Building for the Future set to receive cheque from former Mayor » Communities » 24dash.com

Former Mayor of Wokingham Borough Council Cllr Annette Drake raised a staggering £22,859 for local charity Building for the Future and she presented a cheque to them on Tuesday (July 15).

Cllr Drake dedicated her year in office to raise money for a new charity, Building for the Future, which aims to raise enough money to purchase a community-based building for children with disabilities and their families in the borough.

Building for the Future is an umbrella group of seven charities that already work with disabled children and their families locally: Peapods, Friends of Ryeish Green Bungalow, ASD Family Help Group, West Berkshire Down’s Society, Reading Deaf Children’s Society, Friends of Bridges, and Berkshire Blind Society. The charity’s vision is to provide a state-of-the-art building to cater for children’s individual needs as well as for community groups. It is also forming an independent parents’ forum so that parents of disabled children can support each other.

Cllr Drake hosted a number of events during her year in office, including a banquet at Bearwood College which raised £2,000.  Other highlights of the Mayor’s civic year included the annual carol concert at Loddon Valley – a very enjoyable evening which raised £4,000 for the charity.

Cllr Annette Drake said:  “I am delighted to have supported such a worthwhile charity during my time in office. I would like to thank everyone who helped me raise these funds and supported me in doing so over the past year.  

“People have been so generous, which is no surprise, as this is obviously a very worthy cause. Many parents with disabled children have told me that there is a need for a dedicated centre in the Wokingham Borough – and the parents are those who know best. I am optimistic that we will change this dream into reality.”

Chairman of Building for the Future Jane Holmes said: “We are tremendously grateful to Cllr Annette Drake for raising such a phenomenal sum of money for us.  Her hard work and support over the last year has really given us our wings and set us on our way towards achieving our aim for our children. We are continuing to raise funds ourselves and many local people and businesses are helping us to raise funds also. We are keen to create partnerships with more local businesses and are very keen to talk to developers about our Building for the Future.”

Building for the Future has raised in excess of £30,000 to date.