A former Mayor of Dudley has handed over nearly £36,000 raised for charity during her term in office.

Councillor Anne Millward was Mayor from May 2021 to April last year.

The former mayor met representatives from her two chosen charities for 2021/22 – Black Country Mental Health (formerly Dudley Mind) and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – in the mayor’s parlour at Dudley Council House yesterday.

A total of £35,721 was raised in her year in office, to be split equally between the two charities. Councillor Anne Millward said:

“I was extremely proud and honoured to serve this borough as Mayor, and I’m absolutely delighted today to be able to hand over such a large amount of money to two very worthy charities.

“I think what the Duke of Edinburgh does to help young people to reach their full potential is nothing short of inspirational.

“I decided to raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme to continue that legacy.

“I hope this money will be able to help remove some of the financial barriers that prevent young people in more deprived parts of the borough from accessing the scheme.

“Black Country Mental Health does some incredible work to support people affected by poor mental health.

“I wanted to do all I could to help them carry on doing that, particularly coming out of the lockdowns when a lot of people struggled.

“It has been a privilege to meet so many wonderful people from all walks of life during my Mayoral year, and I want to thank everyone who donated to give us this wonderful sum to hand over today.”

Sandra Vaughan, chief executive of Black Country Mental Health, added: “We are hugely grateful for the donation, which will make a massive difference to our work supporting people to manage their mental health.

“As an unfunded organisation, we depend heavily on the generosity of people to help continue to make a difference to the quality of life for so many people who are struggling, particularly since the pandemic.

“Every penny is so valuable to the work done by our small paid staff team and fantastic volunteers.”