Fundraiser for the Philippines raises £1,850

Mayor Peter Rush presents a cheque for £1,850

A fundraising event to raise money to help with the relief effort in the Philippines has raised £1,850. The money will help pay for the shipping of containers carrying clothes and food to reach the Philippines in time for Christmas.

Terry Mason, who helped organise the event, said: “It was very, very good and we raised just short of £2,000, which is more than what we aimed for.”

Held at The Ratcliffe on Sandy Lane on Saturday 23 November, the event included a live DJ, raffle, auction, dancers and music as well as Filipino food served to guests.

“The DJ was brilliant and the compare did a great job. Everybody was commenting on how good of an event it was,” added Terry.

Prizes were also donated and included two tickets to the Rugby World Cup final.

“We had some fab prizes and I would like to thank everybody who donated something,” said Terry.

Around 200 people attended the event which was sponsored by United Millennium Cars and supported by the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Peter Rush.

The Rochdale Filipino Society, who were also involved in the event, is now able to send up to 30 containers to the Philippines in time for Christmas - the cost of sending one container is approximately £60.

Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on Friday 8 November and was one of the most intense tropical storms to ever make landfall anywhere in the world. The typhoon brought torrential rain and winds of over 195mph.

Millions of people have been affected by the typhoon, including hundreds of thousands of people who have been forced from their home.

Terry said: “We did exactly what we wanted to do.”