ALMOST £2,000 has been donated to The Comet s Charity of the Year, with more expected to follow after a charity open day this Saturday. The Garden House Hospice, in Gillison Close, Letchworth GC, has received a cheque for almost £1,200 from the Church of

ALMOST £2,000 has been donated to The Comet's Charity of the Year, with more expected to follow after a charity open day this Saturday.

The Garden House Hospice, in Gillison Close, Letchworth GC, has received a cheque for almost £1,200 from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hitchin and over £700 from students of St Francis' College in Letchworth GC.

In addition to these donations it is hoped that more will be raised following a charity open day this Saturday at Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design studio in Weston.

The cheque from the Latter-day Saints was donated to the hospice after the Hitchin ward of the church applied for a grant from its humanitarian fund.

The money will go towards providing a boiler and a fridge/freezer for the hospice's new Sir Nigel Hawthorne extension that is currently under construction and the church's North Herts community relations representative Don Hills, 80, said it was a very worthwhile cause.

Mr Hills, from Hitchin, said: "The Garden House Hospice needs every bit of money it is given and it deserves all the help it gets. The centre offers fantastic care and a great service to those who need it."

The hospice also received money from St Francis' College after students raised £706 through a competition entitled A Sense of Place, in which girls in years seven to nine were invited to enter work which captured what made a place unique.

There was also a fundraising quiz and cake stall, a calendar produced with photographs taken of the college by students in Years 10 and above. These were then sold to parents and friends.

Finally, there is a charity open day this Saturday, between 10am and 5pm, as Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design launches its new Christmas Starlight Collection of handmade jewellery.

Goldsmiths and stone-setters will be presenting jewellery-making demonstrations all day, designers will be available to discuss ideas, and mulled wine and minced pies will be available.

Visitors can also have their jewellery repolished, there will be a raffle and the Starlight collection will be on sale with prices ranging from £29 to £300.

The open day marks a triumphant turnaround for the company which lost much of its jewellery in the summer when it was burgled.

For more information contact Kate Beard on 01462 790565 or visit www.hkjewellery.co.uk