THERE was plenty of shimmying and shaking to raise money for the Malvern Gazette’s Ease the Pain campaign.

Emily Gee, from Gainsborough Close, Welland organised a Zumbathon at The Foley Arms Hotel to help fund the muchneeded £60,000 image intensifier at Malvern Community Hospital.

Miss Gee, aged 20, had been given work experience at the hospital and in September will be off to university to study radiography.

She said: “Malvern Community Hospital helped me with plenty of experience so I wanted to give something back. I wanted to do something different to raise money and since I love doing Zumba in my spare time, it made sense to do that.

“The weather was so hot but we had a great time.”

She enlisted the help of Zumba instructor and friend Sarah Clarke, who teaches at Malvern Splash, to lead the group.

Fitness fanatics were put through their paces for an hour at the hotel and managed to raise £150 towards the image intensifier.

Ease the Pain campaign was launched to support the Friends of Malvern Community Hospital’s appeal to fund the vital piece of equipment for a new pain clinic at the Worcester Road site.

This week, the total raised by the appeal stands at £37,800.

The next fund-raising event for the appeal is a shopping experience at Malvern Community Hospital on Saturday, August 17.

Are you organising anything for the appeal?

Call Robert Hale on 01905 742283 or e-mail him at rh@malverngazette.co.uk