Stone community group to help men inspired by King Charles' cancer treatment
Men concerned about their health in the wake of King Charles III’s recent medical treatments will be able to undergo potentially lifesaving checks thanks to a Stone community group.
Stone Lions Club has been organising prostate screening sessions for almost a decade – and Stone Town Council is helping to fund them with a £500 grant.
Town councillors agreed to the donation at a meeting this month, following the news that the King has undergone treatment for an enlarged prostate and been diagnosed with a form of cancer. Councillor James Battrick said: “With the recent news of the monarch there is an increase in people wanting to be tested.”
Councillor Jim Davies wished King Charles well. He added: “I have had this test and I would like the town council to continue supporting this important health initiative.”
Stone Lions said in their grant request form that since the Covid pandemic “support from the local business community has not been as much as it was previously.” They added: “We have had to supplement the restricted PSA fund from our general charity account.
“The responses from men following the events clearly indicate the value of the event to Stone residents. In a number of cases men have since had prostate treatment and in their comments to us they had not got a clue there was a problem.”
Stone Town Council also awarded grants to enable children and young people to hone their cooking skills and for an extra-curricular girls’ go-kart team at Alleyne’s Academy to buy a gazebo for events.
Councillors agreed to provide £390 towards the gazebo, as well as £240 for Christ Church First School to buy portable halogen hobs for an extra-curricular cookery club. But they raised concerns that granting the funding requests could set a precedent for other schools to follow suit.
The meeting was told that the council was not permitted to fund anything for schools that could be considered “core education”, but applications for optional activities could be considered – and funding had previously been awarded to a school in the area. Councillors called on school groups such as parent teacher associations to apply for funding in future, rather than the requests coming directly from schools
The fourth grant awarded this month was £300, requested by First Oulton Scout Group. They wish to buy an outdoor cooking shelter, table and electric cookers to enable cooking on camp.
Councillor Ian Fordham said: “As many as 80 attendees regularly come from Oulton and Stone. I think it is a positive thing and they have also asked for support from other areas – this is a proportion of the total amount they want.”
Stone Town Council will next consider grant requests at its July meeting. Organisations have until Monday, June 17 to submit their applications – for more information visit https://www.stonetowncouncil.gov.uk/grants/.
