A group of Honiton travel agents have raised more than £850 for a local veteran charity after hosting a series of fundraising events.

The team from Hays Travel on the High Street in Honiton organised three weeks of fundraising to make money for The Baton, a charity that supports Armed Forces veterans and their families.

Fundraising activities included a huge tombola with prizes donated by local businesses, children’s goody bags for sale and a ‘guess the name of the elephant’ competition.

In total, the event raised £851.72 for The Baton. 

In recognition of their fundraising, the Hays Travel team were presented with The Baton Trophy, an award given annually by the trustees to the person or people they believe have made the most outstanding contribution to the cause.

Founder of The Baton, Alan Rowe MBE, and his wife, Pauline Rowe, visited the Hays Travel team to present the award, along with Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Gordon Evans MBE, and representatives from SAFFA, the Armed Forces charity.

Alan Rowe MBE said: “The Baton Trophy is presented to recognise support and promotion of the Baton’s message, not necessarily for any funds raised. 

“The lovely ladies at Hays Travel Honiton did both exceptionally well, with tremendous spirit and enthusiasm, reflecting local support for our cause. Honiton is the 'home of the Baton’. 

“The team at Hays Travel are a credit to Honiton, with their incredible commitment to making a difference to a local charity, and their warmth of welcome to all who participated. We cannot thank them enough.”

Hays Travel Honiton branch manager, Christie Wantling, said: “We chose this charity as quite often the veterans get forgotten and we felt it would be lovely to give something back. 

“I am so proud of all the team for getting involved and I would like to thank my colleague, Kerran, in particular for all her efforts in making the event such a success. 

“I’d also like to thank the local businesses for being so generous and the community for their support – we could not have done it without them.”

Hays Travel is the UK’s largest independent travel agent, with branches across the UK – all committed to supporting their customers and the local communities they serve. Each Hays Travel branch is provided with a £500 budget to use for fundraising and charity work in their local area; £200 of this is to be used to fundraise for charities which support young people’s mental health, and the other £300 can be used for charities chosen by the branch.

In the last year, Hays Travel’s Local Community Partnership initiative across its retail network has donated almost £170,000 to local charities.