On 11 October representatives of four local bowling clubs met at Bude, this year’s winners, and presented a cheque for £539 to Ian Roome of Over and Above, the fundraiser for SCBU. The unit looks after new born babies, who need special care, from areas around each of the four clubs.

The four bowling clubs, Bude, Stratton, Bradworthy and Holsworthy played each other on a home and away basis, with all monies raised being paid to The Special Care Baby Unit. Each match involved 11 players from each club in a singles, pairs, triples and rink format.

This year’s competition was won by Bude who finished with 34 points, the same as Holsworthy, but shot difference of one meant they were victorious.

Chris Brown, from Holsworthy (the competition co-ordinator) said ‘ We started this competition in 2003 and including this year’s donation we have raised £6080 to date and will be looking to add to this in years to come. All the clubs enjoy the friendly nature of the competition and the chance to raise money for such a valuable local resource.’

Ian Roome from Over and Above said ‘Thank you for this cheque and the other funds you have raised over the years. The unit looks after babies from each of the bowling club areas. Donations such as this are ring fenced and really do make a difference enabling specialist equipment to be purchased over and above what is provided through the NHS. This is of benefit to the babies and their parents who use the unit’.

Nick Stratton and Rob and Gemma Claase raised a magnificient £1,612.71 for North Devon Special Care Baby Unit.  Nick and Rob took on a three peak challenge to raise funds for the Special Care Baby Unit at North Devon District Hospital.  They cycled 435 miles over five days covering between 80 -100 miles per day, climbing on foot each of the peaks Mount Snowdon, Scarfell Pike and arriving at Fort William where they joined up with friends and family to ascend the third peak and highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis.  Rob’s wife, Gemma Claase, ever keen to match the men’s challenge, climbed Ben Nevis, carrying the equivalent weight of Bella on the day of the challenge.

The work of special care baby units are very important to them.  Nick’s nephew, JJ, arrived on 20th August 2017 at 28 weeks and weighing a tiny 2lbs 9oz. He received excellent care from North Devon Hospital’s SCBU, Exeter Hospital’s SCBU and Bristol Children’s Hospital over his first three months, until he was able to cope with life outside of an incubator.   Then two weeks later, on 3rd September 2017 Rob’s daughter, Bella decided she wanted to come 6 weeks early whilst on holiday in Scotland and had incredible support from the Neonatal Unit in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee and from Scotstar, the air ambulance, who flew baby Bella home to Woking.  Rob said “Thankfully, Bella and JJ are now thriving, and we know that the special care they received would not have been possible without the generous donations of others.  We wanted to show our appreciation for the amazing work that these organisations undertake every day and hopefully give back so that others can continue to enjoy these services”.

They also funds for the Neonatal Unit in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee and Scotstar air ambulance

A HUGE thank you to the Sticklepath School Bingo, who presented us with an AMAZING cheque for £2,000 for the Cancer and Wellbeing Centre Appeal. The money was raised from holding a weekly bingo session throughout the year at Sticklepath School. We are absolutely delighted with their support.

Today Laura Lawrence and Barbara Zydzik from Tarko Lounge Barnstaple presented a cheque for £1300.50 for the Special Care Baby Unit at North Devon District Hospital to Ian Roome, Head of Fundraising at the Over and Above hospital charity. This was raised by Tarko Lounge donating a percentage of every cup of coffee and every burger sold within their first month of trading. Ian said “We are extremely grateful to Laura and her team at Tarko Lounge for supporting our charity in this novel way. This is a fantastic way in which corporate social responsibility can produce a positive outcome for our charity.”

We want to say a massive thank you to the Organisers of a Table Top Sale at Barnstaple Social Club who have presented a cheque for £776 to Ian Roome, Head of Fundraising for the Cancer and Wellbeing Centre Appeal. Over and Above charity are very grateful for this fantastic amount raised by members of the Hull and Barrow families and their friends which will help thousands of patients who use the hospital cancers services at North Devon District Hospital each year.

Sixteen-year-old Chulmleigh Community College student Zoë Dean is taking on a solo parachute jump challenge for the hospital charity Over and Above.

Zoe is a member of the South Molton Detachment Devon Army Cadet Force and they have offered her the exciting opportunity of jumping 2,500 – 10,000 feet on Salisbury Plain in October half term.

The Army Cadet Force at South Molton  takes cadets from 12 – 18 years and offers lots of fun, friendship, action and adventure, and gives young people an opportunity to take part in adventurous activities like rock climbing, mountain biking, archery and abseiling and sports.

Zoe said “I’ve enjoyed lots of challenges with the Army Cadets but I have never done anything like this before.   My Grandad has cancer and is being cared for at the hospital in Barnstaple.  My Grandad has told me that the hospital needs a Cancer and Wellbeing Centre and I want to raise as much money as I can so that the centre can help my Grandad and other people who need support too.”

Zoe is part of a fundraising family and they have already raised a magnificent £467.50 for the Cancer and Wellbeing Centre this year.  Her Grandad, Godfrey Parker, organised a fundraising race night with family and friends to celebrate his 70^th birthday which raised £245, and Godfrey’s son Darren and daughter in law Emma organised another race night raising £222.50.

Over and Above Hospital Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “I know that Zoe is very excited about taking on this solo challenge.  With training from the Army Cadet’s qualified instructors I am sure she will have a fabulous time, and we are very grateful she has chosen to support the new Appeal.”

So far, thanks to the amazing support from the people of North Devon the hospital charity has raised around £600,000 towards its £1.5million target.  To help us reach the target, please sponsor Zoe on: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/justmakethejump or text GVBB64 to 70070

The Cancer and Wellbeing Centre Appeal aims to raise £1.5million to build a Cancer and Wellbeing Centre at North Devon District Hospital.  The centre will be a dedicated space available to anyone affected by cancer and other illnesses at any stage of their illness, offering a wide range of information and support services, all within a comfortable and welcoming environment.  The centre will also include a relatives’ accommodation wing for family and other loved ones of in-patients who are receiving treatment at North Devon District Hospital.

Northam swimmer Kevin Reynolds’ BIG SWIM of an astounding 1,794 widths in Westward Ho!’s outdoor swimming pool near the Promenade was the equivalent distance of a cross channel swim to France of approximately 21 miles.

Kevin took on the challenge after his wife Heather was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer after a routine mammogram, and then had a lumpectomy at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Heather received fantastic support from the wellbeing centre run by the charity Force in Exeter – a calm and tranquil unit away from the busy treatment unit. There she received help and advice from volunteers and professional staff that ran the wellbeing unit who helped her to come to terms with the changes in their lives. They also offered counselling sessions, massages and other therapies free of charge and a place to relax and unwind with tea, coffee and biscuits. Heather also received chemotherapy at the North Devon District Hospital’s Seamoor Unit as well as travelling regularly to Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital for radiotherapy. Kevin said “The staff at the Seamoor Unit are just incredible, constantly reassuring us both during this most stressful time. North Devon District Hospital would benefit so much by having its own Cancer and Wellbeing Support Centre locally. It will support the brilliant medical care and the 100% devotion that we always receive during and after our visits.”

Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton, Kevin and Heather Reynolds

Kevin raised a phenomenal £1,875.00 for the North Devon Cancer and Wellbeing Centre Appeal. After such a magnificent swim, Kevin challenged Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton to swim in the pool to receive the cheque. Julie said “I have attended cheque presentations in many fantastic locations but this is the first time I have ever dipped my toes into the water! Luckily for me it was a beautiful autumn day, and although it was mid September the water wasn’t too cold. It was the least I could do after all the effort Kevin has undertaken to raise the funds for our Appeal, and I really enjoyed it.” Afterwards Kevin and Heather surprised Julie by presenting Over and Above with a further £50 cheque for being a sport and going into the water.

If you would like to take on a challenge to support the Cancer and Wellbeing Appeal please contact the Over and Above team on ndht.charity@nhs.net or phone the team on 01271 311772.

The staff at Nationwide in Barnstaple’s Green Lane Shopping Centre raised a fantastic £1,135.95 for the Cancer and Wellbeing Centre Appeal.  The staff astroturfed Green Lanes market area and installed a live screen for shoppers to watch Wimbledon in the summer, and then offered scrumptious strawberries and cream for a small donation.  The donations raised a magnificent £635.95 and Nationwide also match funded a further £500.  Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton said “Green  Lanes looked amazing.  It got everyone into the Wimbledon and World Cup spirit.  It was a brilliant way to celebrate two iconic sporting events and raised lots of awareness and support for our cancer support unit.”

L-R   Rebecca Law, Sophie Scott, Over and Above Fundraiser Julie Whitton, Pippa Giess, Josh Brown and Helena Standen