The ‘Tree of Hope’ in Marlow raised £1000 for five local charities as members of the public left donations and dedications to loved ones on the tree.

The fundraising initiative was launched this year by the Marlow Thames Rotary Club alongside Marlow Town Council.

With the tree itself raising just over £900 the Marlow Thames Rotary Club agreed to round the sum up to £1000 and pay for all of the setup costs.

As a result of donations, £200 will be made to each of the following charities: The Marlow Mayor’s charity, Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, South Bucks Hospice, Thames Valley Adventure Playground, and Marlow Age Concern.

Marlow Town Mayor, Richard Scott, was thrilled by the support shown by the public and hopes the tree will make a comeback in future years.

He said: “We were absolutely delighted to support this initiative.

“Put together by Marlow Thames Rotary Club, and of course to raise £1000 in the current environment is a fantastic achievement.

“Hopefully this initiative will be repeated in future years and become more widely known”

President of Marlow Thames Rotary Club, Nicole Hockly, also expects the initiative to return next year with more activities that couldn’t be done this year due to social distancing restrictions.

She said: “We are very pleased with the public support for this initiative.

“We had intended to incorporate live activities by the tree in the High Street, including a singalong, but of course the current restrictions prevented this.

“So to raise over £900 was fantastic and our club was very happy to round this up and to ensure that all set up costs were covered.

“We will arrange for the 5 charities selected to receive their £200 in the next few days

“This was very much a “test” initiative – and it worked!

“We will definitely repeat it in 2021 and hopefully build on the success of the first event.”