SCOUTS teamed up with Rotarians to raise a record £507 at a street collection in Stourport on Saturday.

Stourport Rotary Club will make the amount up to £1,000 after calling on the Scouts' manpower for the fund-raising effort.

Youngsters from KD8 St Johns in Kidderminster helped collect the cash along with members of the Rhydd Covert service team, outside The Swan Hotel in High Street, Stourport.

Rotary member Ben Wilkes said the collection was a major achievement for the club.

He said: "It was absolutely superb. We broke all our records for a Saturday down there, I think the most we have done there was just over £400.

"The Scouts were great, some younger ones came down and stayed there in the pouring rain until 3.30pm. We did superbly well."

Dave Denton, district commissioner for Kidderminster and District Scout Council, donned a Father Christmas costume and was on duty in his sleigh for the collection.

He said: "It was really good, there was a lot of young people putting money in and all the little kids were over-awed by the Father Christmas in his sleigh.

"It was nice to be able to go along and be part of it. It was nice for to be doing something to earn the money to rebuild the Scout centre."

Rhydd Covert warden Mark Woodward, who also donned the famous red costume for the collection, said: "It was superb, people were giving very generously, there was a lot of £5 notes so it was very well supported by the public.

"A lot of people were asking how the appeal was going."

Spare pennies turn to pounds

PENSIONER, Joyce Edwards, knows the importance of counting her pennies after donating a massive £50 in coppers to Operation Covert.

The Bewdley resident and her son, Bruce Edwards, kept their spare change in a giant whisky bottle and, after reading about our appeal, decided to hand the cash to the Scouts.

Joyce said: "It is for the kids. It wasn't their fault what happened. It was some lunatics with no sense and it annoyed me, so I thought we would give it to the kids."

Mr Edwards said the cash had been collected over the past two years after the bottle - the kind used in pubs - was bought at a car boot fair.

He said: "It is a good cause and we thought it would be ideal to support when we saw that the bottle was full."

Their efforts were a perfect example of how charity begins at home, said Shuttle/Times and News editor, Clive Joyce.

He said: "Every little helps in an appeal like this and it shows that small amounts of change can add up to a significant contribution.

"Perhaps some pubs or businesses might think about having a box for small change so people can donate to Operation Covert.

"We would be happy to provide boxes to go on counters for anyone who would like to support us."

Councillors lend their support

A WHIP-ROUND at a meeting of Wyre Forest District Council brought in more than £70 for Operation Covert.

Councillors dipped into their pockets at this month's meeting of the full council. A total of £73 was pledged to our campaign.

The collection was organised by Marcus Hart, deputy leader of the council.

He said: "I am heavily involved in Scouting organisations in Kidderminster and the chairman of the district council very kindly allowed a collection to take place.

"I had lots of positive comments and it is nice to see that the council supports local Scouting and the young people of Wyre Forest."

l A sale to mark harvest festival raised £100 for Operation Covert.

Pensioners who attend Stourport Social Day Centre in Sion Gardens donated a variety of food to sell among themselves.

Organiser, Joyce Hatton, said: "We always give the money each year to a local charity and when we saw what had happened to the Scouts we decided to allocate the money to the appeal. We are very happy to support the campaign."

Appeal goes global

WEB surfers are just a click away from all the latest Operation Covert news with the launch of an internet site dedicated to our appeal.

A new website will bring you all the stories about Operation Covert and tell you how to donate and get in touch about future events.

Shuttle/Times and News editor, Clive Joyce, said: "This is to spread the message nationwide and even worldwide so that any people who have left the district and who may want to contribute to the appeal or organise an event will know exactly what to do."

Just log on to www.thisiskidderminster.co.uk and click on our Operation Covert logo to visit the dedicated site.

We've supported Operation Covert

BUSINESSES

Cadspec

Duke William pub

Exilco

Horwath Clark Whitehill

Severn Water Products

Topstitch

Webb Tolley

MJS IT Services

Hartbeat Fitness Training

SCHOOLS

Franche First

Mayfield House Kindergarten

Sutton Park First

Wolverley Sebright First

ORGANISATIONS

Chaddesley Corbett Freemasons

Harlequins Orienteering Club

Hope and Charity Freemasons

Kidderminster Rotary Club

Wyre Forest Golf Club seniors

Vernon Freemasons

Severn & Teme District Scouts

Wyre Forest Conservatives

Wolverley Ladies Fellowship

Kidderminster Lions FC

Kidderminster Soroptimists

Kidderminster Carolians RFC

Wyre Forest Young Enterprise

Classical Music Society

5th and 6th Stourport Brownies

KD9 Scouts

Wyre Forest district councillors

Stourport Social Day Centre

Stourport Rotary Club