HUNDREDS of people will come together to celebrate the life of a seven-year-old boy who suddenly died last year.

Jude Cunnane died in October 2021 after a long battle with complex epilepsy. To honour his memory, his family has arranged Hey Jude Charity Ball to raise money for Young Epilepsy and Julia’s House.

A silent auction and raffle will also be held, giving people the opportunity to buy a signed Rafa Nadal tennis racket, a signed Ed Sheeran guitar, a ski break and a host of other prizes.

Bournemouth Echo:

Jude’s mum, Laura, said: “At the time of his death he was doing really well, he was in mainstream schooling, he was on the up and was very optimistic about his future.

“We wanted something positive to come out of that. Young Epilepsy and Julia’s House have completely supported him and us afterwards, given us a huge amount of bereavement support.”

Laura and her husband Andy are hosting the charity ball at Compton Acres today, July 2, at 6pm.

“We are local to the area, we had the party there after Jude’s funeral and we have a lot of connections to that place.

“We have 200 guests and will start with welcome drinks at 6pm, we have a wonderful cellist and then live music.

“We wanted to bring everyone together to say thank you. People in our community really loved Jude and there was so much compassion.

“It’s been a massive arrangement but has been a real focus for me and my husband and I think it’s been really good to have something positive to focus on.

“It will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate him, keep his memory alive.”

Laura said Jude passed away just before his younger sister’s first birthday and the support had been a huge source of comfort.

Speaking of the two charities, she said Young Epilepsy were a huge help to Jude, especially during a year when he was completely debilitated by seizures.

Of Julia’s House, she said: “I can’t get over the scope of they provide, they do so much.”

People can bid online at https://superstars-auctions.com/heyjudesummerball or enter the raffle at https://go.rallyup.com/heyjudesummerball/Campaign/Details.

To simply donate, go to https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/heyjudesummerball.