OSWESTRY Rotary Club’s annual Tree of Light event is a local appeal for people and businesses to raise funds to support charities in their own community whilst remembering an important event or person.
This year the appeal raised £6,000 for the benefit of 11 local charities who started to receive their donations recently. Oswestry Stroke Club and The Marches Rising for the Disabled Group visited a Rotary meeting recently to receive their cheques.
Mike Garratt, Chair of Oswestry and District’s Stroke Club a self-help and social group for people who have suffered a stroke and their carers, expressed his gratitude for their donation saying: “We visit a lot of events to raise the profile of our group, raise funds and tell people that we are here to support them. We will be able to use some of this donation to improve our publicity material and equipment. Hopefully, more people out there will come along to our meetings. We meet in the Senior Citizens Club on Lorne Street on every second Thursday of the month from 2pm to 4pm and can be contacted via Facebook or by emailing oswestrystrokeclub@aol.co.uk. Thanks again to the Tree of Light supporters!”
Three members from The Marches Riding for the Disabled Group also received their cheque. Meeting at Penycoed Stables, Pant on a Thursday morning from 10.30 am, the group currently provides riding lessons for 7 riders with disabilities – an increase of 2 on last year. “Whilst riders make a contribution to the sessions, we have to meet the significant costs of horse hire and insurance.” said volunteer and Trustee Agnes Barbour. “However, this donation will allow us to provide a horse mounting block for use in the new indoor facility at Penycoed.”
Volunteer Valerie Bellison added: “Groups like ours depend on donations like this as well as our own fundraising but we also need the help of volunteers; we welcome volunteers who have horse experience who want to get involved although we can give training to help. Anyone interested should contact us via our Chairperson Mrs Nat Sheehy natsheehy@gmail.com.”
With a final visit to the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital, Club members presented a cheque to Victoria Sugden, Charity Director for the League of Friends for their Horatio’s Garden project.
Lady Trevor, Appeal Patron and long-time servant of the League of Friends, had spoken to Rotarians at a recent meeting about the RJAH’s exciting plan to become one of only 5 sites in the country to have a Horatio Garden – a special garden to allow patients at the Midlands Spinal Injuries Unit access to an area they could share with family and friends or just be on their own. The idea is the legacy of 17 year-old Horatio Chapple, sadly killed in a polar bear attack on a school trip, who had thought of the idea.
Only £120,000 is needed to achieve Oswestry’s target of £675,000 and donations can be made online at https://mydonate.bt.com/events/oswestry
Pictured: Marches RDA: Back (l-r) Rotarians Denzil Ellis, Mike Jones and President Elect Ian Glenister
Front (l-r) Marches RDA volunteers Valerie Bellison, Helene Lindstrand and Agnes Barbour
Stroke Club: (l-r) Rotarians Denzil Ellis, Mike Jones, Stroke Club Chair Mike Garratt and President Elect Ian Glenister
Horatio’s Garden: Back (l-r) Rotarians Denzil Ellis, Mike Jones and President Elect Ian Glenister
Rotarian Wagih El Masri and Victoria Sugden
