The former Mayor of Sutton, Cllr Arthur Hookway, has raised £12,500 to support the work of two local charities – Sutton Seniors Forum and SMILE (Sutton Mentoring and Independent Leisure Experiences). 

The theme for his Mayoral year was Volunteers and Volunteering in the Community.

The Mayor presented cheques for £6,250 to representatives of both charities at a reception in Sutton Civic Centre on Friday 15 May that was also attended by the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Margaret Court.

Afterwards Cllr Hookway said:

“I wanted to do everything I could to support these very worthy people, who I consider the backbone of our community in Sutton. I am delighted that we were able to raise £12,500 to be split evenly between both of these charities.This is a tremendous achievement for Sutton, given that this is still a time of economic difficulty for many. However, the fact that so many people have so generously supported the fundraising is a tribute to the fantastic work the charities do for our young people and senior citizens in our Borough.”

The Sutton Seniors Forum was represented by Jill Gascoine-Becker, Chair, and Chris Pennington, Vice-Chair. Jill said:

“We want to thank the Mayor and his team for all of their hard work in raising such a wonderful sum to enable us to do our work in the community. We intend to put the money towards the running of Connect, a project for elderly people who are unable to come out of their homes due to physical frailty or dementia. Being one of the Mayor’s charities has helped raise our profile in the borough and we are grateful for the Mayor’s support.”

SMILE was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Nigel Scott-Dickeson, who said:

“We want to thank the people of Sutton for their generosity and kindness in fundraising for our work. We support around 70 disabled teenagers living in Sutton Borough who are all supported by some fantastic young volunteers from local schools and colleges who all give up their spare time to join in.  We have a year-round programme of social activities that we run for these youngsters during evenings and weekends in term-time as well as throughout every school holiday. The funds raised by the Mayor and his team will help us to provide some great activities and opportunities for our SMILE members right through the long summer break and for the rest of this year. We are extremely grateful for this terrific generosity and want to thank everyone who contributed to the Mayor’s charity appeal.”