Rotary fund raising makes a splash

MONEY raised from this year’s Rotary Club of Royston’s Swimathon has been handed over to two charities.

Both the East Anglian Air Ambulance Service and Headway, the brain injury charity, each received a donation of £1,300.

The cheques were presented by Rotary vice-president Clarice Wahlich to Linda Hill, from the air ambulance air service, and Karen Bevan, from Headway.

Linda Hill told Rotary members that the air ambulance service last year was involved in more than 13,000 missions, each costing £2,270 and without any Government direct funding it needed to raise £7.6 million a year.

Karen Bevan said it was essential for Headway to raise awareness its role in helping people with brain injuries and brain damage.

“It’s always a challenge for us to get funding which is the reason donations such as this are much appreciated,” she said.

Some 13 teams took part in this year’s swimathon at the Royston Leisure Centre in March and between them completed a total of 1,302 lengths of the pool.

Clarice Wahlich said: “The Swimathon is an important fund-raising event for the Rotary Club of Royston and this year we were again able to provide donations to two worthwhile charities.”