A RECORD number of visitors raised £4,500 for the Watercress Festival’s chosen charity this year.
Chair of the Watercress Festival Committee, John Cattle, and fellow committee member, Simon Evans presented the cheque last week to the CEO and founder of Abby’s Heroes, Sally Randall.
Volunteers from the Southampton charity, which aims to support young people diagnosed with cancer and their families, joined in with the festivities in May in addition to 20,000 visitors.
Donations were collected in exchange for fresh watercress, while celebrity chef, Mark Hix auctioned off portions of the watercress dishes he prepared on stage to raise further funds.
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Event and market manager, Claire May, said: “The primary aim of the Alresford Watercress Festival committee is to support local charities through donations or charity trading pitches. We selected Abby's Heroes as our key charity due to the significant impact of their work and their locality.
“The army of purple-clad volunteers, cheerfully collecting donations in exchange for watercress, is a wonderful sight on festival day. Volunteers from all walks of life, raising much-needed funds to support families whose children have cancer.”
Managing director of the Watercress Company, Tom Amery, who supplied the free fresh watercress from its Hampshire farms, said: “We're delighted to hear that the total for this year was so high. Our growers donate and pack the bags used to raise the funds that make a huge difference to one of the area's most important and highly valued services. Thank you to all the visitors that donate so much for a bag of watercress."
On receiving the cheque, Sally Randall CEO of Abby’s Heroes said: “We are over the moon to receive this fantastic donation following the Alresford Watercress Festival. It is such an amazing day and our volunteers absolutely loved being there.
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“We are delighted that this money will be used to support some very special children and their families across Hampshire and the South Coast. We are a small local charity, and this will make an enormous difference. Thank you so much to everyone who came along and donated so generously.”
Sally set up the charity following the death of her daughter Abby who fought cancer for three years, receiving 23 rounds of chemotherapy, 50 days of radiotherapy, stem cell harvesting, scans, cannulas, drains, intensive care stays and pioneering surgery on the Piam Brown Ward at Southampton General Hospital.
For more information go to abbysheroes.org/
Next year’s Alresford Watercress Festival will be on Sunday, May 19.
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