THE outgoing president of the Rotary Club of Worcester Severn has signed off by donating more than £15,000 to the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign.
During the presidency of Allan Scrafton, £15,100 was collected  for the campaign, which aims to raise £1.8 million for the new unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
Most of the money was gathered during the club’s annual Question Time-style event at the Hindlip Hall base of West Mercia Police last September and a jazz night and auction of promises at Worcester Racecourse in May.
Mr Scrafton, whose wife Rita had breast cancer, said: “Many women will be grateful as they face up to an earth-shattering diagnosis in a place that will be sympathetic to their emotional needs.”
Campaign director Geoff Howard said: “It’s a fantastic effort and that takes the campaign total to just over £830,000. We have had hundreds of groups throughout the county support us. This is a very large sum of money and extremely welcome but we have had all sorts of groups make donations and every amount is welcome.”
Your Worcester News continues to support the campaign, having adopted it before its launch in October 2009.
The unit will provide women and men with treatment in a more comfortable and less cramped and clinical setting than at present.
All the clinics will be under one roof in the unit, which will be built at 220 Newtown Road in Worcester, near Worcestershire Royal Hospital. At present, patients have to go between different clinics on various floors in Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
Patients and their families have already had their say on the layout of the unity to ensure it is adapted to their needs when it is opened.
One in eight women and one in 1,000 men develop breast cancer.
For more information and to get involved go to everybodyknowssomebody.co.uk .