THE leader of a Tavistock slimming group has thanked her generous members for donating clothes they have slimmed out of to raise more than £3,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Following a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, Slimming World group leader Tracy Horton has relaunched her annual donation campaign which this year she estimates will raise at least £3,430 for the cancer charity when sold in the charity’s shops.

Each year, Tracy invites her members to donate clothes in their wardrobes they have slimmed out of to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Difficulties inflicted by the pandemic due to restrictions and social distancing meant the campaign couldn’t run in 2020 and 2021, but this year Tracy was overjoyed to be back in business. 

Special purple bags were sent out a few weeks ago, which Tracy then distributed to her members, asking them to return the bags on Thursday last week as pick up had been arranged with the charity for 9am on the Friday morning.

Tracy said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for us to get donations into the Cancer Research shops which are exceptionally low of clothing at the moment after the pandemic. Once there, they can be transferred to hangers in the shops and then sold.

‘This year, our members donated 98 bags and they weren’t just filled with clothes either, it’s handbags, shoes, hats, accessories, books and games that are all in perfectly usable condition. It’s a really straightforward and easy way to raise money for such a fantastic charity. The only difficult bit was getting all the bags into the van but luckily the rain held off!

‘Although the contents of each bag is mixed, they are estimated to raise £35 each for the charity, meaning this year’s donations equate to an estimated total of £3,430. I’m hugely grateful to and proud of all of our members for making this happen.’

The contents of the van this year was heading for the Cancer Research UK shop on Cornwall Street, Plymouth but in the past the group’s donations have gone all round the country. In 2019, the group filled 111 bags. 

Tracey said: ‘You always want to meet and better the numbers every year. Pre-covid, I had 250 members but now have about 140 as not everyone is fully back following the effects of the pandemic. But being down by that number and still having our current members filling so many bags is testament to their efforts and was just so well received by the charity. Pretty much everybody filled up a bag.’

She added: ‘There are so many benefits to losing weight but it’s not just about what numbers on a set of scales say, of course your clothing sizes will change too. People will always still have hold of these old clothes they bought but won’t fit into them anymore. Now, instead of having them knocking round in the wardrobe, they can be passed onto a worthy cause.’

Tracy runs classes every Thursday in the Tavistock United Reformed Church in Russell Street at 8.30am, 10am, 11.30am, 5.30pm and 7pm and she counts running this annual campaign as one of the highlights of a job she loves.

Tracy can be contacted on 07817 413815.