The Rotary Club of Ilkley Wharfedale has raised vital funds for Martin House Hospice with a series of collections at the Tesco store on Springs Lane in Ilkley.
£1,500 from the collections and an addition donation of £1,100 raised by a sponsored slim of a rotary member will support the hospice help children and young people with a life-limiting condition, along with their families, to live well and fully, offering the best possible end of life care and support to the family in bereavement.
Ilkley Wharfedale Rotary Club member Helen Buswell, who is also part of the Friends of Martin House in Ilkley Group, invited fundraiser Chris Verney to give a presentation to the club to tell members more about the work of the hospice.
As a result the club decided to hold the collections to support its work caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions.
Chris said: “We’re delighted by the generosity of the people of Ilkley, through the efforts of the Rotary Club in holding these collections, to raise such a magnificent amount of money.
“Having the opportunity to give the members of Ilkley Wharfedale Rotary Club an insight into the vital care and support Martin House gives to seriously ill children in our local communities not only helps share the importance of what we do, but inspires this kind of fundraising action which is so vital to help us continue our work.
“I’d like to thank the club for its support, particularly during such a difficult time for us all.”
Martin House offers respite care, emergency care and end of life care, as well as providing bereavement support to families from across West, North and East Yorkshire.
It relies on fundraising for nearly 90 per cent of its £9 million a year running costs, and has been hit hard by the pandemic, which the charity estimates will cost it £2.2 million in fundraising income.
A spokesperson for the Rotary Club of Ilkley Wharfedale said: “We were all deeply moved by Chris Verney’s presentation to the Club and were very pleased to be able to contribute effort towards their charity in these difficult times. We want to thank the residents of the Ilkley District for their amazing generosity particularly being masked up and socially distanced.”
To find out more about Martin House and how to support it, visit www.martinhouse.org.uk