Eggstra Smiles

[caption id="attachment_2490" align="alignleft" width="225"] Nicola Hewlett with pupils from Paternoster School[/caption]

Nicola Hewlett and Rachel Cook ensured there were smiles all round when they delivered Easter Eggs to Paternoster School in Cirencester last week.

Every year, staff at Wakefield House generously donate Easter Eggs, which are distributed within the community. This year, they chose Special Needs school Paternoster to donate to, giving each of their pupils a chocolate egg to enjoy.

Rachel takes up the story:

Nicola is local to Cirencester and is aware of the great work Paternoster School do and so she suggested them as a worthy recipient for this year's donations. They were delighted when we contacted them to offer free chocolate!

On Friday 30^th March (the last day of term) we headed to the school to deliver the eggs. We were greeted by Head Teacher Julie Mantell and just a few of the 44 pupils at the school. The huge smile on their faces as they saw all the eggs was wonderful, and they had even designed and made a thank you card for us!

Julie Mantell said: We were delighted to have been chosen by Smiths News for this year’s Easter donation. The children are so excited to receive their eggs. A big thank you, and a Happy Easter from everyone at Paternoster School.

A total of 81 eggs were donated. Around half of these were taken to Paternoster School on Friday, ensuring every pupil received an egg. The remainder will be taken to The Deaf Centre in Swindon on Saturday 7th April (another charity supported by Nicola).

For every egg donated by staff, the company will be donating £1 towards our Community Week total!

Newcastle put their best feet forward AND dig in!

[caption id="attachment_1818" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Ian Rothwell, House Manager and Marilyn Stadius, Community Champion present the cheque to Gill White, Facilities Manager at Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle upon Tyne[/caption]

Newcastle House had the great job of handing over some of the rewards from their hardworking fundraising efforts when they presented a cheque to their chosen charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care last December.

Community Champion, Marilyn Stadius takes up the story:

Our Night Despatch and Local Systems Administrator, Nic Spencer and Scott Stevenson walked from Cumbria to the North East coast and raised over £1,000 in the process. The money raised was for Marie Curie Cancer Care and we have requested the money to be restricted to the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle which is our adopted charity.

Nic and Scott's walk was along Hadrian's Wall last September, which takes in some very rugged terrain at times as well as having breathtaking scenery. A great achievement guys.

Marie adds:

We send a team each month of at least four staff to the hospice to look after the Day Care garden; digging, weeding painting etc. The Hospice are happy to have the commitment of our company and look forward to our visit each month. In turn, all staff who attend the days gardening feel a sense of pride in the work they have done and the visit is a huge morale boost!

NB Marie has previously told us about their gardening activities here.

It's also worth noting that whilst their chosen charity is a national one, Newcastle House have successfully managed to ensure their contributions are felt at the local level.

Birmingham support local hospital

Birmingham House recently presented the Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital with a cheque, the result of their efforts fundraising for Community Week.  £622 was split equally between the Military Patients and the Neonatal Unit.  Well done to all involved.

[caption id="attachment_1238" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Jo Hall, Ann-Marie Winston and Teresa Hughes presenting the cheque to Paul Mitchell of Queen Elizabeth Hospital"][/caption]