The LOVE Devon Walk for Widecombe fundraising event has raised over £5,100 for the Widecombe Village Hall fund after its successful fundraising event in September. More than £4,300 has been raised so far and the total is set to increase further with the addition of gift aid, which is expected to bring the amount to over £5,100.
On 16th September over 100 walkers completed a six-mile trek in some very misty and windy conditions from Bennett’s Cross down into Widecombe, where they and their families were entertained by a family fun day organised by the villagers. A combination of online and offline sponsorship from walkers, and support from local businesses and well-wishers have contributed to the total, with donations still coming in throughout October and November. The villagers also raised over £1,000 from activities from a family fun day, adding to the village hall fundraising campaign’s successful start.
Walk for Widecombe was organised by Devon Communities Together, the independent community development charity behind the LOVE Devon fundraising brand, which supports community projects and services throughout Devon. Elaine Cook, Chief Executive, commented: “We’re thrilled that this first LOVE Devon fundraising event was such as success and we have been able to help the community of Widecombe kick start their fundraising campaign. We’ve been working closely with the village hall committee for a while now, supporting them through the process of establishing the need for a new hall and advising them on funding and plans. To go from the current hard-to-heat, inaccessible room to a purpose built, fully accessible new hall will make a huge difference to community life, providing facilities and opportunities within the village for generations to come, helping to keep the community together and thriving.
“We’d like to thank all the walkers who took part, including teams from Foot Anstey and the Frost Racing Club. We also had some wonderful support from Devon businesses including Langage Farm, the Café on the Green, Smarti, Riverford Organics, Pinnacle Photo Agency, David May Transport and Prydis who all donated money, products or time to support the event. It sends a real message out to other community projects that local fundraising can work and it’s given us all some exciting ideas for the future. It was a fantastic team effort so well done all!”
Special guests on the day included LOVE Devon ambassador and champion jockey Bryony Frost, who completed the walk with a team from her father Jimmy Frost’s stables, before helping to welcome other finishers and signing their certificates.
The village volunteers did a wonderful job organising the fun day including a dog show, pony rides, tractor rides, a vintage vehicle parade and much more. Yvette Elliott of the Widecombe Village Hall committee, added: "This event has been a fantastic way of kick-starting the fundraising for our project at the same time as bringing the community together and having lots of fun. Our thanks go to the LOVE Devon team for helping to make this possible."
For further information about the Widecombe Village Hall campaign, visit www.widecombevillagehall.co.uk.