Wimbledon Guild annual meeting

I had the great pleasure of attending the annual meeting of the Wimbledon Guild last Tuesday at Drake House Wimbledon. The Guild is one of my chosen charities for my mayoral year, and does a huge amount of good work within Merton, along with helping many of those in need. The range of activities they undertake is vast, but includes small grants to those in need, or have fallen upon hard times; it may be a washing machine, a school uniform, an over but through these grants they've helped innumerable people in Merton. Likewise they provide a daily luncheon club for older people, along with providing a range of activities like keep-fit, art groups', needlework, music groups; the list is endless. They have also opened a state of the art family therapy suite in the last year which received lottery funding, and is an excellent resource.

My thanks goes to their chief executive, Russel Humphries, but also to their chair, Sheila Dunman who has just taken over from Adrian Barnes, chair for the past four years'. At the event, I made a presentation to Adrian Barnes, for being chair but also to Ron Goddard, the retiring treasurer. We are extremely lucky to have such a successful charity in Merton that does so much good for the people living in the borough. Their AGM was not just a meeting, it was also an exhibition of various voluntary groups in the borough, only when you're mayor do you truly recognise the invaluable role that the voluntary sector plays in the Borough and how their importance in providing services in the community, or in helping people. Like the Wimbledon Guild, their contribution is immeasurable.