Westbury fundraiser Gary Cook and his team from the Rodney Cook Memorial Rally have handed over cheques totalling more than £110,000 to charity after their fundraising efforts this year.
It brings the total donated to over £400,000 since the annual metal detecting rally was launched in 2018 in memory of Gary’s father who died from cancer.
The funds donated this year were: £60,125 to RUHX to support cancer services at the Royal United Hospital in Bath; £36,040 to Brighter Futures GWH, the charity of the Great Western Hospital in Swindon; £12,000 to Countryside Learning, which aims to educate and inspire children to enjoy the countryside; and £2,000 to Sarcoma UK, the bone and soft tissue cancer charity.
The annual rally has gained international attention, drawing over 1,500 metal detector enthusiasts to South Wraxall from across the globe in August this year. They unearthed a range of exciting historical treasures, including Roman coins, medieval buckles, and other ancient artefacts.
“What an incredible amount the RCM Family have achieved this year,” said Gary, who was the West Country regional winner of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain awards last month and the White Horse News Person of the Year last year.
“Every single one of you should feel incredibly proud at what you have all done. This amount will literally save lives; the hospitals have told us that there are people alive today because of the money the RCM has donated to the cancer charities; it literally does not get any better than that to think the RCM has helped save lives!
“We organise the rally to help people and families affected by cancer. The event, in memory of my dad, has turned something terrible into something positive.”
The RUHX charity said, “Thank you to Gary Cook and every one of the incredible Rodney Cook Memorial Charity Detecting Events team for donating a staggering £60,125 to RUHX.
“We had the pleasure of attending the rally in August. The effort, care and detail that goes into organising these events is astounding. We are so grateful for the continued support from Gary and the team, which will help change lives for cancer patients in Bath and beyond.
“Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming many of the event supporters to the RUH to reveal this year’s amount and to see the new Dyson Cancer Centre that they have helped bring extra to with all their hard work.”
Pictured Below: Gary, kneeling, and the team at the RUH
Cover Picture: The cheque presentation at Brighter Future GWH
