Two Teignmouth charities welcomed the new year with a cash boost thanks to Teignmouth mayor councillor Cate Williams.

Teign Heartbeat and Teignmouth ShopMobility were selected as the mayor’s charities for her first term in the role (2024/25) and each organisation was presented with a cheque for £983.02 before the Teignmouth Town Council meeting on Tuesday (January 13).

‘What I really love about these two charities are they are local, they are small charities in the scheme of things, but mighty in the work they do and what they have achieved so far for our town,’ Councillor Williams said.

Councillor Williams chose Teign Heartbeat because she has had personal experience of friends and family who have been affected by heart conditions. ‘Heart-related conditions hit very close to home for me, especially as my husband, Peter, has been quite poorly previously, ultimately having suffered a heart attack,’ she explained adding that she had also lost friends in 2024 due to heart conditions. Shirley Brokenshaw, who founded Teign Heartbeat, does ‘so much here in our immediate community, both with fundraising for defibrillators and getting them placed throughout the town and also offering free CPR training,’ Councillor Williams noted.

Teign Shopmobility, based in the Teignmouth’s Quay car park, was Councillor Williams’ second chosen charity for 2024/25. The organisation hosted Councillor Williams for her on her first ‘official’ engagement as mayor. ‘I was given such a warm welcome and learned a lot about the charity and the varying people being supported,’ Cate said. ‘Mobility struggles are faced by residents and visitors to our community of all ages, not just the elderly. To offer a small gesture and donation for Teign Shopmobility to put towards aids or a new chair for someone seemed a no-brainer to me,’ she commented.

Councillor Williams is now into her second term as mayor and this year she has chosen Teignmouth RNLI and Hector’s House as her nominated charities.

‘I have picked the Teignmouth RNLI because they do such a fabulous job locally putting their own lives at risk to help others, but also Hector’s House Residents, a local cat charity who specialise in rescuing, neutering and rehabilitating abandoned our feline friends,’ Councillor Williams revealed. ‘As a lifelong cat owner (my girl Iris is now 19 years of age) and animal lover and having followed all that this charity undertakes both here in Teignmouth, Torquay and all the surrounding areas, I wanted to show some support for them,’ she added.

Money towards the mayor’s charities are raised throughout the term from donations or fund-raising events. In addition, the mayor has an annual allowance to use throughout their term for putting on events, travel or expenses to enable the mayor to fulfil their civic duties.

Any unspent funds can be put back into general reserves or donated to charity. ‘I have done my best not to use those funds,’ said councillor Williams. ‘I consider this role to be a privilege, and no one can say that I have received any financial gain from it,’ she added. ‘This has left a nice sum in the balance from the 2024/25 term, which I have now shared between HeartBeat and Teignmouth ShopMobility. I will do likewise for the 2025/2026 term.’