Okehampton interest group Community Links held a successful fundraising breakfast event on Saturday (February 4) to raise money for the group and raise awareness of its work.

Hundreds came to enjoy a cooked breakfast of bacon, sausage and eggs along with tea, coffee and a raffle to raise money for the group so that it can continue its work supporting isolated individuals and people with mental health difficulties.

Mary Lovell, director of Community Links, said: ‘It’s going to be a biannual event and it’s really for getting people together and providing opportunities for people to meet local people and opportunities for local organisations. All the money that we raise will go towards providing the befriending service.

‘It all started with the befriending service and expanded and expanded and now we have got the memory cafe which is a really nice partnership.

‘Befriending coordinator Vicky Hopkins is amazing. She has done so much. She sees where support might be needed and finds a way to do it and there’s lots of people helping.’

The raffle proved particulary popular raising a total of £83 alone for the organisation which, as the Times went to press, was calculating the total amount raised from the breakfast.

Community Link’s runs a befriending service to help isolated individuals socialise. A ‘befriender’ is matched with an individual in need of support and company in order to improve their mental and physical wellbeing.