Amy Winehouse’s life may have been tragically short but few could achieve what she did in 27 years and her spirit has lived on through charitable work.

The singer won five Grammy awards, three Ivor Novellos, a Mercury nomination and sold millions of records before her untimely death from alcohol poisoning in July 2011.

Over the past four years, her dad Mitch Winehouse has led the work of the Amy Winehouse Foundation to inform and educate young people and to offer support to those who need it.

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Speaking to News Shopper, former cabbie Mitch said: “Physically she’s not here but spiritually she is and she is having an effect on many thousands of young people. That’s a wonderful thing.

“She was a wonderful girl, a wonderful daughter and a wonderful member of the family.

“She wasn’t at all diva-like. We all look back at her with great love and affection and she is missed terribly.

“Maybe her karma was to do what she did for 27 years and now our karma is to take over and move it forward. It would have just been nice if she had been here physically to see the work that we are doing.”

Like any charity, the Amy Winehouse Foundation relies on fundraising.

Although it recently received £4.3million from the Big Lottery Fund for a schools project, it needs constant funding for other projects, such as Amy’s Lunch which feeds homeless people and Amy’s Yard which helps disadvantaged people through music.

Mitch, who used to live in Greenhithe, said: “Just yesterday we looked at two new recovery houses for young ladies that come out of rehab and have nowhere to go, that’s called Amy’s Recovery Programme.

“We’re going to be working in children’s hospices, we have got our schools project – this year we have spoken to over 40,000 kids in our schools programme.”

Every year, the foundation holds a gala at The Savoy but relies on functions throughout the year.

A friend of Mitch’s, Claire Franck, is organising the fundraiser An Evening with Mitch Winehouse at Zi’ Teresa in Elmers End on June 4.

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For the £60 ticket price, guests get a four course meal. Mitch – who has released two albums himself and is currently performing in New York and Florida – will sing and mingle with guests.

As well as CDs on sale, there will be a raffle with prizes including a specially-commissioned painting of Amy. 

Mitch said: “I can’t get to all of them but Claire is a friend of mine and her partner Paul is one of my oldest friends so I am really looking forward it.

“Fortunately enough I’m able to sing all over the world. It’s something I’m used to but it’s just lovely to be able to sing and to be among friends. It’ll be a good night.”

For fans of Amy, the show is not the only thing coming up.

Asif Kapadia, the director of the acclaimed 2010 documentary Senna, is set to release his film Amy on July 3.

While the Winehouse family was initially happy to work with Kapadia, Mitch has been outspoken in his opposition to the film.

He said: “It’s not a good film. I’m very disappointed because it doesn’t show Amy the way that she was.

“The first 45 minutes is good because you have got videos in the film which no-one has seen before and they are superb.

“Then unfortunately the filmmakers think they are making a Hollywood blockbuster and there has got to be a villain – which is me – and there has got to be a heroine and it has got to have an ending.

“All of the work that we are doing – the schools programme, the lunch project, the homelessness programme - isn’t that a part of Amy’s story? None of it is in the film.

“The film is biased, one-side and it has been edited to make me look bad.

“For instance, in 2005 Amy wrote the song rehab. The first episode she had, she fell and banged her head and they were talking about her going to rehab. This story led to her writing the song rehab.

“I said ‘she didn’t need to go to rehab’ and I go on to say ‘at that time’.

“And they have cut ‘at that time’, which gives the impression that I never thought she needed to go to rehab.

“Yet further down the film there are pictures of me taking her in and out of rehab.”

An evening with Mitch Winehouse at Zi’ Teresa in Elmers End is on June 4. Tickets cost £60. Call 0208 658 9117.