Two Welsh charities have benefited from funds collected in aid of Monmouthshire’s past Chairman’s Appeal.

Councillor Maureen Powell selected the Wales Air Ambulance and Alzheimer’s Society Cymru as her chosen charities during her term of office (May 2017 to May 2018) and she was delighted to welcome representatives of both organisations to County Hall in Usk to pass on cheques for £1,592.20.

Wales Air Ambulance Community Co-ordinator Liesel Townley said, “On behalf of the charity I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in the Chairman’s appeal, especially Councillor Maureen Powell, for the kind donation of £1,592.20.  Wales Air Ambulance relies upon donations and support from the public to help us provide our life-saving service so this is a welcoming contribution – thank you.

“Wales Air Ambulance attends over 2,000 missions every year to those who are most vulnerable.  We can be on-scene in an average of 15 minutes and our doctors are getting equipped with the latest equipment so this is helping us to bring lifesaving A&E department treatment to patients so they don’t have to wait until they arrive in hospital.”

Rhia Stankovic, of the Alzheimer’s Society Cymru added, “Every penny donated to Alzheimer’s Society Cymru is making sure we can be there for people affected by dementia.  Thanks to the support of Councillor Maureen Powell we have been able to continue providing local support services in Monmouthshire to people affected by dementia which include our integrated dementia support service and community support service along with our dementia cafes and activity groups.

“For every pound we received, we spent 89p on directly improving the lives of people with dementia.  The other 11p goes towards generating future income.  With your support, we will make even greater progress towards our vision of a world without dementia.

“We are also the only UK charity investing in research into dementia care, cause, cure and prevention.  We’ve committed to spending £150 million on cutting-edge research over the next decade.  Every project we fund directly addresses the needs and concerns of people affected by dementia.”

Councillor Powell commented, “I am very pleased to support the wonderful work by Wales Air Ambulance and Alzheimer’s Society Cymru and my thanks go to John, my Consort, for supporting me throughout and to the many members, staff and supporters from the council and elsewhere while representing the county as Chairman.”