Former Mayor Raises £2,700 for local charities

Former Mayor, Councillor John Robini raised £2,700 during his time as Mayor for his chosen charities – A Place To Be, Hydestile Resident Animals and Skillway.

Cllr Robini has lived in Haslemere for 20 years and has been a Waverley borough councillor since 2003. He served as Mayor of Waverley Borough Council between April 2021 to April 2022.  

A Place To Be is a local youth group for 11-14 year olds situated in Haslemere. The club started over 30 years ago and still meets on Friday nights at Shottermill Junior School, providing a place for youngsters to hang out and meet safely.   

Hydestile Resident Animals (formally known as Hydestile Wildlife Hospital) is a sanctuary for rescued wildlife and provides emergency veterinary services when no one else can help injured animals.    

Lastly, Skillway is a charity which provides opportunities to help young people who struggle with the academic focus of mainstream education. Students learn to make wooden projects such as bird boxes as well as metalwork using small hand tools.   

As part of his efforts to raise money for these charities, Cllr Robini set himself a challenge to volunteer at each of them to raise awareness for their causes and fundraise over three days in March 2022. Cllr Robini said: “I am very aware of the pressures on young people and our wildlife in the post-pandemic, climate threatened world that is frequently in the news. The aim of taking on the challenge was to raise money and awareness of these fantastic places in Waverley which are increasingly under pressure themselves due to financial restraints.”   

Cllr Robini raised a total of £2,700.93 and will split the money raised evenly between the charities, giving them £900.31 each.

Cllr Robini added: “I am incredibly grateful for the support I received during my time as Mayor from everyone who donated money to every single volunteer from each of these charities I had the pleasure of meeting along the way and my team who supported me throughout. I am pleased that I could play a small role in contributing to the fantastic work each of these charities are doing and I hope that my efforts raised awareness for these vital causes which I am deeply passionate about."