During her year in office as Mayor of Durham City Cllr Jan Blakey, who is also chairman of Durham County Council, has been raising money for Trinity School and Sports College, which is hoping to buy a new minibus.
And her Mayoral Appeal received an unexpected boost thanks to a mystery donor.
Cllr Jan Blakey, made a recent visit to the school, at Aykley Heads.
Cllr Blakey, said: “I was absolutely staggered when I received the donation of £10,000 to my fund for Trinity School.
“It was a truly incredible gesture and the timing could not have been better. I knew that Trinity School were trying to raise enough funds to purchase a new minibus for their pupils.
“When I told the school of their windfall, everyone was absolutely delighted and they are now ready to press on with the purchase of the minibus which will be ready next year and will be a wonderful boost for the pupils.”
Alison Jefferson, business manager at Trinity School has already written to the Lord’s Taverners to inform them of their fundraising exploits.
The organisation provides accessible transport for schools catering for young people with disabilities.
The iconic green minibuses enable schools to engage pupils in sporting and recreational activities and help them develop life skills such as visiting shops and interacting with people in the local community. Most importantly, the minibuses provide transport to and from school.
Since 1976 the Lord’s Taverners have put almost 1,100 accessible minibuses on the road across the UK.
Alison said: “The gesture from Cllr Blakey came totally out of the blue – a complete surprise. We cannot thank her enough, and the person who made this wonderful donation. I can’t express how much this means.
“The Lord’s Taverners told us when we started fund raising last April that they would more than match the funding once we reached £17,000 which is what we have now achieved thanks to a lot of hard work and generous donations.
“I am waiting to hear back from them as the mini-bus will be specially adapted to accommodate wheelchairs.
“I can’t imagine a better Christmas present.”
