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A charity in memory of Lucas Dobson is just days away from being formally set up after a family funday raised £9,000.
The funds from the event at Deal Welfare Club yesterday have been added to the £5,000 already donated by community groups and members helping The Lucas River Safety Campaign to become an official cause.
The six-year-old from Deal died in August after he fell into the River Stour in Sandwich.
His dad Nathan Dobson made the announcement via a Facebook page of the same name, last night.
The charity status will allow him to set up a bank account and order the first batch of lifejackets and safety buoys which is part of his plight to increase water safety awareness.
He wrote: "The charity is only days away from going live so all the money me and my good friends have collected, been given or raised will be the first to open the account and buy the first batch of life jackets and safety buoys all branded with the Lucas logo."
The campaign was kickstarted with £2,000 from Peter Faulding, chief executive from Specialist Group International - SGI, who helped recover Lucas from the river.
Other funds include £1,400 from Prince's Golf Club, £560 from Lucas’s memorial bench fund donated by the Farrier pub in Deal, £315 from Deal Town Football Club, £105 from a bikers ride out in Margate and £560 from anonymous members of the public.
The charity will supply a range of lifejackets to schools which can be loaned out free of charge to pupils and buoyancy aids which are customized with Lucas’s picture.
The aim is to also carry out safety talks.
Mr Dobson also thanked everyone involved including husband and wife Jay and Vicky Wallace who organised the fun day at Deal Welfare Club, yesterday.
He said: "It really means the world to me and gives the campaign a massive boost.
"The word thank you just doesn’t seem enough but you have made me smile.
"It really was a good day and couldn't have been done without Jay, Vicky, Kim and many other helpers, all of the amazing donation gifts, prizes and of course all the public."
The fundraiser ran from 11am until 6pm and featured a tombola, raffle, disco, sumo suits, face painting, cakes, barbering services and an RNLI stall.
The main attraction was a sponsored body wax and head shave.
Mr Wallace endured two hours of body waxing while his mum, Kim Marsh had her head shaved in exchange for donations.
Hundreds of people attended including Lucas' mum Kirsty Furze.
Mr Wallace, a friends of Lucas' father Nathan, said: "I have children the same age as Lucas and we wanted to do this to help make sure this doesn't happen to more children.
"Nathan is one of the strongest people we know. What he's trying to do following the loss he's had is inspirational.
"We're not just stopping at the river in Sandwich, we want it to go beyond that and have lifebuoys and jackets in as many places as we can."
Mrs Wallace said: "We had had hundreds of tombola and raffle prizes donated. It was overwhelming.
"There's so many people to thank but we'd like to specifically thank the Welfare Club for all their support."
Mrs Wallace is also planning a Ladies Night in aid of the charity which will be held at the same venue in June.
