Bee Lady Day will honour charity fundraising star

A fundraiser who dressed as a bee while she raised tens of thousands of pounds for Age UK is to be honoured with a day of celebrations.

Jean Bishop was a familiar figure on the streets of Hull wearing her striking outfit.

As The Bee Lady, she raised more than £125,000 and was awarded a British Empire Medal in 2017.

Mrs Bishop, who died at the age of 99 in 2021, had a care centre for the elderly in Hull named after her.

She was also handed a Pride of Britain Award, which was presented by David Walliams dressed in a bee outfit.

Age UK in Hull and East Yorkshire is planning an annual Bee Lady Day for 13 May, which was her birthday.

The charity said it wanted "to honour Jean's legacy and inspire future generations of fundraisers" by raising the additional £100,000 she had been planning to raise before she died.

Kayleigh Carter, fundraising co-ordinator for Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire, said the charity aimed "to keep her legacy alive as she inspired thousands and we want to keep that going".

She said: "We want to help inspire a new generation of fundraisers and say to people, 'You could be the next Jean Bishop and follow in her footsteps, as she did some amazing things and you can do that, too'.

"We like to prove that just because you're getting old doesn't mean you have to stop doing things that you love.

"People used to queue just to see her and say hello and give her a hug. She lit up a room and you couldn't help but smile as you walked past her. She was an icon."

Ms Carter added: "We've asked schools to do things like a non-uniform day to raise money, and we've also asked loads of businesses to get involved in hosting their own fundraisers.

"We've got city centre buildings lighting up in orange and amber to commemorate her day in May as well, and Hull Trains have got involved as they are going to be running the Bee Lady train all day and taking some of our clients on a nice little day out."

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