CHIPPENHAM Rotary Club has been announced as a Community Partner of the RUH Forever Friends Appeal in recognition of their years of charitable efforts for the campaign.

The Community Partnership scheme was launched to recognise groups and organisations that have made significant commitment to the Forever Friends Appeal’s RUH Cancer Care Campaign.

The campaign will help to transform cancer care for thousands of patients and their families across the extensive catchment area of the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath.

At their recent President’s Handover Meeting, the Rotary Club donated a cheque for £6,100, raised from their Rotary Golf Classic, taking the total amount raised by the club for the RUH over £11,000.

In order to thank Chippenham Rotary Club for their invaluable commitment and support to The Forever Friends Appeal over the past few years, the Appeal was delighted to be able to name the club as one of their treasured Community Partners.

Community fundraiser for The Forever Friends Appeal, Lydia McGivern, said: “It was lovely to be able to present the Rotary Club of Chippenham with a Community Partnership Award and thank them for all of their hard work in supporting The Appeal and our RUH Cancer Care Campaign.

“Their generosity and effort over the past few years has raised a fantastic contribution towards the build of a pioneering new Cancer Centre at the RUH.”

The majority of donations included in the £11,200 total were raised from Chippenham Rotary’s annual Golf Classic events, with the club supporting The Forever Friends Appeal with this event in 2013 and 2015.

In total, 96 golfers took part in this year’s event, which included a charity auction, raffle and charity holes of ‘Beat the Pro’ and reaching the green in a single shot.

Rick Squires, organiser of the event said: “The club has close personal links with the cancer treatment department at the RUH, as a number of the Rotary Club’s members and their families have received very sympathetic treatment at the facility in the past.

Much of the club’s fundraising has been in memory of their first female president, Jane Kirby. Despite a diagnosis of cancer in 2011, she served as co-president with Rick Squires in the 2012/13, but lost her battle with cancer in September 2012.

The Forever Friends Appeal has currently raised £6.6m towards their £8.5m RUH Cancer Care Campaign target. These funds will help to fund the build of a pioneering new holistic cancer centre, to replace the currently outdated oncology facilities at the RUH which were hurriedly erected during the Second World War to accommodate wounded service personnel.