Harper Adams staff help raise funds for charity

Posted 25 February 2013

Staff at Harper Adams University have helped raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust by donating unwanted clothing and shoes.

The clothes recycling scheme was the brainchild of Polly Gibb, Director of Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE), which is based on campus.

Polly, who was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List for services to rural enterprise, emailed staff at the university last term asking if they had any unwanted items, and as a result managed to collect enough to fill 50 bags, raising £174 for the charity.

The mother-of-four said: “It started as a shoe collection and I sent an email round all the staff asking them to donate any unwanted shoes. But it soon expanded as several people asked whether they could donate clothes too, so we ended up collecting clothes, shoes and bags.

“I collected it all together and then a clothes recycling company came out to collect it. They pay a slightly higher rate for charities and we’d filled 50 big bags so it came to £174.

“I raised the money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as my daughter who is 10 years old has the condition.

“It’s a horrible illness and she has to put up with lots of medicines and treatments every day.

“There is no cure but the Cystic Fibrosis Trust is funding research to improve the treatments and improve life expectancy, which is currently 32 years.

“I was really pleased with the response to my calls for donations. I think that it gave my colleagues at Harper Adams a really positive motivation to have a thorough clear out and the £174 raised will be put to very good use by the Trust.”

Since it was established in 1964, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust has actively supported excellence in research and clinical care, as well as providing practical support and advice to people with Cystic Fibrosis and their families.

In a letter to Polly, Sue Longhurst, from the Trust, said: “Thank you very much for fundraising for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and this donation of £174.30.

“The on-going efforts of people like you are always inspiring, as are the very different, imaginative ways you find to raise money for our work.

“The Cystic Fibrosis Trust provides support to thousands of people living with Cystic Fibrosis, their families and healthcare professionals via our helpline, publications, by improving standards of clinical care and by funding research.”