Fun-filled year in office ends with fantastic donation to St Catherine’s from outgoing Preston Mayor

The outgoing Mayor and Mayoress of Preston put the fun in fundraising during their busy year in office – treating guests to some great events which raised nearly £6,000 for St Catherine’s.

A cocktail garden party and a glittering ball were two of the highlights of the busy programme organised by Brian and Trisha Rollo, which included the popular Carols in the Chamber event at Christmas.

The couple also took part in the hospice’s sponsored Santa Dash in December, while Trisha has been a regular customer at the charity’s Lune Street shop – visiting the occasion-wear department for outfits to wear for official engagements and making use of the hat hire service.

Along with the £5,979 raised for St Catherine’s, they gave a fantastic £6,079 to Galloways, which supports blind and partially sighted people across Lancashire. They also made numerous other donations to smaller local charities and community groups.

As well as their fundraising work, during their 12 months in office the Mayor and Mayoress carried out an incredible 522 mayoral visits across the Preston area.

Coun Rollo said: “It has been a fantastic experience – extremely busy, but great fun!

“What we have really enjoyed is meeting so many different local people and community groups who are doing some amazing work in their areas. There really are some wonderful people in Preston, including right here at St Catherine’s.

“People can be put off because it’s a hospice but as soon as you arrive you realise how wrong that is, and how important the work that goes on here is.

“We chose to support St Catherine’s because it’s a local cause, supporting local people, and we wanted to make a contribution towards that.”

Emma Jacovelli, Head of Community Engagement at St Catherine’s, said: “We’ve been delighted to have the support of the Mayor and Mayoress over the past year and are extremely grateful to them – not only for the impressive funds raised, but for raising the profile of the charity through their official engagements and events, and even through the clothes Trisha wore!

“We’re pleased to hear they enjoyed the experience and there’s no doubt that their guests did too. The money raised will be used to care for local people facing conditions like cancer, motor neurone disease and heart failure – helping them to have quality of life, to the end of life.”

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