Ref. 27719-35A VILLAGE charity has celebrated its 40th year of helping the elderly, sick, lonely and needy.
Purton Helping Hand Club was set up in 1963 when a group of women broke away from the Red Cross to start their own charity to help people in the village.
On Saturday past and present committee members and supporters gathered at the Silver Threads Hall in Purton High Street to commemorate the anniversary of the charity and raise a glass to its future health.
On hand to cut the cake were the only surviving founders of the charity, Maisie Tranter, 87, and May Barnfield, 83.
The pair recalled one of the group's first acts was to give a woman whose shoes were falling apart some money to buy a new pair.
The charity has helped thousands of villagers over the years.
It started off by giving all pensioners a hamper of goodies for Christmas, and these days gives the elderly £5 vouchers to spend in the village during the festive season.
In recent years the charity has been distributing £6,000 a year, and spends much of its time organising the annual village carnival.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article