The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Dianne Rees, today presents The Noah's Ark Charity with a cheque for over £200k as a result of money raised during her year in office, the most raised for a Lord Mayor's charity by any other Lord Mayor of Cardiff.

Fundraising activities have includedthe Big Give which saw all donations doubled and raised £69,850, a Salmon lunch, a series of events held at Mansion House, a cricket match where Council staff took on councillors, a golf day andThe Great Welsh Walk- a six day challenge starting in Machynlleth and ending in Cardiff Bay.

Finally, the Lord Mayor hostedthe Noah's Ark Charity's 18^thAnniversary Gala Ball, which took place at Cardiff's City Hall on Friday and welcomed a host of special guests including Dame Shirley Bassey.

The Lord Mayor said: "I am absolutely delighted to hand over this fantastic sum of money to Noah's Ark and I am genuinely grateful to everyone who has donated their time and money to help surpass my initial target by such an outstanding amount.

"I chose the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital because I was so impressed by the excellent staff and the focus they give to the needs of the children. It has been wonderful to see council staff, councillors and members of the public embrace this fundraising campaign, digging deep to help achieve this wonderful amount.

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Dianne Rees, presented the cheque toNoah's Ark Charity Director, Suzanne Mainwaring and Chair of Noah's Ark Eddie Hayward,

during the official opening of the charity's new shop located in Birchgrove, Cardiff.

The occasion was the last of the Lord Mayors official events, before her term in office comes to an end tomorrow, Thursday 23,May 2019.

Cllr Rees added: "This has been a very special year for me and I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside the charity, during their 18^thanniversary year. There have been so many highlights and I will take away some wonderful memories.

"I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported my fundraising campaign and I am overjoyed that the Tiny Lives Appeal will continue to support the neonatal unit at the University Hospital for Wales, providing world class care to some of the most premature and critically ill babies in Wales."

Noah's Ark Charity Director, Suzanne Mainwaring said: "It has been such a pleasure working with Cllr Dianne Rees during her term as Lord Mayor. We have enjoyed a true partnership; the Lord Mayor, Consort and her team have shown genuine commitment to making a huge difference to the Noah's Ark Charity and the thousands of babies and children in need of specialist medical treatment every year. 

They have tirelessly worked to raise money and bring new supporters to the charity and the end result truly demonstrates the results of much hard work.

"£200k is an astonishing amount of money to have raised and not only has the Lord Mayor delivered on her commitment to support the neonatal unit but she also leaves a legacy to help children with neurological injuries and those with mental health issues as she has kicked off the next stage of fundraising for the Noah's Ark Charity.

"The Lord Mayor is a wonderful ambassador for Cardiff, passionately working on behalf of this great city. We were thrilled that she was able to present our Patron, Dame Shirley Bassey with the Freedom of the City and to celebrate with us with a gala ball to celebrate the charity's 18^thbirthday and the close of the partnership. A wonderful finale to a wonderful year in office and in partnership. We look forward to working together in the future."