Ladies' lunch raises £11,000 for Chiltern Centre

A LUNCH and pop-up shopping event in Henley raised £11,000 for the Chiltern Centre for disabled children.

More than 220 guests attended the event at Phyllis Court Club where 25 fashion, gift and homeware stalls were set up in the Riverside Pavilion.

Each stallholder donated 10 per cent of their sales to the charity and local businesses donated prizes to the silent auction. Susan Fotherby and her brother Philip were the guest speakers and recalled how Mrs Fotherby’s daughter, Lucy, now 23, benefited from the centre for more than 15 years.

KJ Smith solicitors sponsored the event and the volunteer helpers were Natalie Fatemi, Helen Morton, Gaynor Peel and Suzy Schofield alongside boys from Moulsford School.

The lunch committee was Liz Deacon, Katja Deer, Emma Lerche-Thomsen, Bex Peel, Sarah Percy-Davis, Charlotte Stuart, Alex Hopkinson-Woolley and Tatty Watson-Smyth, who also provided the table flowers.

Ms Deacon, community fund-raiser for the centre, said: “We had a brilliant day. There was a real buzz with 230 ladies shopping, lunching and catching up with friends while making a huge difference to the families we support.”