Sunderland family who were left devastated by loss of Dad after brain tumour battle arranging charity football match in his memory

Andrew Nicholas, moved to Sunderland from South Africa 24 years ago and sadly passed away aged just 53 in October last year after being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.

Now, his daughter Jessica Nicholas, 31, is planning a charity football match to raise money and awareness for three charities which offered vital support during Andrew’s cancer battle.

Andrew, an IT consultant who lived in South Hylton, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in November 2020 and during his cancer battle received support from Daft as a Brush, Macmillan and St Benedict’s Hospice.

Speaking about her Dad, Jessica said: “My Dad was a very social person. He was all about family and friends and loved to host everybody in his back garden where he’d built his own pub. People would come over and he would love to host BBQ’s and he got on with everyone. He impacted so many people in a positive way and would always put others first.”

After moving over to Sunderland with his wife Elaine Nicholas, and daughter Jessica, Andrew became a converted Sunderland AFC fan and would watch the football alongside his favourite sport of Rugby.

Jessica is planning the charity football match and BBQ for this summer and is on the lookout for anyone who wants to get involved playing, as well as for a venue.

After coming up with the idea, Jessica started a Go Fund Me page for the event and has been amazed by the response, which has seen £495 donated already.

She added: “The response we’ve had already has been so amazing and I’ve just been blown away. These charities are so important. I dread to think what the last two years would have been like if we didn’t have them. They all helped so much and especially with Covid they all took so much pressure and stress off our shoulders.”

To find out more about the charity football match and support Jessica’s fundraising, visit her Go Fund Me page via this link.

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