FUNDRAISING

History of fundraising

There has always been a very small yearly subscription for life membership.

From the beginning there was a yearly Whit-Monday fete at the Hospital which was very successful.

The Tonbridge Rotary Club used to provide an augmented bus service to the Hospital. While from 1961, the field to the south of the Hospital was loaned to it by Mr W. A. Large of Mabledon Farm. When he died in 1975, his son Mr R.A. Large kindly continued to loan the field.

The fete was held from about 1970 on the May Spring Bank Holiday. Sadly the yearly event stopped in 2001 because of Doctors Out of Hours service being on the Hospital site.

Volunteers have always been needed and the names standing out over the years are Mr. F. O’Gorman, Mr F. E. Gowen, Mrs Wheeler, Mr John Busswood, Dennis Goodland and John Ross.

In 1980, a Fete Secretary was appointed who was Mrs B. McLarty. Mrs V. Blackman filled the post from 1982 to 1986 and then Mrs C. Roberts helped for two years.

Since 1993 to 2012, the main fundraiser has been Miss Pauline Warren who has run the Christmas bazaar/ Fair and she has also looked after the Hospital trolley.

Mrs Edna Medhurst helped fundraising from 2007 to 2017.

As well as the May fete, over the years many other fundingraising activities have occurred including the Christmas Fair, which was originally organised by the Matron and her staff ; Christmas and Grand Draw; Jumble Sale; Beetle Drive; Olde Tyme Dance; Dinner at the Rose and Crown in 1961 and 1962; sponsored walks including the London Marathon; Street Collections; Selling ‘bricks’ at Trench Wood Surgery for the Bluebell Campaign; Flag Day; Charity Auction; Cottage Club which was first founded in 2002 and restarted in 2011; fashion show; plant stalls and coffee mornings.

Over the years numerous local organisations and companies have helped the LOF with time or money including Tonbridge Lions Club, Tonbridge Rotary Club, Tonbridge Round Table, Tonbridge Model Engineering Society ,Tonbridge Philamonic Society Geraldine Fox School of Dancing, Town of Tonbridge Lodge of Odd Fellows, Tonbridge Trades Council, Royal British Legion, Sainsburys and Waitrose.

Many large donations were given in 1975 when the car park was built and in the Bluebell Campaign in 1989-1990 to fund the furnishing and equipment of Goldsmid ward.

Many small donations are received each year.

Larger donations have been received from Tonbridge Gardeners Society, Helping Hands Gift Shop, Raymond & Blanche Lawson Charitable Trust, Phillimore J. G. Charitable Trust, d’Avigdor Goldsmid Charitable Trust, Tonbridge Volunteer Bureau, Tonbridge Amateur Football Club, Weald Park Residents Association, Men of Kent and Kentish Men, West Kent Branch Real Ale and the West Kent Chamber of Commerce.

Two donations from individuals stand out: Mrs E. West who gave £8,000, and Mr R. C. Brignall who gave £2,000. There have been also large anonymous donations. In recent years the main large donations have come from the Philomel Singers since 1995, the Hadlow Sewing Group since 1998, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Tunbridge Wells Civil Service Motoring Association, and the Tudeley Festival.

Since its inception, the League of Friends has received a large number of legacies. Often the sums are small. The sums over £1,000 include Mr F. W. Martin £11,168, Mr G. C. Bass £2,000, Mr West £1,000, Maud Winterbourne £1,146, Mrs Anna Franklin £5,000 Mr W.U.Jackson £1,081, Mrs Anna Ida £5,000, Gilian McClare £18,614. John Sibree £20,000, Mr Kenneth Smith £3000, Mr Frank Cyril Smith £10,358.35, Leonard Hayward £25000, Mr Dunk £5,000, Mr Donald Skinner £174,957, Norman Cogger £45,000.