Drinkers down pints for charity (From Gazette Series)

Drinkers down pints for charity

DRINKERS at last summer's Frocester Beer Festival helped raise £40,000, of which the Dursley Lions received £19,500 to redistribute to charities in the town and surrounding areas.

At a recent meeting of the Lions in Dursley they presented the money to a range of charities.

The Southmead Hospital Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit Support Group and the Willow Trust received £1,500 each.

The Gloucestershire Association for Mental Health, the Nelson Trust, the Samaritans, the County Air Ambulance, Idopathetic Thrombocytopenic Purpura support and the Citizens' Advocacy Trust each received £1,000.

Two thousand pounds went to the Macmillan Nurses and the Lions Club of Dursley Activities Fund was awarded £2,500.

The Citizens' Advocacy Trust donation will be used to help train volunteers where more volunteers, particularly men, are needed to represent and help those unable to represent themselves.

The money for the Southmead Hospital Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit Support Group will help parents with babies who could born at 29 weeks and weigh just two pounds.

The Gloucestershire Association for Mental Health donation will help develop services in the Dursley and Stroud areas.

The Samaritans will use their money to meet the £25,000 annual cost of running the Gloucestershire service, which deals with 20,000 calls a year and has 85 volunteers.

Drugs and alcohol abusers will be helped through the Nelson Trust donation, while the Macmillan Cancer Relief money will go towards the cost of employing three new nurses and an education project in Gloucestershire.

The Willow Trust offers canal boat trips for 7,000 disabled and handicapped people annually and this year, its 15th, expects to host its 100,000th passenger.

Idipathetic Thrombocytopenic Purpura sufferer Lioness Sue Whatley told guests the money would be used to help people with blood platelet problems.

Her husband, Lion Christopher Whatley is handing over treasurership of the festival after nine years to Lion Arthur Wilkinson.

Presenting the cheques, Lion Neil Baldwin thanked everyone who helped make the beer festival such a success, particularly those who gave up a week's holiday to work at the event.