A FORMER mayor topped off a successful year in office with a large donation to a cause close to her heart.
Last year’s Darlington mayor Jan Taylor handed over £6,500 to her old school friend St Teresa’s Hospice chief executive Jane Bradshaw.
The generous donation will help the popular charity continue its work providing day, in-patient and community care for hundreds of people in Darlington, South Durham and North Yorkshire.
It will also support the Rapid Response emergency service, which has recently been added to the NHS Directory of Services, offering 24/7 provision, 365 days a year, responding to patients registered with a Darlington GP within an hour of their call, providing palliative nursing care, symptom management, crisis management and pain relief, as well as a hand to hold and a listening ear.
Coun Taylor raised more than £16,000 during her time in office. She also donated to Family Help and Mind to help young people with mental health issues.
“Jane and I were at Darlington High School for Girls together and the hospice is a cause very close to my heart,” she said.
“St Teresa’s does such an incredible job and has cared for people I have known and loved. We are so lucky to have it here to support people at their most vulnerable times and I am delighted that everyone was so generous with my appeal and I have been able to pass that on to an organisation that makes a real impact on residents’ lives.”
Mrs Bradshaw added: “Donations of this magnitude are so important nowadays as fundraising is becoming increasingly challenging. We are always thrilled when the Mayor selects us as a charity to support when there are so many good causes out there. This is a fantastic effort for which we are extremely grateful.”