Webster (CLIC Sargent) and Jan Ball.
THE 25th annual carol service and charity auction has raised £1,500 for CLIC Sargent – a charity that supports children and young people with cancer and their families.
The annual event, held at the Frome Livestock Market, has now raised close to £30,000 for the charity in its 25-year history.
CLIC Sargent area representative Dave Ball said, “On Monday night a fantastic £1,500 was raised for this deserving cause, bringing the total amount accumulated in that time close to £30,000! The Reverend Clive Fairclough conducted this year’s carol service which also included readings, poetry and a sermon.
“Rachel Webster from CLIC Sargent talked about the work of the charity, showed the contents of a crisis bag which all families with a newly-diagnosed child receive, to help them from the early days of coming to terms with the devastating news, and revealed the shocking fact that there are currently nearly 100 families in Somerset alone, receiving support with a child fighting this terrible disease.
“After a break for some delicious supper provided by Sally Gregory and her team of helpers in the market cafe, auctioneer and TV personality Dennis Barnard conducted a fast-moving auction, with his usual mixture of anecdotes and jokes, which kept the audience amused and focused from start to finish.
“Many local businesses and individuals donated items for auction and high-earning auction items included a Waitrose hamper, a family day pass to Center Parcs, a Lyons seafood voucher, a Virgin Experience voucher for Donnington Park, several other hampers and a bottle of Moet Chandon champagne. A home-made Christmas cake sold for £30 and a jar of pickled eggs, hand-made by the auctioneer and his wife sold for a ‘eggcellent’ £12.
“The annual service and auction for CLIC Sargent began 25 years ago, when local farmer Pam Jones and her family persuaded Cooper and Tanner to host the event in memory of Jonny Ball, who had lost his fight for life the year before. Every year since then, Pam and family (and since 2014 Denis Barnard and the Rotary Club) have organised these heart-warming pre-Christmas festivities and Dennis or Michael Joyce have given freely of their time to auction the items.
“As the CLIC Sargent area representative I would like to say thank you to all the many people who have given their time, money or donated items over so many years. I hope that with your continued support, the fight to save young lives will soon be won!”
