A GROUP of church Flower

Ladies raised funds for a popular charity in a successful fundraising event this summer.

The Flower Ladies of St Mary’s Church, Steeple Ashton, organised a charity lunch in support of the Air Ambulance Airbase Appeal in July.

With a turn out of 75 people, the lunch was a great success and raised £1,145. The funds raised included enough for the church’s Christmas flowers for the next two years.

This event comes after several lunches held by the Flower Ladies previously. These raised funds for charities like Help For Heroes, WaterAid and Combat Stress, the Veterans’ mental health charity founded after the First World War.

The food was cooked by members of the church flowers’ committee, including ham, pork, coronation chicken, salmon, and 12 puddings all made from scratch.

Jo Campbell, the head of the committee, said, “It went very well, everyone really enjoyed themselves. All the food was completely finished by the end.”

The raffle played a big part in the fundraiser, with about 12 prizes available. The main prize was a Dyson hairdryer, provided by Mrs Campbell’s son-in-law who works at the company, which proved very popular.

A highlight of the day was when John Weller, an ex-RAF pilot and volunteer of the air ambulance, made a speech while the visitors enjoyed their food.

Mr Weller explained the role and background of the charity and was well received. He also spoke to attendees individually and answered questions.

Mrs Campbell said: “The air ambulance does a lot more than most of us thought. Living in a village we need them more than anything else.”

On August 4 the flower committee presented a cheque to the air ambulance at Devizes.

Hollie Perryman, of Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Steeple Ashton Church Ladies for hosting a wonderful luncheon and inviting our volunteer, John Weller, to talk on our behalf.

“They raised an amazing £1,145 for our new airbase at Semington and this will go towards completing the building and equipping of it.

“We were delighted to welcome some of the group to visit our current airbase at Devizes to see our helicopter and meet the aircrew.

“Anyone who would like to get involved in fundraising for our Airbase Appeal can find out more on our website www.wiltshireairbaseappeal.co.uk or call the charity team on 01380 739453.”