Mercy mission which has paid off -- twice!

Women from the Bolton CHAT appeal -- an off-shoot of the already established Children's Hospital Appeal which buys equipment for local hospitals -- have raised £140,000 over the last couple of years.

It all began when seasoned charity campaigner Mrs Irene Roocroft was asked if she could head up an appeal in the Bolton area.

The plan was to equip the town's 10 ambulances with special equipment to treat children in emergencies. Each ambulance would cost just over £10,000, with the biggest expense being Vital Signs Monitors.

The CHAT scheme was to run through Greater Manchester's 10 areas -- but the Bolton appeal soon achieved spectacular success.

It started slowly. Irene "recruited" people from all over the town, with varied interests, and connections in Inner Wheel, Soroptomists, Tangent, Ladies' Circle, floral art clubs, churches and golf clubs.

"The success of the group," explains Irene, "was down to the fact that we all had long lists of friends and acquaintances to support our fund-raising activities."

The first event was a strawbery fair -- which was forced to transfer from the garden of her Heaton home to Ladybridge Hall when the weather failed to smile on them.

The public did, however, smile on the appeal. They recognised that the scheme could touch individual lives when it mattered most, and they gave pennies and pounds.

A flower arranging session by well-known arranger Barry Grey prompted 400 people to go along to the Bolton School event.

A ladies' lunch at Rivington Barn was another financial and social success. Sports and social clubs gave -- and gave again. Bolton cyclist Jim Hall directed his fund-raising bike rides to the CHAT appeal.

Local schoolchildren ran events of their own to help, and local firms like Warburtons, William Hare's and Littlewoods all helped.

Events in the area including Horwich Carnival and Horwich Inner Wheel's annual Christmas fair swelled the coffers.

And Adlington-based artist Gerry Halpin annually painted his lovely Christmas cards to boost the appeal by thousands, and keep its profile high.

Within months of the appeal being launched, the first ambulance had already been equipped. Swiftly, they were on to their second.

In less than 2 years, ALL the town's ambulances had been upgraded -- the first town in Greater Manchester to achieve this.

And the special equipment was already saving lives -- not just very young patients, either.

A newly-installed Vital Signs Monitor proved its worth when seven young men collapsed in Bolton town centre after taking the designer drug GHB.

In less dramatic circumstances, the cooling gel in the new equipment brought quick care and comfort to young burns' victims locally.

The charity volunteers proved successful not only in their fund-raising, though, but also in becoming a group. They enjoyed the company and comradeship of this practical project so much that they decided to stay together as a group.

Next year, at Rivington Barn again, they will be holding a Ladies' Lunch on May 16, this time raising money for Bolton Hospice.

The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Alan Wilkinson arranged a special buffet at the Town Hall to honour the group and its work.

He commented:"I am totally in awe of their dedication, and the fact that they have exceeded their target is wonderful.

"I'd like to congratulate them again, and say a big thank-you for all they have done."

Irene is, however, quick to pay tribute to the efforts of the public. "We cannot thank the very generous Bolton people enough for all their help and support."

And this grandmother, prompted to act so decisively in the first place because of her genuine concern for local children, pinpoints the crux of CHAT's real appeal.

"Without people's support raising all this money would simply not have been possible.

"And perhaps some children's lives have been saved by all this wonderful equipment which is now in all our local emergency ambulances."