A Highland bakery has helped to raise £15,000 to aid the fight against polio.
Inverness-based bakers Harry Gow joined forces with the Inverness Rotary Club to raise £5,000 to provide financial support to charity Polio Plus.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matched and doubled their total, donating £10,000 to their cause, bringing their total to £15,000.
Managing director David Gow said: “We have been blown away by the generosity of our customers and staff, who purchased our special cupcakes in their thousands. Polio is a very serious disease, and we are proud to have been asked by Inverness Rotary Club to support the effort to eradicate it worldwide.
“Despite everything that everyone is going through in 2020, it has been heart-warming to see Highland residents coming together to get behind such an important cause.”
The Highland bakers sold special, purple-flowered vanilla cupcakes raising £4,300 as the Inverness Rotary Club raised an additional £700.
Polio is a serious viral infection affecting individuals across the world, presenting symptoms including muscle weakness, sickness and abdominal pain.
Cases worldwide have steadily decreased however the virus still poses a threat to thousands.
One in 200 infections lead to irreversible paralysis, with the World Health Organisation warning failure in eradicating the virus could lead to as many as 200,000 cases annually across the globe.
Alan Nelson, senior vice president of Inverness Rotary Club, added: “The public’s support of this campaign has been really wonderful. Polio Plus is an important charity for the Inverness Rotary Club, so we’re glad these cupcakes captured everyone’s imagination in the way they did.
“Harry Gow has a long history of supporting worthwhile causes, and we are incredibly grateful to the team and their customers for their donations.”
