A GOUROCK mum who overcame anxiety attacks to arrange a charity gala raised almost £3,000 towards a memorial for families who have lost babies.

Karyn Jenkins and her husband Andrew lost daughter Sophie Louise in 2012 at 22 weeks and are now leading the fundraising efforts for a SiMBA Tree of Tranquillity so that local bereaved parents have somewhere to go to remember their babies.

Karyn, who suffers from very bad anxiety, pushed through it to organise and host a successful Ladies Day and now the proceeds from it will be put towards the tree.

Cruden Hall welcomed around 75 people for the event, which featured raffles, a tombola, prizes, music, food, games and a Michael Buble tribute.

Karyn said: “I was so nervous and excited but it didn’t hit me that I was actually hosting it until everyone arrived.

"Everyone at my table looked at me and told me I was fine and that everything was working out to plan and I was to try and enjoy it.

“I am so proud of myself and can’t believe I have overcome my anxiety to do it.

"I had no idea what to expect but it was totally worth the effort.

"Everyone absolutely loved it and I was overwhelmed at the amount of support I received, people stopped me throughout the day to say they were having a ball.”

Although Karyn was delighted that the event had run smoothly and that she had raised so much money, for her the highlight was the response from the ladies who attended.

She said: “The highlight of my day was when people came up to me to say they had an amazing day and were so happy that the tree was coming.

“I had a few even cry with emotion when speaking to me because they were able to speak about their little one and not feel like they were making anyone uncomfortable.

“It was amazing to know that I gave these amazing ladies a few hours where they felt comfortable speaking about their baby.

“This is part of the reason I am pushing so hard for SiMBA to become a more everyday name in Inverclyde - so we can talk about our babies without it being so taboo.”

Karyn has thanked everyone who made her event such a success.

She said: “Everyone has been so amazing from start to finish.

"I want to thank Kirsty and her amazing team at Cruden Hall who have been amazing.

“Michael Frizzell who was our Michael Buble tribute donated his payment to our day which was incredibly kind of him and John Paul Gage took control of the whole day for me, which took a lot of stress off me, and many amazing local businesses donated to the event.

“I also want to thank my amazing friends and family.”