Former civic couple give £10,000 gift to hospice

SPOTLAND and FALINGE husband and wife councillors Surinder and Cecile Biant have given Springhill Hospice a very generous gift.

The former mayor and mayoress handed over a cheque for £10,000 which they raised during their year in office.

Coun Surinder Biant said: “We all thoroughly enjoyed fundraising for such deserving causes, especially as we put on such a large variety of events.

“The committee took on everything from home baking to ballroom dancing competitions, attended a spectacular fundraising dinner organised by the Council of Mosques and arranged a night of glamour at the town hall in the form of the Mayor’s Ball.”

A staggering £43,000 was raised by the team in total with £16,000 being raised at the Council of Mosques dinner alone.

Other charities to benefit from the year’s fundraising efforts include homeless charity Petrus, the Deaf Children’s Society and Shopmobility.

Coun Biant added: “I want to put on record our gratitude to my superb charity committee, especially Dorothy Johnstone and her team at the town hall.”

His wife and former mayoress Coun Cecile Biant said: “It’s been a great experience all round.

“From our first meeting when everyone was throwing ideas into a pot, to seeing the final events and being able to make a difference to groups in the community who need it most. It’s hard work but very rewarding.”

Tracie Powers, chair of the Mayor’s charity committee and volunteer from Vintage Worx at Falinge Park, added: “It was great fun and an honour.

“I learnt a lot throughout the year and am looking forward to putting my experiences to good use in Falinge at Vintage Worx.”

The trio handed the cheque over to Springhill’s director of clinical services Sheila Johnson.

She said: “We’re very privileged to receive such outstanding support from the community we serve.

“The team here are so very grateful to have been chosen as one of the charities that Coun Biant supported in his year as Mayor of Rochdale, especially when there are so many other organisations in our borough that could also put the money to good use.” ●●Former Mayor and Mayoress councillors Surinder and Cecile Biant and mayor’s charity chair Tracie Powers with Springhill director of clinical services, Sheila Johnson