Dozens of people turned out for an open day to raise the profile of a Shropshire charity – and helped to raise £300.
The North Shrewsbury Friendly Neighbours, based in Castlefields, was set up in 2002 to provide localised one-off, short term and long term support for residents of the Shrewsbury area.
Co-ordinator Julie Thomas and a team of locally-recruited volunteers help more than 400 residents with shopping, picking up medication, general befriending and more.
And to help raise money for the charity, which also has a shop in the Riverside Shopping Centre, an open day was held at the Bagley Community Centre earlier this month.
Local residents, volunteers and even Shrewsbury Mayor, councillor Miles Kenny, turned out to meet the organisations that help people of all ages.
Mrs Thomas said: “There are lots of community organisations and services that help the people that we help on a day to day basis and it is great to bring everyone together for a morning of information sharing and enjoyment.”
Among the organisations present were Severnside Housing, the fire service, representatives of the area’s community policing team, SAND and Omega Care for Life, which supports caring families, particularly those looking after people with life-limiting or long term health conditions.
Guests could also have a go on the tombola, take a look at Usborne Books and enjoy tea and cake.
“It was a great morning and we had a wonderful turnout,” added Mrs Thomas. “We raised £300 for the North Shrewsbury Friendly Neighbours and that will be used to ensure our volunteers can continue to do the great work that they do for people across Shrewsbury.”
