A Spalding charity that’s raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for healthcare in the town has wound down by giving away a total of £70,000 to local good causes.
The Pennygate Patient Link was set up to raise funds for the surgery of the same name and since 2001 it has been responsible for the charity shop on Winsover Road.
It generated between £12,000 and £14,000 a year to go towards healthcare on top of other fundraising initiatives.
The surgery itself closed in 2018, but as the shop had another two years on the lease, it was decided to keep it open to boost funds for other good causes.
Now the lease has ended and the remaining money is being donated to other organisations serving the area.
The largest donation of more than £44,600 will go to the Johnson Community Hospital mainly to purchase equipment to enable the it to carry out cataract operations, saving patients from having to travel for the procedure.
In addition, the donation will be funding the purchase of three specialist electric recliner chairs for the Welland Ward at the hospital.
The charity is also funding the purchase of state-of-the -art training mannequins to support the training of paramedics at Spalding Ambulance station and additionally is donating to the local branch of St John Ambulance £3,000 to enable it to purchase a new defibrillator and a training defibrillator as well as giving funds to invest in the future cadet programme.
Donations are also being made to St Barnabas Hospice (£3,000) to support the work it does in helping people in the locality. It also donated £4,000 to the Meadows Day Care Centre to support the purchase of new wheelchairs and walking aids and a defibrillator once the centre is able to reopen.
A spokesman for Pennygate Patient Link said: “Once the charity has donated its remaining funds it will be winding down.
“It was originally set up to support the Pennygate Health Centre and ran the charity shop to raise funds.
“When the health centre closed there was still a significant term remaining on the shop lease.
“The charity trustees, therefore, decided to keep the shop open with the support of an amazing set of volunteers to avoid paying a penalty for terminating the lease early and to keep raising funds to put to good use in the area.
“The landlord of the shop has subsequently managed to find a new tenant and although the shop is still open, it is no longer connected to the Pennygate Patient Link charity.
“Thank you to all those who have supported us over the years.”
