Lauren reaches Machu Picchu for the Seamoor Chemotherapy Appeal

Over and Above would like to say a big thank you to Lauren Murtagh (pictured above) who has raised nearly £7000 in sponsorship for the Seamoor Chemotherapy and Day Treatment Unit at North Devon District Hospital by trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru.

High in the Andes Mountains, this 15th-century Inca settlement is a UNESCO World Heritage site still undergoing archaeological study and restoration. Trekkers wishing to reach the summit must traverse the Inca Trail, which reaches nearly 8000 ft above sea level – high enough to cause altitude sickness amongst some climbers.

Although building work on the Seamoor Unit itself is now complete, the additional funds will go towards extra equipment and complimentary therapies over and above that which would normally be available to cancer patients.

Congratulations Lauren on a fantastic achievement.

Why not enjoy Esther’s scrumptious cakes in beautiful surroundings on Exmoor? On Tuesday the 15th of September Hinam farm will be organising a Tea & Craft Fair, with home-made cakes and refreshments, offering fun for the whole family. This great day out will be raising funds for the Stroke Units of North Devon District Hospital, Musgrove Hospital, and their respective local hospices. We hope to see you there!

Our sincere thanks to Parkham Patchers Quilting Group – who made us a stunning quilt to raffle in aid of the Seamoor Chemotherapy and Day Treatment Unit at North Devon District Hospital.

The quilt is made up of a Baltimore style pattern stitched into 20 blocks each of 12 ½ inches square.

Parkham Quilt Patcher Ann Hicks said “We all found enough patterns to make each block different and we agreed to use a range of fabrics called “Fossil Ferns,” but decided to use just five fabric colours from the pastel shades and not the traditional Baltimore colours of dark red, dark green and small amounts of gold”.

The quilt took the Parkham Patchers Quilting Group 11 months to make into a beautiful, stunning quilt which could be used as a wall hanging or a bed spread.

Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “The hospital charity is extremely grateful to Parkham Patchers Quilting Group for donating this amazing quilt to the Chemotherapy Unit.  IT is absolutely stunning and we are sure it will make a lot of money for the unit.”

The quilt is now being raffled in the main foyer at the North Devon District Hospital – tickets can be purchased for £1, with all proceeds going towards the Seamoor Unit.

North Devon Rounders is organising its second Charity Fun Day in aid of the Special Care Baby Unit.

The event is taking place on Sunday 6th September 2015 at Barnstaple Rugby Club in place of the July event which had to be cancelled due to the weather.  The Family tournament starts at 12.30 pm and the Adult tournament takes place at 2.30 pm. Entry per team is £15.

There will be lots of activities on the day including bouncy castles and catering supplied by Farmers Feast.

Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “It is brilliant that North Devon Rounders has organised a second event after the first one was cancelled due to bad weather.  The Special Care Baby Unit Appeal is very special to us and this brilliant fundraising event will help us meet our £150,000 target to get equipment for the Special Care Baby Unit such as ventilators, incubators, breast pumps and so much more which is “over and above” what the NHS can provide.

To learn more about the event contact North Devon Rounders on Facebook or email northdevonrounders@outlook.com

“Over and Above” can be found online here: www.overandabove.org.uk, or contact the North Devon District Hospital Fundraising Team on 01271 311772 or email ndht.charity@nhs.net

Stuart Charnock (golfer) and Rick Fielder (runner) and Liz Fielder (stopwatch).

Saunton Golf Club Men’s Captain Stuart Charnock is organising a fundraising challenge with a difference to raise funds for the new Seamoor Chemotherapy & Day Treatment Unit, which opened at the end of March this year.

The challenge is for every hole that Men’s Captain Stuart Charnock plays on the golf course, Chatty Paces runner Rick Fielder must run a mile around the perimeter of the course, over a gruelling 12 hours.

This unique fundraising idea is the brainchild of Rick Fielder of the Braunton based running and training club, Chatty Paces which Rick leads with his partner Liz.

Saunton Golf Club Men’s Captain Stuart Charnock said “When Rick suggested this challenge to me I couldn’t resist taking it up, although 12 hours now seems a very long challenge.  It is though for a great cause and we are looking forward to a great day.  The chemotherapy unit is very important to Saunton Golf Club”.

The Captain’s 12 hour Challenge will take place on Monday 14th September from 7.30am to 7.30pm at Saunton Golf Course near Barnstaple.

Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “Stuart and Rick will certainly need a lot of stamina to keep going on this 12 hour challenge and deserve lots of support.  The money they raise will be a great help to our new chemotherapy unit enabling us to raise additional funds to purchase new equipment to care for our cancer patients “over and above” what the NHS can provide.”

You can support Stuart and Rick by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/Stuart-Charnock1 .

To find out more about the hospital charity “Over and Above” 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

Alastair Ashworth, Mary Bragg, Linda Atherton, Shirleyann Andrews, Fundraiser Julie Whitton and Roger Andrews.

A group of entertainers from North Devon villages with some of their friends, got together with the intention of raising £1,000 over 12 months for the new Seamoor Chemotherapy Unit.  They exceeded their target by raising an amazing £1,200.

Organiser Linda Atherton said “We formed our entertainment group Cloud 9 specifically to raise funds for the chemo unit and we performed to senior groups in Bideford, Northam and Fremington, and ran other successful events, including a cake raffle, name the doll competition, a wine and wisdom quiz in Bradworthy, an afternoon tea in Hartland, and folk singing at Hartland Quay.  It was lots of fun for a worthwhile cause.”

Four of the group, Shirleyann and Roger Andrews, Alastair Ashworth and Linda Atherton, came along to the Unit in July to present their cheque. They enjoyed their tour of the new Seamoor Unit and were delighted to have helped to fund equipment and special treatments for our cancer patients.

Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “Linda and her team have been absolutely amazing over the past year.  I don’t think there is a community in North Devon that hasn’t heard about their events.  Their drive and enthusiasm to ensure they reached their pledge, which exceeded their expectations, has been phenomenal.  I understand that they had so much fun and are now looking forward to doing more fundraising events for the future.  “Cloud 9” have shown that fundraising can be a great way of getting together, having fun and at the same time making a real difference to help our local hospital charity support our patients in North Devon.”

A few rain showers didn’t dull the enthusiasm at this year’s North Devon Show, where crowds of eager show-goers took part in Over and Above’s ‘Giant Turtle’ Raffle in aid of the new Special care Baby Unit (SCBU) Appeal.

Fundraiser Julie Whitton explained: “Our new Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) appeal aims to raise money for state of the art ventilators, incubators, photo-therapy lights and other equipment (such as heartbeat monitors) vital to the care of the most vulnerable new born babies. 1 in 10 children will need the urgent help of the SCBU unit, so this is a really important appeal for us.”

Our prize draw, which raised nearly £500, was won by Andrea from Braunton (congratulations Andrea!) Thank you to our volunteer team who ran our stall for the day, and to everyone who bought a ticket to help get the new appeal off to a flying start. You can learn more about the SCBU appeal here.

We also collected many new sign-ups for our annual fundraising events; including the upcoming Exmoor Ramble, 90ft Abseil and Sponsored Tandem Skydive – why not register today!