Former British Red Cross fundraiser, Mark Astarita, has died after falling ill in Spain at the age of 64.
Mark was instrumental in raising £12m for our predecessor charity the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund (LBRCF) for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the 2005 7 July bomb attacks and for those who were hospitalised and harmed as a result of the attack.
He was also a key figure in establishing the UK Solidarity Fund for the British Red Cross in 2017 in the wake of the terror attacks at Westminster, London Bridge/Borough Market, Finsbury Park Mosque and Parsons Green as well as helping to raise money for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire in the same year.
Imogen Ward, who worked with Astarita at the consultancy that bears their name, said Astarita was “one of those unique people who changed your life from simply being in his presence”.
She wrote in a blog post: “Mark raised loads and loads of money for the causes he worked for in his career - billions of dollars in fact.
“He won countless awards, was the chair of many, many committees and institutions and even received an OBE in recognition of his work.
“But I think the thing he was proudest of was the teams of fundraisers he led and inspired to not only deliver the greatest for the charity they were working for, but to achieve greatness for themselves.”