Shropshire Star

V Festival raises £33,000 for charity

Revellers at this year's V Festival helped to raise £33,000 for charity. Revellers at this year's V Festival helped to raise £33,000 for charity. Nearly 150 volunteers were at Weston Park, near Shifnal, raising funds for Telford-based Village Water. The money was raised through a glass bottle exchange and trolley hire services. Points were set up across the festival site where people could hire the trolleys. The charity, which enables African villagers to source water and establish a pump for a clean supply, took just £2,700 when it started fundraising at the event five years ago.

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Revellers at this year's V Festival helped to raise £33,000 for charity.

Nearly 150 volunteers were at Weston Park, near Shifnal, raising funds for Telford-based Village Water.

The money was raised through a glass bottle exchange and trolley hire services. Points were set up across the festival site where people could hire the trolleys.

The charity, which enables African villagers to source water and establish a pump for a clean supply, took just £2,700 when it started fundraising at the event five years ago.

Claire Weardon, the charity's UK director, said she was delighted with the amount. She added costs of about £10,000 would be taken out of the total.

Claire said: "When the first day's taking were counted up and we realised we had raised the same as 2010 in just the first day, we were all overwhelmed. When people stopped to talk to us about what we were raising the money for, there was a real sense of appreciation which would have been lacking if it had been a commercial venture.

"We were able to tell people that the money raised will support more than 1,200 people in rural villages in Zambia to improve their lives forever through access to basic sanitation facilities and clean water, as well as greater knowledge of the importance of good hygiene and sanitation practices for the well being and improved health of the community."

V Festival had also given the charity, which was set up by David Dixon, of Tong, two camping tickets for next year's festival as a prize in a draw.

A total of £3,000 was raised by swapping glass bottles for plastic. There were 900 trolleys, made in Tong by Reliance Manufacturing and all the plastic bottles were provided by V Festival at no cost.

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