Former Mayor presents cheque of over £8k to charities
Monday 21 August 2023
Noel Williams, Mid and East Antrim’s Mayor during 2022-23, recently presented his Mayoral charities with a cheque totalling £8747.34.
The money raised was split equally between the former Mayor’s chosen charities from his year in office – the schoolchildren’s mental health charity ‘Pure Mental’ and the Royal Air Forces Association.
The former Mayor presented the cheques to Mr Kevin McRandle MBE (Life Vice President of the RAF Association in Northern Ireland) and Pure Mental’s Jay Buntin (Joint CEO) and Kornelija Aidukeviciute (Financial Manager).
Founded in August 2019 by Jay Buntin and Matthew Taylor, Pure Mental’s goal is to improve mental health awareness and education in schools across Northern Ireland, with a strong focus on youth involvement and engagement.
The Royal Air Forces Association is the largest single-service membership organisation and the longest-standing registered service charity that provides welfare support to the ‘RAF Family’.
It offers friendship, help and support to current and former members of the Royal Air Force and their dependents. For more than 90 years, the RAF Association has championed a simple belief – that no member of the RAF community should ever be left without the help that they need.
Noel said: “I am overwhelmed and delighted by the generosity of all those who donated to my chosen charities throughout my year as Mayor of Mid and East Antrim. I would personally like to thank everyone who supported the fundraising activities. It has been a privilege to have been associated with these two worthy charities - who give so much and expect so little in return. I know each one is very grateful and appreciative of everyone’s generosity as am I - thank you all so very much.”
Kevin McRandle MBE on behalf of the RAF Association, said: “We have just started our annual Wings Appeal campaign and this magnificent donation of £4,373, from the former Mayor, really sets us on our way to making a bumper collection this year. It will help us provide the welfare facilities our ageing veteran population so urgently need.”
Jay Buntin, the Joint CEO of Pure Mental, added: “We were absolutely thrilled when, back in June 2022, the then Mayor Noel Williams, contacted us and asked if we would like to be one of his sponsored charities for his Mayoral year. Of course, we leapt at the opportunity and were thrilled at the profile his role gave us during the year. The additional bonus of a wonderful donation of £4,373 is an absolute boost to the funds we need to grow our charity, for which we are especially grateful.”
Photo: Former Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Noel Williams, with Mr Kevin McRandle MBE (Life Vice President of the RAF Association in Northern Ireland) and Pure Mental’s Jay Buntin (Joint CEO) and Kornelija Aidukeviciute (Financial Manager).