Traders donate money to appeal

A GENEROUS group of market traders have raised £500 for a charity dedicated to helping young people break free from drug addiction and vice.

Stallholders at Mannings Market in Felixstowe regularly pick a worthy cause as a beneficiary of their weekly lottery draw.

And the traders have opted to give the hefty chunk of cash to The Somebody's Daughter appeal.

Somebody's Daughter, launched by The Evening Star and Ipswich Borough Council nearly two years ago, helps youngsters affected by substance misuse and the sex trade back on the straight and narrow.

The registered charity was formed after five sex workers were killed in Ipswich in late 2006.

John Savile, who helps coordinate the market draw, proposed the Somebody's Daughter appeal after watching a recent documentary on the Suffolk murders.

He said: “We are always looking for charities to support and Somebody's Daughter is a great cause.

“Children are our future and it's so important we look after them.

“When the murders were going on it was a very shocking time. It really could have been anybody's daughter who was killed.”

The charity, supported by a prestigious board of trustees including Chris Mole MP and Ipswich Town chairman David Sheepshanks, will eventually fund a refuge where addicts and sex workers can receive support and guidance.

Somebody's Daughter has already made grants to a number of organisations which support the charity's mandate.

Donations to the Somebody's Daughter fund can be made online at www.eveningstar.co.uk, in person at Ipswich Borough Council's customer service centre in the Town Hall, by calling 01473 433777, or by sending a cheque, made payable to Somebody's Daughter Memorial Fund, to PO Box 772, Ipswich Borough Council, Grafton House, 15-17 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2DE.

Has prostitution or drug addiction blighted your life? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk