Holbeach Seniors’ Link has been awarded a total of £400 - £200 each from the budgets held by Whaplode and Holbeach St John's ward Councillors Malcolm Chandler and Bob Creese – to help pay the organisation’s annual postal bill.
The organisation and its sister group Welland Seniors' Forum have been keeping South Holland's over 55s up to speed by sending out information on services for nearly 10 years.
Forum chairman David Roberts said: "We are anxious that nothing should stand in the way of older folk coming to our meetings. Because of the increasing cost of postage we took the decision to send out a diary of forthcoming meetings just once per year but this has not proved successful.
"To re-introduce mailings for each meeting was beyond our financial limits so we decided to ask two of our councillors to help us out from the "pots of money" allotted to each ward. Almost before I could catch my breath I was delighted to hear that our Whaplode and Holbeach St John's councillors were prepared to cover the whole cost. This is just one more example of how SHDC is supportive of our work with older people."
Councillor Chandler said: "Holbeach Seniors’ Link provides an invaluable service for older members of our community by providing support and information. This money will help them to continue that work."
Councillor Creese said: "This is just the sort of project where the Designated Members’ Budget can help make a real difference for the people we serve."
* The Designated Member Budget scheme, as voted for by SHDC, provides £5,000 (pro-rata) for each ward member to help fund community projects throughout a financial year. As the scheme came into force partway through 2011/12, the budget this year is £4,000.
