A SWEET tooth and green fingers helped Swindon Soroptimists raise £850 for Prospect Hospice.

The group managed more than £900-worth of sales in a Chocoholics evening and a plant fair in aid of the facility at Wroughton that provides end-of-life and respite care.

Programme action officer Lydia Cardew said: “The Swindon Club has been in existence over 55 years and over that time it has always been a very good supporter of Prospect Hospice. We will have raised thousands over the years.”

One of the reasons for choosing the hospice was that it was often women who bore the burden of caring for elderly relatives and sick children, she explained.

The Swindon branch of the organisation, which was founded to improve the lives of women and children, has raised more than £100,000 over the years.

Members have been prominent in International Women’s Day, lobbied the Government to change the laws on pornography and equal pay and taken a stand against violence towards women.

They have also supported Swindon Women’s Refuge, handed over gift boxes at Christmas to the ISIS Women’s Centre and donated supplies to the food bank and the Big Breakfast Club for the town’s homeless.

The hospice costs more than £7.2 million a year to run and only received 30 per cent of its income from statutory organisations like the NHS. The rest is raised by supporters.

To find out more about the Soroptimists email siswindon.soroptimists@gmail.com or visit the Soroptimist International Swindon & District Facebook page.