Slimmers boost charity with a ‘Clothes Throw’

Members of the Slimming World Groups held each Wednesday at Woodburn Community Centre are supporting the Clothes Throw initiative.

In the lead up to the annual event they have already raised £78 with a clothes swap, plus another 42 bags of clothes collected worth £1,050 for their designated charity.

Elspeth Turner-Warke, Slimming World manager for the East Antrim Area, took up the suggestion from one of her members to have a clothes swap party.

Elspeth said: “So many members who have slimmed down so far but not ready to spend a fortune on a new wardrobe were able to pick up some fabulous wardrobe staples to get through the next few weeks or months before they reach their final target weight.

“Donating clothes that members have slimmed out of can be so liberating and members actual enjoyed bringing them along to group and saying goodbye – it felt like saying goodbye to the ‘old me’.

“It’s great to know that the money raised from their donated items will go towards research to find better ways to treat cancer.”

With each bag of clothes raising up to £25, last year slimmers collected close to £1million worth of stock for Cancer Research UK shops.

“All profits go to support the charity’s life-saving work to help beat cancer sooner. Our members are so sure they’ll never need their ‘bigger’ clothes again that they couldn’t wait to go through their wardrobes and bag them up to donate to charity,” added Elspeth.

“The Clothes Throw is a perfect opportunity for all of us to celebrate our success, inspire other people and raise money for charity at the same time. There is also a more serious side to our support for Cancer Research UK however: one in two people are diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime, and being overweight can increase the chance of developing the disease.”

“It is vital we spread the message that healthy eating, being physically active and losing weight by adopting healthy habits all help reduce the risk of developing cancer.”