A WHITCHURCH volunteer group has held a fundraiser in aid of its next big project.

We Are Whitchurch held its race night in the Whitchurch & District Club in St John's Park on Saturday, April 22 and it has so far raised £1,895.

The group hopes to use the money for a sensory garden and community allotment in the Harry Richards Memorial Garden in Jubilee Park, where people will be able to grow their own fruit and vegetables and much more.

OTHER NEWS

Senior We Are Whitchurch member Adele Jackson was pleased with how the event went.

She said: "It was really good.

"We had so many prizes donated to us by local businesses.

Whitchurch Herald:

"Everyone has been so supportive in the local community

"We are absolutely overwhelmed, to be honest with the support."

Adele thanked attendees for their support.

She said: "We are grateful for the support from everyone.

"We hope this is a project which everyone gets involved in."

Whitchurch Herald:

The money was raised on the night through a race night, raffle and items the group was able to auction off and the We Are Whitchurch senior member explained how it worked.

Adele said: "You have a video or clips of different races.

"We had eight races and for each of them, you raise money by selling a horse.

"Throughout the night people put bets on each of the races as they came along."

The package was organised by Peter Tew.

Adele explained: "He organised the whole package and has done several before. He got different races which have gone on in the past, some of them are quite old."

Adele was surprised by the amount of money that the group has raised.

Whitchurch Herald:

She said: "On the night we were thinking it would be great if we could hit £1,000.

"And to get near £2,000 was huge and we were really pleased.

"We have started to spend that on the sensory garden."

The group hopes to spend the money on plants and other equipment for the garden.

Whitchurch Herald:

In addition to the money raised through the race night, the group recently received a £4,000 grant from Whitchurch Town Council and Adele hopes to use it in the long-term goals.

She said: "We want this to be an ongoing project which will continue to use.

Want to stay up to date with all the latest stories from Whitchurch and the surrounding area? Click here to sign up for our morning and daily email newsletters and click on the + for the 'Morning Briefing' and the 'Daily Catch-Up'.

"We hope to get a polytunnel and this extra money enables us to get a better one.

"We have been able to improve and expand on the plans."