Mayor of Congleton, Cllr. Sally Ann Holland and her consort were guests of Rotary President Rod Goodier at a Rotary-Congleton Charity Lunch recently. Held at Glebe Farm, Astbury on Sunday, 18th August the lunch raised money for new chemotherapy chairs and specialist pumps for Macclesfield Hospital. Over £4,400 was raised on the day, to add to the £2,300 collected from the Easter Egg Raffles held earlier in the year.

The new electrically adjustable chairs will benefit patients – some of whom travel from Congleton – when receiving chemotherapy at the hospital, where they can sit for up to 8 hours during treatment. It will also mean that Macclesfield will be able to accommodate more local patients who currently make the long journey for treatment to the Christie in Manchester. The new chairs will replace older, less comfortable chairs at the hospital. They will be transferred to the new Macclesfield Christie Centre when it opens along with other equipment funded by Rotary.

Mike Chadwick a friend of Rtn Kevin Thompson, presented Rotary with a cheque for £1,024 as a result of a sponsored coast-to-coast cycle ride. Mike and his friends donated the cheque as a result of hearing of Rtn Kevin Thompson's fund raising activities for the chemotherapy unit at the hospital.

An auction raised £2,300 with a 5 star lot of a week's holiday for up to 6 in a luxury Anglesey lodge, a Yamaha piano keyboard, a hot air balloon ride, an off-road driving experience, a Segway experience and other lots, including a cheeseboard, watercolour paintings, floral table decorations and a wooden clock. A further £1,200 was raised from ticket sales, whilst a raffle raised a further £800, and the Hop on Bus company donated £200 from sales of wine.

The lunch was made possible due to the generosity of newly weds, Ian and Heather Robinson, and Rob and Lesley Lomas of Glebe Farm. Together, they allowed Rotary to use the marquee and facilities erected for Past President of Rotary, Ian and Heather's wedding at Glebe Farm, the previous Friday.

Entertainment was provided by local guitarist Dan Toft and singer, Shannon. Catering was provided by Beechtree Catering.