FUNDRAISING events very rarely just happen.

Normally, there is a story behind it all, a reason for all the efforts which go into persuading people to part with their cash, even if it is going towards a good cause.

For 40-year-old Annoshka Warriner, it is a tale of resilience which involved her coping with the death of her mother and the birth of a stillborn child within the space of five months earlier this year.

Now, she is fundraising for the two charities which provided her with support which allowed her to keep her life together whilst two tragedies unfurled around her.

Mrs Warriner runs the Caramel Browne hair beauty salon in Stanway, but it was a role she was thrust into ten years ago after her mother, Carol Simpson-Reeve, suffered a sudden aneurysm.

Caramel Browne had been set up by Mrs Warriner’s mother in 1974, and in many ways she grew up with the business, playing with toys in the staff room before she then aspired, unsurprisingly, to a career in fashion design.

After gaining her hairdressing qualifications, Mrs Warriner eventually ran the salon alongside her mum – but in 2012, when Mrs Warriner was three months pregnant with her first son, her mum suffered a life-altering aneurysm.

She said: “I pretty much gave birth to him in September 2012 and came straight back and took over the business.

“The first few years of my son's life was me with my mum and trying to help her.

“Physically, she was deteriorating and mentally she could switch, so when she walked into the salon, people would think there is still a lot of Carol in there – but to me, she was dramatically mentally changed.

“I remember saying to Bobby it was very difficult to be there for both him and my mum but he was so insightful.

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“He said, ‘nan is like a robot whose batteries are running low’.”

For years, Mrs Warriner was tasked with raising a son, running a business, and helping her mother, who was assisted hugely by Headway Essex, a charity which helps people live their life after a brain injury.

Headway will be one of the main beneficiaries of Mrs Warriner’s fundraising month throughout December, where they will hold a raffle with a host of other Colchester businesses donating prizes, including a family membership to the David Lloyd gym.

Carol Simpson-Reeve died in January this year and, only a few days later, Mrs Warriner found out she was pregnant with her second child, a daughter.

“It was like a lovely surprise, where we had lost one, then gained another.

But when the 20-week scan identified a hole in her daughter’s skull – with major effects on her future quality of life – Mrs Warriner was told she was going to have to give birth to Angel-Lily as soon as possible.

“It was all very quick – you give birth to a dead baby, which is not fun.”

Again, however, the support she was offered from a charity was exemplary.

This time, it was the Stillbirth and Neo-Natal Death charity (SANDS) which offered her support, as they helped Mrs Warriner recover from the trauma of losing a child.

“I looked at a few baby bereavement pages on Instagram and I just thought SANDS’ ethos was really good.

“It was about trying to do research to prevent it from happening in the future as well.

“There are loads of good charities but this is the one I stumbled across.”

Donations towards Headway can be made via bit.ly/3NK6W1z, and donations can be made towards SANDS via bit.ly/3zMNPOD.