mr Nelli heaped praise on the band for coming up with the idea, saying: “We are very grateful that the guys from Fisti Kuffs approached us and suggested releasing a single.
“They have done it all off their own back, with so much hard work going in behind the scenes, and it’s great their work is being noticed and shared in the media and local press.
“I must admit at first I was unsure how a ‘comedy’ Christmas song would come across, but Christmas is all about fun, enjoyment and catchy songs and the guys have captured all of that with this single.”
Scott Norman, a 25-year-old Port of Felixstowe engineer who is the band’s drummer, along with Ipswich-based guitarist Graham Mann and James Cooper on the bass, said the band was delighted to be able to help a good local cause.
He said: “I know people who are related to Kerry and it was sad how it all came about in the end, but the Trust is creating awareness and is doing really well.
“We want to raise as much money as we can. We are not taking a penny and we are actually out of pocket because of the cost to record the song and the video, but at the end of the day the band is not important – it is what we get for the Trust.”
To buy the song, click here.
For more about the Trust, visit www.kerryalexthorpetrust.org.uk.
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