North Molton Youth Group clean up village and raise money for SCBU

North Molton Youth Group raised a fantastic £325 for the North Devon District Hospital Special Care Baby Unit.

The young people aged between 13 – 18 years gave up their free time to clean their village of North Molton in the summer led by Youth Leader Michael Courtney.  During the clean up they collected donations from the local community.

Over and Above fundraiser Julie Whitton said “It was great to meet this fantastic group of young people who had worked very hard to keep their village clean and tidy.  Their fundraising will help the charity Over and Above to provide our nurses and doctors with new equipment to look after our smallest patients that are cared for in our Special Care Baby Unit.”

North Devon Rounders tournament is a big hit for local charities

A charity rounders tournament hosted by North Devon Rounders has raised over £500 for local charities.

north-devon-rounders-cheque-presentationThis is the third year the group has organised a charity rounders tournament at Barnstaple Rugby Club, with 125 players enjoying an afternoon of rounders in the sun to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) and the Seamoor Unit at North Devon District Hospital.

The ‘Ball Busters’ won the family tournament yet again, taking home the family tournament shield, sponsored by North Devon Flag. ‘It’s all about Pinny’ also retained their title as winners of the adult trophy, sponsored by Eyewear Creations Ltd.

The event was supported by Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP), Barnstaple Rugby Club, Nicole Morrish Photography, Tarka Tennis, County Renault, Mazda and Dacia, and Rounders England, with catering provided by Sugar and Ice and CHSW. A number of local businesses provided a selection of great raffle prizes, including the star prize of a £100 voucher kindly donated by Kirkham Tyres.

Georgina Crossman coordinated the event. She said: “We were really pleased with the success of this year’s tournament – it was a brilliant day and to raise £501 for two worthwhile local charities is the icing on the cake. It was lovely to welcome two teams from the Children’s Hospice at the tournament, they were great sports on the day and we’re hoping they will return to compete with us again next year.”

Emma Perry, Senior Fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West, said: “It was such a privilege to be chosen by the North Devon Ladies Rounders team as one of their charities for this wonderful fundraising event. All the funds raised will help us support families in the South West who have a child with a life-limiting illness using one of our hospices, like Little Bridge House in Fremington. Thank you to everyone involved as days like this truly help us make the most of short and precious lives.”

Over and Above Fundraiser, Julie Whitton said: “The hospital charity is absolutely delighted that the North Devon Rounders tournament was such a fantastic success again. The money raised will enable the charity to run another Look Good, Feel Better day for our patients, which includes beauty treatments, massage, make up tutorials and a support group. These sessions make a real difference to the lives of our patients, and help them feel much more assured and relaxed when their confidence and self-esteem has been raised. Thank you North Devon Rounders.”

Get in touch with North Devon Rounders on their Facebook page for more information about the sport www.facebook.com/NorthDevonRounders.

Entertainers in North Devon raise £1,140 for Fortescue Ward “Memory Zone”

This year, “Cloud 9”, “Bradazzle” and “Peculiar Folk”, with various singing and musician friends, concentrated on helping our dementia patients, following their fund-raising success last year for the Seamoor Unit in their “£1,000 Challenge”.

The entertainers from various villages across north Devon ran two evening concerts, an afternoon show, pub singalongs, a cake sale and raffles to raise funds for Fortescue Ward to open a special memory and relaxation area. This will give patients the opportunity to sit, chat, learn and explore in a specially designed cafe-style environment, offering things to do and decoration to bring ‘the outside in’. It will help patients combat confusion and make them feel at home during their stay with us.

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Some of the participants visited us on 22nd August and presented their cheque for £1,140. They included Sheila Wright (admin), Shirleyann Andrews (musician and recitalist), Roger Andrews (singer), Linda Atherton (singer and recitalist) and Philip Price (accompanist).  They were pleased to be shown around the ward and the area where the Memory Zone will be established, and will be back again next year.

Beach Buddies Big Purple Day raises money for SCBU

Beach Buddies Childcare raised a fantastic £70.42 for the hospital charity Over and Above as part of their Purple Day activities in aid of the Special Care Baby Unit Appeal.

Nursery Co-Manager Janet Appleby said “The staff and parents wanted to take part as we know that every penny raised will help local babies being treated in the baby unit at North Devon District Hospital. We sold sold cakes, iced biscuits and birthday packs. We dressed in purple and had lots of fun all day with the children.

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The children are pictured with Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton and Beach Buddies Childcare staff – L-R Early years Practitioner Gemma Bates, Early Years Teacher Candida Salmon and Nursery Co-Manager Janet Appleby.

Twins 1st birthday party raises money for SCBU

The owner of The Riverside Restaurant in Braunton, Dave Charlesworth and his partner Sara organised a birthday party for their one year old twin daughters Daisy Lou and Evie.  Instead of receiving gifts, guests were asked to donate money towards the Special Care Baby Unit Appeal.

Dave said “Evie and Daisy were born on 28 May 2015 and spent 3 weeks in North Devon District Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit, and we wanted to celebrate their first year by supporting other babies that need care too.”

The party raised a fantastic £380.96 which will be put towards the purchase of a new ventilator to help newborn babies who have difficulty breathing.

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Photographed:  Sara with Daisy Lou and Dave Charlesworth with Evie and Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton

Sticklepath School TA’s skydive for SCBU

Sticklepath School Teaching Assistants Valerie-Gay Karczmarz and Elaine Reynolds Gay raised a total of £359.77 for the Special Care Baby Unit at North Devon District Hospital from their sponsored skydive.

Over and Above Charity Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “Gay and Elaine were determined to raise funds for the SCBU Unit, and with their combination of 41 years working as TA’s at Sticklepath School and Elaine’s job as a nursery nurse at the SCBU Unit many years ago they know how important the Unit is to the lives of our tiny vulnerable patients.  Their support will be a great help in enabling us to reach our target.”

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Photograph L-R:  Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton, Elaine Reynolds and Gay Karczmarz.

If you are interested in skydiving for the hospital charity visit https://overandabove.org.uk/events/tandem-skydive-3/ for more information.

Willingcott Valley Golf Club donate £300 to Seamoor Unit

The Ladies section of the Willingcott Valley Golf Club have kindly donated their remaining £300 from the closure of the golf course to the Seamoor Chemotherapy Unit.

Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “The Ladies Section have been fantastic supporters over the years to the charity and we are very grateful for their support to the unit.

127Pictured is Willingcott Lady members Carolyn Reed and Millie Painting with Seamoor Unit Junior Sister Mary Bragg.

Catherine walks the Great Wall of China for cancer patients

Catherine Pettett achieved her ultimate goal by achieving a 5 day hike along the awesome man made Great Wall of China, raising a fantastic £2,7050 for the Seamoor Chemotherapy & Day Treatment Unit at North Devon District Hospital.

 

DSC_0549 - corrected2Catherine said “I took part in the Great Wall of China Trek to raise funds for the Seamoor Unit at the North Devon District Hospital and in memory of my amazing Mum who sadly passed away from cancer in August 2015.  It was an amazing experience. It was certainly not for the faint hearted, and in places very steep.  Each day on the wall, it was a different and very challenging experience, especially on my third day when my muscles went into spasm. This was incredibly painful, but due to my sheer determination I was going to complete this challenge and getting to the top, whether I was in pain or not!

The whole experience of walking the Great Wall of China was amazing, it was so rewarding but challenging. I got an opportunity to lay a brick in memory of my Mum on part of the reconstructed wall and put a message underneath it.  I met some great people, each of us doing this challenge for very different reasons, and I am sure that I have met some friends for life as we are already planning our next challenge for 2018.   I have got some great photos and lots of memories that I will treasure for a long time, especially the moment when we were at the awards ceremony on the last night. All the names had been read out except for myself and another team member, and I was thinking “I haven’t completed the Great Wall of China Trek, how do I tell the individuals who have kindly sponsored me”. Then I heard “for someone who was very determined, always smiling, never gave up”… and then my name was read out. I was so pleased to hear my name, but the point when I realised I had achieved something great was when my colleague tapped me on the shoulder and said look back, and there was everyone standing up and clapping, I was so touched by this incredible gesture, it will remain a fantastic memory of this trip. Since returning home I have shown my medal off with great pride and sense of achievement.”

Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton said Catherine has been on an incredible journey raising a phenomenal amount for the hospital charity.  The charity has now raised over £3 million for our Seamoor Unit which supports over 9,000 patients each year.  The monies raised by Catherine will be used to purchase much needed equipment and complementary medicine days to support our patients with cancer.

IMGP2187 - Great Wall of ChinaThe China Great Wall Trek for Over & Above with Global Adventure Challenges is a fantastic 5 day hike along this awesome man made structure. Stretching for 6,000km, it zig zags its way across China, snaking across mountains and through valleys – and the Great Wall provides a fantastic backdrop to some fantastic trekking. The challenge takes our participants over watch towers and mountains, through historic battlement stations that are well off the tourist trail – there are many sections during this charity challenge where you will feel the Great Wall is for just the team you are with, with no-one else in sight.

The trekking on this charity challenge is hard, due to the amount of steps each day- a highlight of this challenge is to conquer the 1,000 steps up to the wall at Mutianyu, culminating with the ascent of the ‘Heavenly Ladder’ – it can sometimes take an hour just to trek one kilometre on this glorious structure!

There is also some free time to explore Beijing’s famous sites, such as the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square before celebrating your achievement at dinner.  If you would like to join the next Over & Above challenge of a lifetime visit the charity website and find out more on www.overandabove.org.uk

To support the hospital charity you can donate by phone, online, cheque or cash.  Just bring your donation to the Fundraising Office on Level 2 at North Devon District Hospital, Raleigh Park, Barnstaple, EX31 4JB or phone the Fundraising Team on 01271 311772 or if you want to find out more, please visit; www.overandabove.org.uk and the charity’s Facebook page or contact the North Devon District Hospital Fundraising Team on 01271 311772 or email ndht.charity@nhs.net