Mayor of Tunbridge Wells raises £26,000 for ellenor

The outgoing Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Councillor David Elliott and the Mayoress, June Crowhurst, have raised an incredible £26,000 for ellenor, their chosen charity during their year in office. They have raised these funds through a number of events, including the Civic Dinner, a clay pigeon shoot and the Mayor’s Big Quiz.

In addition, the Mayor was incredibly generous and donated his very own Harley Davidson motorbike to ellenor, which was bought for £5000 in an auction at the charity’s Orange Ball in London by businessman, Michael Rothstein.

“June and I are both delighted to donate such a large sum to ellenor and we’d like to thank everyone who has supported us this year and helped to contribute in any way to making the last 12 months so successful,” says Cllr Elliott. “We know that the money raised will have a tremendous impact on the families facing terminal illness which ellenor supports.”

Adds Mrs Crowhurst: “As a young Mum, one of my children was diagnosed with a serious hip disease, which meant he’d have to spend up to five years on his back. At the time, I had another child to look after and I’d only just moved to Kent – life felt very bleak and I felt very alone. So, ellenor is so special to me because it offers support to children and their families when they so desperately need it.”

The grand total of £26,000 would pay for around two years of youth group sessions for teenagers under ellenor’s care or around five months of running costs for music, play and physio therapy.

Cllr Elliott and Mrs Crowhurst have also supported ellenor at a number of events during the past 12 months, including the launch of ellenor Business Club in Tunbridge Wells, Hug-Many on The Pantiles at New Year, and a rounders match held in aid of ellenor by Creaseys at Penshurst Place.

A small part of the money raised by Cllr Elliott is being reinvested into ellenor’s new Accumulator Challenge - a competition to see which companies can grow £50 into the largest amount to provide much needed funds to families facing terminal illness. In this way, the funds the Mayor has raised will continue to grow, creating a lasting legacy.

“We have so enjoyed working with David and June over the past 12 months and are absolutely delighted with the amazing amount they have raised for us,” says Linda Trew, Head of Community at ellenor. “We are getting an increasing amount of referrals in Tunbridge Wells and the rest of South West Kent at the moment, so these funds are a real boost.”