Councillor David Burton's year in office Derbyshire Dales Civic Chair has resulted in a £7,160 bonus for a local children's charity.
At the start of his civic year in May 2023, Councillor Burton, who handed over the chain of office to Councillor Peter Slack at Derbyshire Dales District Council's AGM last week, announced that he would be raising funds for Send A Child To Hucklow.
The charity arranges and funds holidays at the Nightingale Centre in Great Hucklow for groups of disadvantaged children, having no regard to religious, political, racial or other connections.
Local man Peter Savidge kick-started Councillor Burton's appeal in September last year by donating £1,000 to the cause in memory of his late wife Sheila.
And Mr Savidge, who wanted to create a legacy for Sheila, donated a further £1,000 as the fund-raising year closed.
He said: "Through a penny fund paid into by her granny, Sheila, who was brought up in East London, went on a two week holiday with other children on a farm near to Cirencester. The introduction to farm animals and the freedom of the countryside left such an impression there her love of the outdoors remained with her for all of her life.
"It was this love that focused our move to Derbyshire and her love of the outdoors and such lovely countryside, especially the Peak District."
At the council AGM Councillor Burton told fellow councillors: "I want to start by thanking my wife Ruth, who has been there all the time and it's been a good year for us. We've done some lovely things together, we've met some very nice people and it will remain for us a very special year.
"But the icing on the cake has been down to your kindness in this room and many other individuals. I'm very excited that even as late as this morning Peter Savidge came to present a further thousand pounds - and six weeks ago a lady in Brailsford rang me wishing to donate a thousand pounds.
"So what the civic year has achieved for me is that all these children are going to get a holiday in Great Hucklow - and the amount that has been raised came from the goodness of community. In my own village a couple held a coffee and cake morning that raised £900 and my own chapel put a concert on where £820 was raised."
Donations can still be made to the Send A Child to Hucklow charity via a Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/page/derbyshire-dales-district-council-civicchair2023-24
More information about the charity can be found online at www.sendachildtohucklow.org.uk
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