A 70th birthday party held at the Ravenswood Hotel, in Rougham, has helped to raise over £1,400 for charity.
The event was held to mark Richard Bridgman’s seventh decade and was attended by 100 people and now he has handed over a cheque to staff at the West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds.
The money is going towards the My WiSH Charity’s Every Heart Matters Appeal which aims to raise £500,000 to build a brand new cardiac diagnostic unit at the hospital.
The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is investing £5.2m in developing a state of the art cardiac suite that will provide quicker access to more treatments, but the £500,000 My WiSH Charity is hoping to raise will lead to the whole unit, which is currently fragmented on different floors, being brought together in one purpose-built centre.
Mr Bridgman, who lives in Tollgate Lane, in Bury St Edmunds, and is a member of the Local Enterprise Skills Board, said a total of £1,431.25 was handed over to the hospital but more money is still coming in.
“I said that I did not want presents or cards but just wanted donations for My WiSH Charity and they would put it towards the appeal. We had work colleagues, friends, family and people I have known over the years and Bury St Edmunds Jo Churchill also attended.”
Mr Bridgman, owns Warren Services, in Thetford, which provides high quality manufacture of components and mechanical/electrical sub assemblies offering turnkey solutions in engineering and design and employs 100 people.
He added: “I was only sorry I couldn’t invite everyone from Warren but it was a great night and on the way we raised some money for My WiSH.
“I have raised lots of money for charity over the years and every now and then something makes you think that you have got to do something and any support we can give to the hospital is fantastic.
“When I last went there I was so touched by what they do and so the money is targeted at the appeal which they want to raise the money for.”
If you would like to donate to the Every Heart Matters Appeal you can do so by going to Justgiving.com/ehma or text EHMA17 £10 to 70070.
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