VW enthusiasts deliver sweet boost for Zoe's Place children's hospice

Yesterday members of the North East VW (Volkswagen) Club delivered the eggs from their base in Thornaby to Zoe’s Place children’s hospice in Normanby

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North East VW Club deliver eggs to Zoe's Place

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A children's hospice is hoping to raise thousands of pounds after receiving almost 2,000 Easter eggs from a local motoring club.

Yesterday members of the North East VW (Volkswagen) Club delivered the eggs from their base in Thornaby to Zoe’s Place children’s hospice in Normanby.

Every child at the hospice will be given a chocolate treat, while the rest of the eggs will be used as raffle and tombola prizes. A donation of £145 was also made by the club, which has been supporting Zoe’s Place since 2008.

Last year it delivered almost 700 eggs to the charity but this year the total was almost three times that amount - a record for the hospice.

Rachael Willmore, community fundraiser at Zoe’s Place, said: “Last year we managed to raise about £3,000 by raffling off the Easter eggs. With the number of eggs donated this year, we’ll be looking to raise much more than that.

“It really is quite amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many eggs - not even in Asda or Tesco.

“Zoe’s Place is very much a community project. Without the support of organisations like the North East VW Club, we wouldn’t be able to keep our doors open.”

The charity relies heavily on donations to raise the £1.1 million a year required to run it.

Steve Pullman, who has been a member of the North East VW Club for more than 20 years, said: “Hopefully this event will help to raise more awareness of the hospice, which does a sterling job in the local community.

“We’ve supported Zoe’s Place for several years now. It’s a local cause and very worthwhile.”

Yesterday a police escort was in place as several VW vehicles from the club were involved in delivering the eggs.

Also present was Teesside comedian and Zoe’s Place patron Patrick Monahan.

The Stokesley funnyman, who is preparing to run the London Marathon next month, said: “I’m proud to be associated with Zoe’s Place. When they asked me to be a patron I jumped at the chance.

“The amount of fundraising that Rachael and her team do is crazy. They deserve a medal.”