Local women’s charity, Gilead has received more than £900 from the organisers of the Oak Road Christmas lights fundraising event in Okehampton..

Gilead, a Christian-based charity which provides shelter to women in need, said it had received £968.63 from Tricia Gliddon and her son, Charly Robb, who organise the annual Christmas lights display for charity.

Joanna Morgan, fundraising and marketing manager at the Gilead Foundations, said: ’The £968.63 for us is going towards essential repairs in our kitchen and toilets. This will make a huge difference to the quality of life for our residents, staff and volunteers. Thank you so much!’

Tricia and Charly fundraised for both the Gilead Foundation and Healthcare Workers Foundation, which provides support to NHS workers, this Christmas just gone and raised a total of £1,937.26 surpassing their initial £500 target by over £1,000.

Tricia said: ’The lights are all down now and the house is looking very bare, but we’ll do it all again next year.

’Last year we did very well and we were not expecting to do so well this year because people have been having a hard time so we are really pleased with the result.’

The total was split evenly between the two charities with both receiving over £900.

Tricia and Charly managed to raise £2,225 for Devon Mind over Christmas 2020 and had hoped to beat that this year. However, Tricia said that she recognised covid had taken its toll on a lot of families and appreciated that they may not have had as much to give this year.

The Christmas light display has been running for several years now and was started by Charly who has a passion for Christmas lights and collects them throughout the year.

After moving to Okehampton, a neighbour suggested they put up the lights as a way of raising money for charity.

This started an annual tradition and now Tricia and Charly, along with their next door neighbour, decorate their houses each year for charity.

Gilead is just one of many charities Tricia and Charly have donated to in the past including Devon Mind.

The women’s charity provides support to vulnerable women who may be struggling with a range of difficulties including homelessness, drug addiction or domestic abuse.

The organisation provides accommodation for the residents in a purpose-built bungalow on a farm where the women can get involved in a variety of activities including gardening, cow milking and maintenance work.

For more information about the Gilead Foundations visit www.gilead.org.uk.