Forget the American sitcom – these are the real Golden Girls, and they are worth a cool million.
This Western Isles charity group have celebrated their 40th year by smashing through the £1million fundraising mark.
The chairwoman of the Lewis branch of Cancer Research UK said she was “flabbergasted” by the achievement – and paid tribute to the generosity of her fellow islanders.
The group managed to raise about £60,000 in the last year to reach the seven-figure target with a host of fundraising events to help them over the line.
The group came into being in 1975, with two committee members – Joan Stewart and Murdina Macdonald – having been involved since its inception.
Many of the current committee, including branch chairwoman Kay Mackay, have been involved for the past 35 years with a number of younger members also involved.
Mrs Mackay said: “I’m flabbergasted, I’m delighted, I’m pleased and I’m surprised, I can’t think of enough adjectives really.”
She added: “We always try and do as much as we can.
“There’s huge competition nowadays for charity funding, not just here in Lewis but all over.
“We always try and think of innovative ways of doing it.
“The people on this island are extremely generous and I would thank them for that.
“I think that they must give more to charity per head of the population than anywhere else. I have nothing to back that up but it’s a feeling I have.”
Among the events organised for the 40th anniversary year was a “Here Come the Girls” lunch which raised £10,000 in one day, while there has also been bag packing, a Christmas hamper and a Christmas bake-off event.
They also raised a record £16,000 in door to door collections over the year.
Their earning power is an impressive £25,000 a year – not fasr below the country’s average wage.
And they are not resting on their laurels, with a number of early plans to raise more money throughout 2016.
The £1million achievement marked a particularly memorable 2015 for chairwoman Mrs Mackay who was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship, the charity’s highest prize for service.