Amnesty members in the Bournemouth area were saddened the learn of the death of May Stevens in January. May and her husband Ted were among the founder members of the group in 1986 and were for many years the mainstay of the group and its’ activities.
She will particularly be remembered for her tireless fundraising. For many years the group ran an annual garden party in the grounds of a local nursing home and May was the power house behind this event, stockpiling books, 2nd hand clothes & bric-a-brac in her garden shed throughout the year to be brought out and sold at this event. She also took on the task of co-ordinating volunteers to serve cream teas, run auctions and organise children’s entertainments.
At our regular street collections, not the most popular events, May and her small appealing dog were a winning combination and her takings were always considerably higher than those of the rest of us!
In the 90’s she & Ted would also run stalls at party and trade union conferences at the BIC selling Amnesty merchandise and making a good profit for the cause. She had a reputation for never letting an opportunity to run a raffle pass her by and would always be ready with her raffle tickets and some tempting prizes – no one was allowed to evade the purchase of a ticket!
Outside of Amnesty May had many other interests and supported other causes so had a wide social circle. We will all miss her good nature, enthusiasm and dedication to making the world a better place.