The Rotary Club of Bury St Edmunds has raised £6,820 to help provide specialist care to life-threatened children and their families.

The club organised a swimarathon at Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre last year in aid of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) after hearing about the charity’s work.

The funds raised from the event –which involved about 60 swimmers who tried to keep going in the water for 45 minutes – will pay for a day at the Treehouse hospice in Ipswich.

Members of the rotary club visited the Treehouse on June 11 – which was the day they funded – to see first hand the difference their support makes.

Afterwards, Robert Davie, president elect at the Rotary Club of Bury St Edmunds, said: “We are full of admiration for a hospice designed for children and equally supportive of parents and families.”

The club celebrates the 75th anniversary of its charter this year and has been fundraising for local causes since the beginning. Its main fundraising events for the year are a charity golf day, the swimarathon and a Christmas collection.

Last year alone, the club raised more than £13,000 for deserving causes and works closely with local schools through its School Service Before Self Awards.

Abbi Lang, Suffolk fundraiser for EACH, said: “It costs around £5,300 a day to fund each of our hospices and we are so thankful to the Rotary Club of Bury St Edmunds for choosing to support us. The money raised will go such a long way to provide specialist care to local, life-threatened children and their families.”

The rotary club, which hopes to organise a swimarathon for EACH this year, is holding an open meeting at 5pm on Tuesday at Bury St Edmunds Farmers Club, in Northgate Street, for anyone interested in finding out more about what the club does and how it helps the local community.