Nic Tries a Double Link-Up

Last Monday, Nic Hewlett of Rowan House swapped her desk in Swindon for a day at the Inner Wheel combined charity event in Cirencester.

She managed to combine two Community Link-Up elements by linking together fundraising and volunteering when she applied for her day's Volunteer Time. As you can see (to the left of the picture), her role for the day was helping out on one of the many stalls.

The money raised on the day - £234 - will go towards the many charities - both local and further afield - supported by Cirencester's Inner Wheel, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2013.

Nic's fundraising - and Smiths News - were celebrated in the Inner Wheel's national magazine this summer when her fellow member Liz Tovey reported on her receiving Smiths News's Community Champion of the Year award last year. Said Liz:

"Nic our youngest member - and the first with no ties to Rotary - joined us two and a half years ago and is already on the committee, showing a great enthusiasm and totally 'being a friend'.

Well done Nic, we are all very proud of your achievement."

And so are we!

Update: This is post number 500 on the blog! Many thanks to all of you who've contributed news for us to publish over the past three years :D

It's in to Top Gear for Wishes 4 Kids

[caption id="attachment_6554" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Maria (main picture and centre lower row) with some of the children, plus some of the other smiling faces :)[/caption]

If you were very ill and were granted one wish to make a dream come true, what would it be? I'm sure many of you would leap at the chance to be just like Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear and drive at top speed in a performance car around a racing circuit. Well, that's exactly the wish granted by Wishes 4 Kids to a number of very ill children on July 19th. Dawson's Maria Hieke reports on her continued use of Volunteer Time with the charity, where she made sure everyone had a day to remember...

Once again Wishes 4 Kids pulled it off with another successful day at Donington.  The families arrived at 10am for a full day of excitement. With 44 high performance cars which included, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Lotus, Morgan, Jaguars, BMWs and many more.   Each child was given a bag of tokens which allowed them access to the cars of their choice which took them around the circuit at great speed. Again the most popular were the police cars which didn’t stop throughout the day.

Each child and their families were provided with lunch, ice cream and doughnuts. There were face painters on site for those who wished to have their faces decorated.

With the help of many volunteers including myself the day’s event went extremely well, and for one day a least the children and their families could forget about their illnesses and spend the whole day having fun.

Inspired by Maria's story? Would you like to give some time to your favourite charity or other worthwhile organisation? Then take a look at our Volunteer Time Page to see what you can do :)

Thanks to Maria for her report and pictures, and to prmedia for some of the photos of the day; their copyright remains as shown. You can see plenty more pictures of the children having a great time and the amazing cars on offer on their website.

A Grand Day Out With Bertrams

[caption id="attachment_6198" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Everyone's ready to board the fire engine[/caption]

Bertrams in Norwich was the scene of "a grand day out" recently, when they played host to a group of twenty children from the Chernobyl area of Belarus. They were each given children’s books, fruit and vegetables, enjoyed a barbeque and sat in a fire engine!

The group of twelve girls and eight boys, aged between 7 and 10, are staying in the UK for four weeks, and come from schools in the villages of Zditivo, Sporovo and Minsk. The visit was arranged by the Mid Suffolk Link in aid of the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline, a charity that brings groups of children to the UK for respite holidays. All of these children are living in areas of Belarus still affected by the after-effects of the Chernobyl disaster, which happened more than 26 years ago.

[caption id="attachment_6199" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Delighted with their books![/caption]

Graeme Underhill, Bertram Group Managing Director said: “We at Bertrams are really pleased to be involved in helping to make the trip a memorable one for the children, and of course it’s great to see local businesses at Broadlands [the business park where Bertrams is located - Ed] working together to create an amazing experience for such a worthy cause.”

Jason Cherrington, Bertrams Group Sales Director said: “It was an honour and a very humbling experience to meet such lovely children who clearly have had to endure some of the harshest conditions, yet still remain enthused and excited about life.”

Elizabeth Parker is the Mid Suffolk Link chair of Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline. She said: “Although all of the children who come are not ill, they all have compromised immune systems as a result of the environment they live in. It is said that their four week visit here, breathing clean air and eating uncontaminated food, boosts their immune systems to such a degree that it can take two years to get back to the levels they arrive with.”

“Despite many people trying to say that the radiation has gone, the fact is that it hasn't and the levels of radiation found in Belarus are way beyond that which would be tolerated in the Western world today. In the children's cancer hospital in Minsk, we are now seeing second generation children being born with cancer who live in so called ‘clean’ areas.”

Grocery Channel Reach Their Goal

[caption id="attachment_6096" align="aligncenter" width="640"] A job well done! From left to right – Lucy Evans-Watt, Anne Ferrie, Graham Mills, Mike Makinson, Jeremy Mirams, Jessica Vaughan, Ian Steventon, Alex Lewis, Peter Shields[/caption]

We're delighted to take a short break from fundraising posts to bring you news of the latest Volunteer Time activity! Can painting and football be combined in some way? No? Then Graham Mills has some news to make you think again...

On 27th June, Graham and eight of his Grocery Channel colleagues assembled at Eynesbury Rovers FC (in St Neots, Cambridgeshire) to help spruce up the club. They painted the barriers, goal posts and the spectator stand ready for the new season. 

After the work was completed, Graham - who is the club's vice chairman - said:

“The club is delighted with the work that’s been completed.  The barriers around the pitch are now clearly visible to its players and spectators.  We are due an inspection by the Football Association and this has greatly enhanced the look of the ground.  It has also been a great team building exercise as we don’t get to work with each other on a day-to-day basis as we are mostly out in the field.”

“Eynesbury Rovers is an amateur football club and it has eight teams, whose ages range from under 15 upwards. The club is run by eight volunteers who formed the committee. This job alone would have taken us months to complete.”

Brian Abraham, the club's Chairman added:

“We are truly grateful for the painting that has been done and we would like to thank Smiths News for their support.  As we are a small committee, it would have taken months to complete, thank you!”

And that's not all! Eynesbury Rovers will be raising funds for MAGPAS, the emergency medical charity when the season starts next month by putting out donation buckets at the start of each game. We're delighted to kick-start their fundraising with a £20 donation for featuring this blog post!

From a Waste of Space to a Place for Play

Emma Young of West Mercia Supplies (now part of The Consortium) has been in touch to tell us about her recent use of Volunteer Time. Her village (Wheaton Aston in Staffordshire) decided to unlock an unused public space and convert it into a play area.  A grant from Community Spaces (part of the Big Lottery Fund) helped them to realise the project.

Emma takes up the story...

"I originally got involved in this project in the Autumn of 2011.  The favoured idea that came out of the [village] consultation was to open the space as a play area, but one that did not have traditional play equipment.  In the past the space was used in this way and suffered vandalism, hence the reason it had fallen into disuse for the best part of a decade .

[caption id="attachment_4710" align="alignleft" width="640"] The village's open space before the transformation...[/caption]

The space is part owned and managed by the Parish Council and part leased from South Staffs Council on condition that it remains an open public space, with provision for a play area.

Wheaton Aston Play Strategy Group, working with the local community, wanted to reopen the site as a nature space with a play area, which would be attractive to families with young children. It would comprise:

• seasonal shallow pond/marshland with very gently sloping edges


• wet grassland - sand beach and paddling pool


• boulders


• climbing logs


• live willow igloo


• bee, bird and bat boxes


• woodland edge habitat (mostly already present)


• boardwalk over the wetland


• bound gravel path around one side of the wetland


• security fence around the site


• toddler proof latch on the gate and appropriate safety signs."

[caption id="attachment_4717" align="alignright" width="640"] After all the hard work - what a difference![/caption]

Emma's main involvement was pulling together the grant application, which was in 2 stages.  The first stage was an outline proposal for Community Spaces to initially assess the potential project and made sure it met their funding requirements.  Stage 2 was a more in-depth submission which required plans, cost estimates, setting of outcomes, assessment of the site and issues affecting it, timelines and milestones.  With assistance from other project team members, she pulled the documents together and the team were delighted to be awarded the full grant in January 2012.

Emma continued as the project administrator, as Community Spaces require progress reports and grant claims to be submitted.  The final report has just been drafted.

Emma adds, "It is interesting for someone who works in procurement to have to sit on the other side of the fence and actually pull together a bid for something!  2 other smaller grants were awarded to us from local organisations raising a further £1,500 and the council has contributed approximately £10,000.

I also got my hands dirty, helping to plant trees and wetland plants (on a cold, but thankfully dry day) in December and barrowing bark chips to the site from the entrance.

[caption id="attachment_4713" align="alignright" width="173"] The new entrance sign[/caption]

The project is now pretty much complete, with the opening date set for 27th April.  This should allow the new turf, trees, shrubs and wetland plants to start getting established before the site is fully opened.

I am very proud of what the group has been able to deliver as the site has been utterly transformed and look forward to seeing it mature over the next few years.  I very much hope that Broadholes Lane Nature Garden [the site's new name] will become a much-loved and used asset for our village.

Just the cake baking for the launch day to go!"

Thanks very much Emma - it looks a wonderfully transformed new space! It's also interesting to get your insight into the Lottery funding process and to see what's involved. Whilst grant applications to Community Spaces have now closed, there are other community funding options available under the Big Lottery Fund umbrella which other Smiths News employees may wish to explore. I know that matched funding from other organisations and/or a significant number of volunteer hours are important factors in ensuring success with an application.

Aaron Has a Special Invitation

Aaron, Jaimie Dorward's son had a thrilling invitation recently - to help the National Autistic Society celebrate its 50th birthday!

For such an important occasion, the chosen venue was no ordinary one. It was no other than the Speaker's House at the House of Commons!

Naturally, Aaron couldn't turn down the invitation to such an exciting opportunity and Jaimie accompanied her son on the long trip from Yorkshire to London, using her Volunteer Time from Bertrams to do so.

Although the event was held in the hallowed halls of Westminster, it wasn't about politics but all about celebration. Here's Jaimie and Aaron with Jane Asher, who's been the President of the National Autistic Society since 1997.

And what was it like? Jaimie says it was brilliant!

It looks an amazing place from the photo Jaimie, no wonder you and Aaron had such a wonderful time :)

Maria Helps to Grant a Wish

Dawson's Maria Hieke made good use of her Volunteer Time recently by spending a day in London with the charity Wishes 4 Kids. Here's her write-up of how she got on...

The charity Wishes 4 Kids was created to grant a wish for children and youngsters who are life limited, terminally ill, have experienced life-changing physical or emotional traumas, have suffered major abuse or are diagnosed as HIV Positive.

Sadly there is not a magical cure for the suffering of these youngsters; however, the charity can bring a short period of respite. The time when a child has a wish granted is a moment that will be treasured by them for the rest of their life. It is also a time which parents will remember - that time when their child forgot the suffering.

This year for their annual Christmas treat the Charity owner Russell organised a day trip to London. We met 3 coaches at Scratchwood Services on the M1 and were escorted by the Metropolitan Police straight into London. Every child was accompanied by one of their parents plus a carer.  Each coach visited each venue alternately by their assigned Police escort. They were taken to Harrods to meet with ‘Father Christmas’ where each child was given a Harrods Christmas bear, then onto Hamleys Toy Store where they were given a £25 voucher to spend. Lunch was provided by MacDonald’s and finally onto the London Eye.  With the help of many volunteers including myself and the Metropolitan Police the day went extremely well, the excitement and smiles on the children’s faces shone the whole day, which was enjoyed by all.

Time Well Spent at Plymouth

[caption id="attachment_3961" align="alignright" width="640"] Tony Easton, Malcolm MacCormack, Sue Lamming, Trish Taylor, Ross Smith and the mascot Bert the Schnauzer.[/caption]

Sue Lamming has been in touch with a tale of the hard work she and some of her Plymouth colleagues undertook on July 11th...

[caption id="attachment_3962" align="alignleft" width="200"] Before...[/caption]

The Beckley Centre is an activity centre for children with learning difficulties and physical difficulties. The garden and play area was badly over grown. Tony’s son attends the Beckley Centre and asked for any volunteers as it needed a bit of TLC.

We were happy to oblige, our managers allowed us the time off work to go. Ross and Trish set about the the wall approaching the Centre and cleared it cleared of ivy and weeds, also the borders were weeded and tidied up and I cleared the main entrance border.

[caption id="attachment_3964" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Making progress...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3963" align="alignleft" width="225"] Rain didn't stop play![/caption]

Malcolm cleared the path leading into the woods giving easier access for the wheelchairs.  Tony and Malcolm cleared several massive bushes from the boarder in the play area; the children are digging a massive hole which will be a tunnel into China!

The boys then cut down massive tree branches over hanging the play area. I had finished my border so set about putting the branches through the wood shredder that had been lent to us.

The weather was not kind, but we worked through light showers and sheltered from the heavy ones, it made the day very heavy going but incredibly satisfying and I was proud to be a part of the gang.

[caption id="attachment_3968" align="aligncenter" width="448"] ... and after :)[/caption]

Dispatches Revisits The Chalet School

[caption id="attachment_2768" align="alignleft" width="300"] Project Polytunnel![/caption]

In the summer of 2010 a team from Wakefield House' Commercial department donated their time, effort and lots of equipment towards building a working garden for children at the Chalet School in Liden, Swindon.  The school caters for up to 36 children with learning difficulties, between the ages of 3 and 11.

The team's challenge was to construct a 10ft x 30ft polytunnel to provide a space for the children to learn how to grow their own fruit and vegetables. All 36 children at the school were also given a gardening pack, containing gloves, a trowel, a fork and vegetable seeds.

As well as the tunnel and gardening packs Smiths News also donated a bench for the children to sit on and a musical wind-chime to add to the ambience.

Rachel Cook visited the school earlier this year to see how they're making use of their new resource...

The school has really benefitted from the addition of the poly tunnel, which now means they can grow a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables all year round. They grow anything from strawberries, onions, potatoes to tomatoes. The tomatoes have really thrived in the tunnel, and without this they may not have survived.

[caption id="attachment_2769" align="alignright" width="225"] Day 2 - Job Done :)[/caption]

Recently the children helped Ruth [the Forest School Leader - Ed] move the strawberry plants from the school’s allotment into the tunnel to be potted singly. The school plan to hold a table-top sale on (date TBC) outside the school to sell the plants to raise money for this year’s seeds.

Strawberries have been a real success in the garden – with the school over-run with them last summer! To help the children enjoy them at their best, Ruth took some home to make jam, and they also made strawberry jellies in school.

The school's head teacher Kathie Bryan said:

The addition of the poly tunnel has had a huge positive impact on the children’s learning. They are able to keep dry in all weathers, and love to spend time nurturing the plants and seeds. The tunnel has also meant we are able grow lots of different fruit and vegetables all year round - so we are never short of fresh produce!

The team at Smiths News were fabulous. We had a great day, and were thrilled when the project was completed. I’m happy to say that it’s still standing!

Getting the children involved in the garden is really important to us. It’s a pleasure to help them develop their skills and learn new things outside of the classroom.

Kathie also spoke to me about the emphasis the school places on good food, which has prompted them to get involved with the Food For Life Partnership. The school has already achieved a bronze award so is now going for gold! 

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.

Mission to Malawi

Our last Travellers' Tale this week, whisks us away from our wintry weather, to the heat and dust of Africa...

[caption id="attachment_1366" align="alignleft" width="225"] Nicola carrying a toddler in the traditional manner[/caption]

Nicola Wright had only just started at Bertrams when she headed to Malawi for three weeks to get involved in a project designed to bring educational opportunities to children in rural areas. It was the trip of a lifetime for Nicola:

I used up most of my holiday for the year, but it was totally worth it!

Nicola packed plenty of things for the children such as pens, paper, skipping ropes and, of course, books! She explains:

I arrived on a Malawian public holiday so the kids were out of school and eager to play. That day, I played football, sang songs, danced, skipped, drew pictures and had the impossible task of trying to remember everyone’s names – prompting giggles from the children as, yet again, I got another name wrong.

[caption id="attachment_1367" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Sheltering from the hot sun[/caption]

Nicola set to work making learning fun. She taught the children the alphabet, sang nursery rhymes with them, and played games. It was exhausting, but there was nothing more fantastic than seeing all the smiling faces!

[caption id="attachment_1368" align="aligncenter" width="640"] It wasn't all work and no play![/caption]

It wasn’t all hard work for Nicola, as she also found time to visit Lake Malawi and go on safari. She’s even planning her next trip – I’m often asked if I’ll go back, and the answer
is not if, but when.

Even though she’s back in the UK, Nicola is keen to carry on helping the children she met in Malawi. Many of the children where I stayed walk miles and miles each day with no shoes, and children with cuts on their feet often get infections.

She’s collecting children’s shoes from friends and neighbours, which will be sent to
Malawi for these children, and would love it if the staff at Bertrams could help out. If you’ve got a pair of shoes that your child has outgrown, why not pass them on to Nicola and give them a new lease of life in Malawi? Any donated shoes are sure to be very much appreciated by the children who’ll receive them.

Email: Nicola dot Wright at bertrams dot com for more details.

[NB the email address is written out to prevent being picked up by spam programs]

Gardening in the Community

Newcastle House showed their community week spirit recently when they went to a local Marie Curie hospice to do some gardening.  Marilyn Stadius organised the outing, with 8 staff in total in attendance.

In addition to all their fundraising efforts Newcastle also wanted to do something for their community that didn't involve asking for money. They have now forged links with the hospice and intend to give their time there on a monthly basis, helping out with the garden and other projects.

Attendees on the first session were: Craig Berry, Norman Cooke, Kevin Graham, Carol Inglis, Marie Kirven, Paul Price, Ian Rothwell and Marilyn Stadius.

Gill White, Facilities Manager at the hospice said: "Thank you so much for all your efforts on Friday. The gardens look lovely and the Day Care staff and patients were so happy with the results today. It was lovely to meet you all and thanks again."

Well done Newcastle and keep up the good work!