IT IS a year since Steve Prescott MBE, the rugby league star turned prolific charity fundraiser, died of cancer.
Father-of-two Mr Prescott, who played 67 games for Hull FC, died from a rare form of stomach cancer, aged 39, on November 9, last year.
But fundraising continues in his name and The Steve Prescott Foundation, formed shortly after his diagnosis in 2006, carries on giving to three of his favourite charities.
Martin Blondel, who was a close friend of Mr Prescott's, is secretary of the foundation.
He says: "Last Friday, we gave £180,000 – £60,000 each to the three charities the foundation supports.
"That's the Rugby League Benevolent Fund, Christie's Hospital in Manchester, where Steve was treated, and Oxford Transplant Centre.
"Prior to that, the most we had given away was £118,000, so that gives you some perspective of how successful the year has been for the foundation."
Since the foundation was launched, £700,000 has rolled in, much of it raised by Mr Prescott himself through challenges he completed despite his ailing health.
"With the plans we have for next year, I expect we will not be far short of reaching the £1m mark," says Mr Blondel.
Away from the balance sheets, though, Mr Blondel and others are still mourning the inspiration behind the fantastic fundraising efforts.
"I still look over my shoulder and expect to see Steve," he says.
"Losing him has been hard to deal with.
"But Steve's legacy lives on in his family, his friends and the foundation. The support we have is absolutely phenomenal.
"Steve would be so, so proud to see what has been achieved by everyone."
Last week, Mr Prescott's widow Linzi Prescott and their boys, Taylor, 12, and Koby, seven, attended the unveiling of Hull FC's new away kit, which displays the Steve Prescott Foundation's logo.
Mr Blondel said: "The club sold something like 4,000 away shirts last season and we're getting £1 for every one sold, so that will really help.
"It's also a statement of intent. It shows the name Steve Prescott will never be forgotten."
Fundraising is never easy, especially when times are hard, but Mr Blondel insists his friend's determination has rubbed off on supporters.
He said: "Early last year, Steve came out of Salford Royal having just been told he would never eat again.
"I went to see him at his home. He told me he was going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania later that year and asked me to sort it out.
"I went back two days later and told him how much it was going to cost and that we could do it in nine days.
"Steve's response was, 'We'll do it in five'. That has just a 27 per cent success rate, but Steve was adamant that was what he was going to do."
Sadly, Mr Prescott's condition took a turn for the worse and he was unable to embark on the challenge.
"But 12 of his supporters did it in his name that August," says Mr Blondel. "And every single one of them did it in five days.
"I was told several of them wanted to give up, and they could easily have given up, but they didn't. They remembered Steve's determination and kept going."
Several high-profile Super League stars have signed up for a return to Mount Kilimanjaro in October next year.
"Some of the game's biggest names are among the 25 people who have signed up," says Mr Blondel, who plans to reveal the line-up on Monday, December 8.
Mr Blondel has vowed to continue Mr Prescott's work and keep his memory alive.
He says: "It's a measure of the man that we continue on in his name, getting bigger and bigger.
"We have all been inspired by one remarkable man."
Best selling book More than 5,000 copies of One in a Million: My Story by Steve Prescott have been sold. The autobiography, including a chapter by his wife Linzi, costs £17.99. The book can be found at www.spfund.org.uk