Over in Hertfordshire, Stort Valley Rotary Club have been facilitating several fundraising activities through their official charity, Helping Herts.
Helping Herts, launched by Stort Valley Rotary members Gordon Morrison and Jim Tatchell in 2021, supports 12 other charities around the county of Hertfordshire helping to improve the welfare of children and young people.
As well as coming up with innovative ideas to generate money for the charities, Gordon and Jim organised two charity walks in 2022. Earlier this year they walked 180 miles of the Hertfordshire Way together over two weeks, before inviting supporters of their sponsored charities to complete a leg each as part of a wider event.
One of the charity’s most recent fundraisers was when local boutique, Mint of Hertford, , hosted a catwalk of recycled clothing to promote sustainable fashion and raise money for Helping Herts.
The money raised on the night will really make a difference to all the charities we support.”
An amazing selection of preloved clothes were modelled by the regular customers of Mint and the event raised over ÂŁ1750, which will go directly to the children’s charities that Helping Herts supports.
Sioux Wilde, the owner of Mint, said: “We were blown away with the love from our loyal customers and if we have changed one persons mindset, I’ve done my job. We loved raising the money for Helping Herts and are already planning next year!”
Sarah Clancy, Digital Marketing Lead at Helping Herts, said: “We are so grateful to Sioux for putting on such an incredible cat-walk show and the generosity from the fabulous guests who bought raffle tickets, helping us raise money for Helping Herts. The money raised on the night will really make a difference to all the charities we support.”
Helping Herts also recently held a raffle in which £2,000 pounds was raised for the twelve children’s welfare charities they support.
A virtual prize draw took place on Facebook and there were several great prizes available that had been donated by organisations across Hertfordshire, including family tickets to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour and Todd in the Hole music festival.
Gordon Morrison and Jim Tatchell collecting the Unsung Hero Award at the Bishop’s Stortford Independent Community, Sport and Business Awards.
Gordon Morrison said: “I would like to thank everyone who bought tickets or donated raffle prizes to support the event. The money raised will really help the charities and have a huge impact on the communities they support.”
The important work that Helping Herts have been doing hasn’t gone unnoticed, with the charity announced as the winner of the Unsung Hero Award at the Bishop’s Stortford Independent Community, Sport and Business Awards 2022.
The Unsung Hero award, sponsored by Stort Chemicals, was created to celebrate the individuals and organisations who put in the effort behind the scenes to make life better for others.
Gordon and Jim collected the award at the ceremony in South Mill Arts Centre, where the pair were described as “an unstoppable fundraising team through combining their business acumen with philanthropy.”
Jim commented: “I was genuinely shocked and delighted to receive the award on behalf of Helping Herts. It’s great to see the recogntition of the work put in by the whole team to create something that is making a real difference across the county”.
