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Cash For Your Community winners proud to make a difference in Shropshire
A charity which transports vital medical supplies to hospitals and doctors has an extra £5,000 help with its life-saving work thanks to the Cash For Your Community £20,000 giveaway.
Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes took top prize in this year’s Cash For Your Community, a partnership between the Shropshire Star and Enterprise Flex E Rent.
Shrewsbury Guide Dogs for the Blind took second place, receiving a £2,000 donation, while Telford & Wrekin Parkinson’s Support Group took third prize, scooping £1,000.
The charities were presented with the money during a ceremony at Shrewsbury Town FC yesterday afternoon.
The scheme, now in its fifth year, saw £20,000 shared among 33 good causes from across the county.
It takes the total donated since the scheme was launched to a massive £100,000, with more than 200 cheques handed over to more than 150 different charities and voluntary groups.
This year’s groups and charities were selected from more than 100 applications by a judging panel made up of staff from the Shropshire Star and Enterprise Flex E Rent.
Members of the public were then invited to vote for their favourite causes by collecting tokens in the newspaper. The money was shared out according to how many tokens each group collected.
Blood Bikes will use the money to buy much-needed tyres for its fleet of motorcycles, keeping this vital service on the road. Last year its volunteers travelled a total of 219,500, equivalent to almost nine laps around the globe.Shrewsbury Guide Dogs for the Blind will use its £2,000 to support the breeding and training of guide dogs in the county.
In Shropshire there are 45 people waiting for a guide dog, and it costs about £3,200 just to breed a puppy, and £500 to support it in its first year.
Representing the charity were Darren Clutton and Lindsey Rowlands, who both brought their guide dogs with them to the ceremony.
Lindsey admitted to a few nerves as she waited to see how much the charity would receive.
“The sums just kept getting bigger and bigger, and then we came in second place,”she said.
Telford & Wrekin Parkinson’s Support will use its £1,000 to fund speech therapy and physiotherapy sessions for sufferers of the illness.
The group’s Alan West, who suffers from the illness himself, says the therapy is hugely beneficial. He said it was also that people who start the therapies are able to receive it without interruption, as any gains can be lost if people do not keep up with it.
Alan said the £1,000 would fund about three months’ worth of therapy, which would help about 70 people.
The Harry Johnson Trust, which provides support for children with cancer, was another major beneficiary, receiving £986.50. The charity was formed in 2014 by Sally and Stephen Johnson in memory of their son Harry, who died that year aged seven from a rare form of cancer.
The money will be used to provide children being treated for cancer at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital with toys and games.
Hope House Children’s Hospice received £963.92, which it will use to provide support for families affected by the sudden loss of a child.
Fundraiser Rachel Lewis said: “In our special Snowflake Suite, families can say goodbye in their own time and in their own way while being supported by specialist nurses, carers and counsellors.
“At the moment we can only help one-third of those bereaved families, which is really heartbreaking. This money will bring us a step closer towards being able to provide the support to everyone who needs it. ”
Shropshire Prostate Cancer Support received £930.30, which will be used to provide potentially life-saving tests at Oakengates, Wellington and Donnington.
Chairman Dennis Briggs said the money would pay for 10 nurses, as well as the administration costs for organising a session. He said the money would save lives.
“We had a testing session at Oakengates last October, and five people were found to have cancer,” he added.
Cuan Wildlife Rescue received £820.64 for its work looking after sick, injured animals, while AFC Bridgnorth got £792.99 to improve disabled access at its club room and pitches.
The Friendly Transport Service received £740.35 for its work providing transport in the Broseley area for people who would otherwise be socially isolated. The Donnington branch of the Friends of Severn Hospice – which earlier this year announced it would have to close at bed at its Telford site as a result of a funding cut – received a much-needed £735.03.
Tom Macdonald of Enterprise Flex E Rent said: “Yet again the outstanding work done in the Shropshire community has shone through during another fantastic year of Cash for your Community.
“When selecting the final 35 groups it never ceases to amaze all of the judging panel just how much is done on our doorstep in support of charities and great causes.
“I can honestly say that the selection process this year was harder than at any time before due simply to the number of deserving groups and we have been proud to be a part of such an important initiative.
“Congratulations to all of those who took home a share of the £20,000 prize fund and all of us at Enterprise Flex E Rent are excited to see what you do with your deserved winnings.
Shropshire Star editor Martin Wright said it was a privilege to once more be involved with the campaign. “One of the joys about Cash For Your Community has been watching how these groups have used the money to make such a difference,” he said.
“Every one of the organisations represented here has made its own unique contribution to our wonderful county.”
