Archive for May, 2010
Want to be a corporate sponsor?
Do you run a company, know someone who does, or work for one which wishes to sponsor a charitable cause?
If the answer is yes and the If I have to campaign and the Sparkle Appeal is of interest to the sponsor, please, please, please get in contact.
Send us an email by clicking here – We look forward to hearing from you.
Quiz Update – The Results are in!
On Friday 30th April, we held a quiz night at the Brunswick Pub at Charminster in aid of Sparkle.
This turned out to be a fun evening for all and a good turn out – 12 teams of 4-5. Jens (Husband of Clove Technology employee Lorraine) did a brilliant job of composing and asking the questions, albeit hard for most of us non-regular quiz goers!
The most important thing though was that we raised £431 thanks to the generosity of everyone that took part and I am sure we will repeat the evening later in the year. If you would like to take part, please let us know!
Sparkle Appeal Fundraising – Going Well
The Sparkle Appeal has been helped a great deal by the work of Bournemouth Echo who have been promoting the events and cause to the local community.
With the help of the Echo and many other supporters since the appeal began in December 2009 £200,000 has been raised, putting the campaign well on target for the £750,000 interim target for March 2011.
New Fundraising Page
Now that we are raising money for the Sparkle Appeal we have updated our justgiving donation page with a new target for the next few events. We have set it at an achievable £10,000 and would of course like to hit it as quickly as possible as VEC need £5,000,000 to build the new pool. As soon as we do we will set a new target and continue.
If you have not yet made a donation and would like to help the appeal, you can do by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/ifihaveto
Fundraising Ideas and Events
It is our every intention to do as much as we can to raise as much as we can for the cause but being volunteers there is only so much time we can dedicate to this.
We have been overwhelmed by the numbers who want to assist us in raising money and thank everyone for this.
However we are sure that there are a number of you out there who want to do something or have a great idea to raise some additional funds but maybe want some help and support.
PLEASE LET US KNOW YOUR IDEAS – We can help you. Working closely with Victoria Education College and Livability we have the resources.
Even if you are not confident of your idea and would like to discuss it then please let us know.
Send us an email by clicking here – We look forward to hearing from you.
Sparkle Appeal – What is it all for?
We thought we would just clarify what the whole Sparkle Appeal is all about so there is no question over what the funds are for and where the funds are going
.
Victoria Education College (VEC) is a division of Livability (registered Charity number:1116530).
VEC is a specialist centre for children aged from 3 to 19 who have physical difficulties. Many benefit from the advantages of Hydrotherapy.
Many of the centre’s 97 children suffer from cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy with others having been involved in accidents, suffered severe illness, tumours or strokes.
The current pool is more than 25 years old and has restricted changing facilities and poor hoisting provision.
Therefore in an effort to raise money to build a new centre, Diana Newbury, the Appeals Manager at VEC and the team have set up a campaign named the Sparkle Appeal.
The Appeal is managed by the team at VEC and aims to raise £3-5 million for the new facilities, which consist of eight purpose-built ground-floor pods for hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy.
It is this worth while campaign that If I have to support.
What is If I have to…all about?
You may have heard of If I have to… but not really fully understood what it is all about so let’s change this.
What is If I have to…?
If I have to is the name given to a group of volunteers whose intention it is to set up, arrange, host and complete activities in the interest of raising money for charitable causes.
Why was it set up?
If I have to was set up to raise money to purchase vital equipment for Chris and Jill Love’s son Greg after he was involved in an accident that left him requiring the specialist care of professionals like those found at the Children’s Trust and Victoria School.
These charitable organisations dedicate themselves to assisting in and improving the lives of children with disability, but often the expensive nature of specialist equipment means there has to be sacrifices.
One such piece of equipment was the eye gaze, a specialist computer with eye tracking capabilities that allows individuals like Greg who can not communicate through speech or writing to do so via eye communication.
Who are the founding members of If I have to…?
Founding members include Chris and Jill Love (Greg’s Love’s parents), Richard Love (Uncle), Jonathan Love (Cousin) and Jonathan Senior (family friend).
When was If I have to set up?
If I have to was set up back in early 2009.
Is it specific charities that are supported?
If I have to does not support one specific charity, but dedicates funds to the charitable organisation which cares currently for Greg. Since formation all funds raised have gone to Livability and Victoria Education College.
The If I have to team are currently working with and supporting VEC’s own campaign, the Sparkle Appeal.
How much has been raised and what has been done with this?
The first campaigns were set up to raise £13,000 to purchase the Eye Gaze equipment for Greg and other pupils at VEC. This target was smashed within 12 months, raising a staggering £17,200.
These funds have to date purchased the Eye Gaze, paid for a trip for Greg and 2 carers on a sailing trip and left a small surplus which is still to be used.
What events have been completed?
There have been many events all of which have raised varying amounts of money….
- 20 and 30 mile cycle ride
- Josh Shaving his head of hair off
- Stage Shows from Big Little Theatre School and Southern Electric Broadway Amateur Drama Group
- Sponsored seafront runs
- Sponsored Walks
- Sponsored sales
- Raffles and much more
- You can see a list of completed events HERE.
What events are to come?
For a full listing of pending events CLICK HERE
Sparkle Appeal Calendar of Events
The If I have to groups and supporters are now working to raise money for the Sparkle Appeal, which is a campaign set up by Victoria School and Livability to raise £3-5 million for a new Hydrotherapy Pool.
Whilst If I have to members are setting up and raising money for the cause the team at Victoria School are too setting about arranging a number of events to raise money too.
They have now published a full calendar of events HERE (http://www.sparkleappealdorset.org/calendarOfEvents.php?year=2010).
We strongly encourage you to check it out, there might just be something that you are interested in and wished to get involved with.
We will bring you more information on the events and things going on as and when they are announced.
Can you help Aron hit his target?
A few weeks ago, Aron did something spectacular, he sent his body to the limits of possibility by running the Virgin London Marathon.
A first time marathon runner Aron did it all in the name of raising money for a great cause. Setting himself a target of £2000 he has tried extremely hard to hit his target and he is so close but he calls on you for the final push and to help him raise the funds for Victoria Schools Hydrotherapy Pool.
So here Aron’s request:
Hi Everyone,
Yes, even though the marathon for 2010 is over I am still trying to push for that £2000 total that I set all those months ago. We have managed to raise a fantastic £1671 so far. Yet we are still only £329 away from that magic figure, and with the sponsorship needing to be handed in by the end of May your help is needed more then ever.So please I will ask one last time dig deep and donate whatever you can at www.justgiving.co.uk/aronlucas.
Lots of Love, Aron X
P.S. As an added incentive if we hit the £2000 i promise to run next years VLM2011 in fancy dress
Quiz Night – Great Success
On Friday 30th April a quiz night was held at the Brunswick Hotel and Pub in Charminster to raise funds for the Sparkle Appeal.
A great night, the quiz was attended by approx 60 people all in good spirits and armed with knowledge to answer the very broad and quite challenging questions presented by quiz master Jens Thackwray.
Thank you to everyone who turned out, and well done to the winning team who went away with some bubbly and cash, and commiserations to the losers who were awarded Pepper Pig chocolate lollies!
We are waiting for final figures to come in on how much was raised and will bring this to you shortly.
