Former Redbridge mayor, Cllr Thavathuray Jeyaranjan, and his son Jeyaranjan Vimalann, visited Queen's Hospital on Friday 2 June to hand over a donation of £27,119, raised during his year in office.

Having experienced the premature birth of his twin sons at King George Hospital almost 30 years ago, Cllr Jeyaranjan wanted the funding from his mayoral year to help improve facilities for children in hospital.

He said: "It's been an honour raising funds for the King George and Queen's Hospital Charity, who have also been a great support. I'm pleased that the funds raised will improve the hospital experience for our youngest patients."

Matthew Trainer, our Chief Executive, added: “I was delighted to welcome former mayor, Cllr Thavathuray Jeyaranjan, to Queen’s Hospital to see the areas where his donation will help fund.

“No one likes being in hospital and for children it can be particularly tough. We are extremely grateful for Cllr Jeyaranjan for his support.”

During his visit, Cllr Jeyaranjan also met Caroline Jenkins, health play specialist, Wendy Gilham, ward manager, and Lynda Head, Head of Fundraising for the charity.

In his year as mayor from 2022 to 2023, Cllr Jeyaranjan led a team of councillors and friends to organise numerous events in support of his two chosen charities, the King George and Queen's Hospitals Charity and One Place East, which promotes equality and inclusion for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems.

He attended many of the fundraising events to lend his support, including a night of entertainment at the James Hawkney Hall in Woodford, organised by Cllr Niki Chahal, and several fundraising events in local parks, which were organised by Maria Sanchez, the owner of Treehouse Nursery Schools. The mayor's float in the London New Year's Parade won first place, securing an extra £15,000, thanks to Maria's help.

The money raised at these events, as well as additional donations, totalled £54,238, which was split between the two charities.

Pictured above (l-r) is: Caroline Jenkins, Wendy Gilham, Matthew Trainer and Cllr Jeyaranjan.