Weymouth and Portland Friends of Julia's House
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The Weymouth & Portland Friends are urgently looking for a volunteer to join their committee as the Events' Coordinator - could you give some of your free time to this very worthwhile and rewarding role?
If you would like to find out more, please contact Brenda Bonwell on 01305-783807.
W&P News (updated 23 December 2008)
A Busy Year's End for Weymouth &
Portland Friends of Julia's House
The last few days as 2008 draws inexorably to a close have certainly been very busy ones for The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House as we round off the year with a flurry of fund-raising activities.
Saturday 20th December saw a team of stalwarts with their collecting cans dotted around a cold and somewhat blustery Easton Square onPortland but, in spite of the icy gusts and the rather foolish absence of gloves to protect frozen fingers, the atmosphere outside the Easton Co-op could not have been warmer. Once again, the generosity of the local shoppers was incredibly uplifting for the collectors as was the chance to exchange messages of good cheer - many thanks to all of you.
Then Sunday saw another team supporting the second Santa Fun Run, a 5 km race along the sands onWeymouth Beachfrom the Pavilion to Greenhill and back, organised by Bustinskin under the leadership of Firefighter, Mark Steen. Never was an event more appropriately named - it was fun and good nature all the way for competitors and onlookers alike - from the sight of almost 150 massed, assorted Santas outside the Weymouth Fire Station, parading through the streets of Weymouth to the Beach for the obligatory warm-up with its own special 'Fun' twist. Watching Mother and Father Christmases of all ages, shapes and sizes together with their apprentices, elves, fairies, decorated Christmas Trees, even a splendid Christmas Chimney and the odd very excited, suitably attired, and very puzzled, canine assistant, going through their paces on the Beach prior to taking off in hot pursuit after the Christmas Pudding in the shape of last year's winner, Ben Davis, is a sight that will not forgotten in a hurry.
The race was won by Portlander, Niall Laming, but I can't help but wonder if he will live to regret his achievement! To him will fall the honour of being next year's Christmas Pudding with the even more singular honour of being ceremonially dunked in the sea by the thwarted Santas afterwards. Did he know about this part of the incentive scheme before he set out, I asked myself? Ben took it all in good part, though, and even seemed to thrive on it, judging by his cheery demeanour when it was all over - perhaps there is a lesson for us all there somewhere!
Certainly the onlookers thoroughly enjoyed themselves and once again cheerfully helped fill our collecting tins. One of the things that amazed us was the number of visitors from other parts of the British Isles, who were in Weymouth to spend their Christmas holiday; many commented how much they absolutely loved the whole event with its cheerful, quirky atmosphere and much of the credit for this must go to the way that the organisers got everyone going in all senses of the word and ensured that 'Fun' and Julia's House remained at the top of the agenda.
Afterwards, competitors, organisers and helpers met in the DorothyInnwho most generously provided free refreshments for all, giving everyone a chance to get together, set the world to rights, let off some more steam and generally round off a very happy occasion. Before the party broke up The Friends held their Christmas Raffle, organised with great enthusiasm and more than little brio by Alison Marfell. Some marvellous (sorry!) prizes, generously donated by a variety of local businesses, were won, adding, I'm sure, a fillip to quite a few Christmases as well as supporting a most worthwhile local cause. Again there was a most heart-warming touch to the proceedings as the winner of the first prize of £100 immediately returned half of her windfall to Julia's House - people are totally incredible sometimes.
The Santa Fun Run promises to become an annual event in the Weymouthcalendar and I most certainly hope it will. Very many thanks indeed to all the Bustinskin Team for their magnificent efforts from all The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House.
Our penultimate fundraising event of 2008 was on Monday 22 December when The Friends were kindly invited by the management of Morrison's in Weymouth to collect for Julia's House at their Supermarket throughout the day. In spite of the fact that everybody clearly has one or two things to do at this time of year, there was no shortage of volunteers nor generous donations of all amounts, quite amazing when you think of the difficult times we are experiencing at the moment - like I said, people are truly incredible.
The final fundraising effort for The Friends for 2008 will be collecting at Weymouth Football Ground on Boxing Day - look out for us if you're there.
The next meeting of The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House will be the AGM on 29 January 2009 at 7.30 pmin the WI Hall, Gallwey Road, Wyke Regis. We are always delighted to welcome new members, so please just come along or contact Brenda Bonwell on 01305-783807 for further information. She will also be delighted to give a talk about the work of Julia's House to your organisation. Further details can be found on the group's website by following the links on the main Julia's House site:
www.julias-house.org
Beate Coward
23 December 2008
Publicity Member for The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House
The
Weymouth&
Portland Friends of Julia's House
Second Year of Fundraising Draws to a Close
One of the aspects of raising funds for Julia's House that has increasingly concerned the Weymouth & Portland Friends is how to ensure that we continue to be able to do so on an ongoing basis when there is an almost inexhaustible range of worthy and deserving causes needing support and tugging at people's heart strings as well as their purse strings. This is especially true at this time of year and now the current financial turmoil increasingly worries us all. So many (or should that be 'too many'?) demands are made on the good nature and generosity of the general public and the unfortunate result may well be that 'compassion fatigue' and/or 'donor fatigue' set in.
The main worry for the Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House is that there might come a time when people begin to think that Julia's House is receiving a lot of support from various local groups and organisations and is therefore sufficiently well-provided for. In fact, I have heard people say a couple of times recently, "Oh, everybody's raising money for Julia's House!" and my blood ran cold.
It is a travesty that charities are forced to compete for limited resources, whether these be financial or emotional. We do not live in the best of all possible worlds at the moment and things seem to get a little crazier on a daily basis. I often wonder how we are supposed to cope with so many demands for assistance, whether these involve time, effort or money. Certainly there is no way I would like to get into the position of debating the merits of one charity versus another.
Nonetheless, I cannot help but feel that the smaller charities struggle in comparison to the big, international, charitable foundations. Yet the smaller charities do so much good work and personally I think that sometimes they have a greater impact as they are working mainly in a limited local area and in a specific targeted manner with fewer overheads and a greater concern to ensure that all donations are used wisely.
The fact remains, however, that Julia's House is almost totally reliant on its own fundraising efforts, receiving virtually no support from government sources (less than 3%). It is a local charity covering Dorset and providing much needed care and support in the Weymouth & Portland area on an ongoing basis and to me it would be a horrendous thought if a family with a child suffering from a life-threatening condition were deprived of the support that would make their lives just a fraction easier.
Fortunately there is no fundraising fatigue among the Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House, manning stalls, doing street collections, running coffee mornings and so on. We continue to be spurred on in our own fundraising efforts by the extraordinary acts of generosity from individuals, groups, organisations and workplaces contributing on their own initiative, using their own talents, resourcefulness or courage and endurance in a variety of ways.
For example, the Early Years students at Weymouth College worked extremely hard to raise £540 by having a cake stall, a sponsored walk up and down the college stairs and one young girl, who was terrified of having her ears pierced, had it carried out in the college Beauty Department and wore specially produced Julia’s House ear rings for the day.
Portland resident, Paul Thomas, offered to do a sponsored cycle ride in aid of Julia's House and ended up entering the Dorset Dirt Cross Country Bike Ride, on 14 September, an aptly named challenging off-road feat of considerable endurance. Paul was extremely happy to finish in the lead group, especially as they were all 20 years his junior, and raised well over £300 into the bargain.
Alison Marfell, a recent recruit to the Friends' committee, took an incredibly brave plunge when she 'jumped for Julia' from 13,000 feet on 3 November. It was a case of third time 'lucky' as Alison was originally scheduled to do her parachute jump at the beginning of September; it was cancelled twice due to bad weather and she just made it weather-wise the third time. Alison succeeded in topping the target of £1,000 that she set herself, which is a wonderful result for Julia's House and a testimony to the courage and hard work of an inspiring young lady.
Alison is also taking the lead in organising a Christmas Raffle Prize Draw for the Weymouth & Portland Friends to be drawn at the Dorothy Innafter the Santa Fun Run on Weymouth Beachon 21 December. There are numerous fantastic prizes, so please buy a ticket (£1) at the Crow's Nest in Hope Square or at any of the events where there's a Julia's House stall in the run-up to Christmas, such as the Weymouth Victorian Showtime on 6 December and Easton Promise Night on 12 December. Julia's House Christmas cards are also available at Weymouth Library until mid-December.
As a result of all these wonderful efforts the Friends are increasingly hopeful that they may achieve the target of £20,000 that they set themselves for 2008. In the meantime we are starting work on fundraising events for 2009 when we are planning something special - watch this space! The search for a Julia's House shop inWeymouth continues, so if you know of suitable premises please do contact Brenda Bonwell (details below).
The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House are always delighted to welcome new members and meet at 7.30pmon the last Thursday of each month in the WI Hall in Gallwey Road, Wyke Regis. Please just come along or contact Brenda Bonwell on 01305-783807 for further information. She will also be delighted to give a talk about the work of Julia's House to your organisation. Further details can be found on the group's website by following the links on the main Julia's House site:
www.julias-house.org
Beate Coward
23 November 2008
Publicity Member for The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House
The Weymouth& Portland Friends of Julia's House Halfway through 2008
When I first decided to support the amazing care that Julia's House provides for children with life-threatening illnesses throughout Dorset, my motives were quite mixed but, I would imagine, fairly usual - admiration for the staff of Julia's House, wanting to give something back to the local community (roughly 25% of the outreach care takes place in the Weymouth & Portland area), gratitude for my own healthy children and grandchildren, anger that there is virtually no central funding for children's hospices (unlike for adult hospices).
What I hadn't anticipated are the heartening and uplifting experiences I would receive in return and how often my faith in the fundamental goodness of human nature would be restored. It has never ceased to amaze me the number of big-hearted, generous people I come across who, without prompting, do their bit to help in the on-going battle to raise funds for Julia's House in whatever way they feel they can, from organising coffee mornings, fetes and sponsorship events to keeping a collecting tin at home or encouraging the groups they belong to contribute and their workplaces to nominate Julia's House as their dedicated charity for 2008.
One of the most heart-warming stories regarding Julia's House that I've heard recently concerns a little Portland girl, Sarah, only eight years of age, who suddenly turned up at the Julia's House Stall at the Portland Steam Fair in July and handed our Chairman, Brenda Bonwell, an old biscuit tin containing £272. Apparently Sarah had wanted to do something to help local children less fortunate than herself and had hit upon the idea of running a stall at last year's Gooseberry Fare, selling toys and clothes that she had outgrown. This in turn encouraged other members of her family to become involved, her sister contributing her Barbie collection, her grandparents donating a variety of articles, her dad canvassing work colleagues and mum making sure that the whole family were well supplied with hot dogs on the day. Truly inspiring how one little girl's care and humanity could spark off a chain of events and achieve such a remarkable result!
The heartfelt thanks of the committee of the Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House go out to Sarah and her family and also to all the numerous extraordinarily generous and hard-working individuals, groups and organisations, who have helped to provide the continuing support that Julia's House requires in order to carry on with its desperately needed work. All your donations and help are very greatly appreciated. It now costs roughly £40 for every hour of respite care provided by Julia's House staff but what it means to the children and families receiving help is inestimable and often quite literally a life-line.
The committee themselves have been busy throughout the year, running merchandise and bric-a-brac stalls at local fetes, fairs, table-top sales and Weymouth Sea-front as well as organising street collections. In August we were fortunate enough to be allocated two Saturdays for collecting in Portland and Weymouth and once again these turned out to be highly successful - local people are truly kind-hearted and generous and it was uplifting to note that quite a few people came over specifically to put a donation in our tins when they saw that it was Julia's House that we were collecting for. One of our collectors was even given coffee and biscuits by the staff of Marks & Spencer when they detected him outside their doors! Also in Weymouth we were also very fortunate to have supporting us the magnificently refurbished music machine, kindly supplied by Mr Calvin Stone, adding to the ambiance as well as creating a great deal of interest from young and old alike.
With autumn just around the corner, the Friends have several fund-raising events planned. A new member of our group, Alison Marfell, with strong Portland connections, is planning to 'Jump for Julia', doing a tandem parachute jump on 6 September. She is hoping to raise £1000 and is not far off her target. If you would like to help her achieve it, please visit www.justgiving.com/alisonmarfell or come to the Red Triangle Fete at the top of Reforne on Portland where Julia's House will be running a stall from 10am - 4pm on 6 September.
Then on Wednesday 17 September by kind permission of Mr Peter Ledger there will be a Coffee Morning in aid of Julia's House at The Crow's Nest in Hope Square in Weymouth. Tickets are £2.50 for coffee and biscuits. Julia's House merchandise will be on sale and there will also be a raffle. Please do come along and enjoy a cup of coffee with us whilst supporting a very worthwhile cause.
The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House are always delighted to welcome new members and meet at 7.30pmon the last Thursday of each month in the WI Hall in Gallwey Road, Wyke Regis. Please just come along or contact Brenda Bonwell on 01305-783807 for further information. She will also be delighted to give a talk about the work of Julia's House to your organisation. Further details can be found on the group's website by following the links on the main Julia's House site: www.julias-house.org
Beate Coward
24 August 2008
Sutton Poyntz Street Fair - 28 June 2008
Several stalwart volunteers from the Weymouth and Portland Friends had a busy day at the Street Fair in Sutton Poyntz on the outskirts of Weymouth promoting the work of Julia's House and raising funds by selling Julia's House merchandise and running a tombola.
Beate Coward
11 August 2008
Summer Update
The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House are now well into their second year of fund-raising and have been greatly inspired and assisted in their efforts by the wonderful help that they are receiving from the local community. It is truly heart-warming the way local organisations and individuals come forward to make donations, run events or nominate Julia's House as their dedicated charity for 2008.
In addition to the organisations mentioned in my last report, the Committee of the Portland Steam and Vintage Show have pledged their support to Julia's House as their main beneficiary this year. The Weymouth & Portland Friends were thrilled to hear the news and delighted that Mick Mulley, Chairman of the Portland Steam Fair Committee, was able to come along to one of our recent meetings and outline plans for this year's event to be held at its usual venue at SouthwellParkover the weekend of 19-20 July. It is the tenth anniversary for this popular and prestigious event and, as well as the usual displays and attractions, for which the Portland Steam and Vintage Show has become justly famed, this year's innovation will be vintage bus rides round the top of the Island. Naturally the Weymouth & Portland Friends will be running a merchandise stall, so please come along and stock up on some attractive and useful items whilst enjoying all that there is to see and do at the Show.
Another boost to Friends' morale was the news that our new Portland Town Mayor, Sandi West, is nominating Julia's House as one of the charities she will be supporting during her mayoral year. This is especially pleasing as Sandi came along to our first Garden Party at Queen Anne's House last year during her term as Deputy Mayor and her vivacious, caring and interested presence helped to make the day the tremendous success that it was.
Also greatly appreciated have been the fundraising undertaken by a whole variety of groups such as the Sylvia Catholic Women, Weymouth & Portland Scout Group and Westham Methodist Church to name but a few. Sometimes the first that the Friends hear about it is when they are invited to collect a cheque! It truly restores your faith in human nature.
In the meantime, the Friends themselves have been busy throughout the spring, organising collections and running stalls at various events. One of the most successful and enjoyable recently was running the Plant Crèche at the annual Plant and Craft Fair in the beautiful grounds of Pennsylvania Castle, Portland. Our Chair is also in constant demand to give talks about the work of Julia's House to local groups and organisations - a task that she is only too happy to undertake.
Our summer season kicks off with our second Garden Party held courtesy of Mrs Margaret Dunlop in the lovely gardens of Queen Anne House in Fortuneswell on Saturday 7 June from11.00am - 4.00 pm. This year the Garden Party will be opened by Mr Mike Wise MBE, founding and current Chairman of Julia’s House, and Sandi West will be attending too, this time as our Town Mayor. The entry fee will be £2.50 for adults, which includes a cream tea; children are free with a free soft drink. There will be the usual range of stalls - Plants, Books and Videos, Bric a Brac, Tombola, Face Painting and of course, Julia's House Merchandise. Entertainment will be provided by the Royal Manor Arts College Jazz band and other local musicians. The Friends are keeping their fingers crossed that this second garden party will be as enjoyable and successful as the first.
If you would like to find out more about Julia's House or what the Weymouth & Portland Friends are doing, details can be found on this website.
As you can see, the Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House meet once a month and new volunteers are always welcome. If you're interested or would like any further information, please contact Brenda Bonwell on 01305-783807. Likewise, if you would like Brenda to give a talk about the work of Julia's House, please do not hesitate to contact her.
Beate Coward
23 May 2008
The
Pennsylvania Castle Plant & Craft Fair 10 May 2008
A tri-partite team from the Weymouth & Portland Friends had an excellent and most enjoyable day at the annual Plant and Craft Fair in the dream location of Pennsylvania Castle, Portland. It was certainly the ideal weather for it - not too hot, but warm enough, no wind and no rain. The crowds clearly thought so as well and thronged the numerous stalls and the castle grounds from 11am through until 4 pm.
The Weymouth & Portland team manned not only a busy Julia's House merchandise stall and an equally busy stall selling a wide variety of plants and garden ephemera but also an extremely popular Plant Crèche, where purchases made at the Fair could be left under the tender and watchful gaze of our volunteers in return for a donation to the work of Julia's House.
Business was very brisk and the whole operation was conducted with military precision and exemplary exactitude, flower and vegetable plants marshalled in serried ranks with ID displayed according to a hitherto unknown operational code. Fortunately, the vast majority were well-behaved and seemed to enjoy their stay with us. Only two perfectly harmless-looking busy lizzies were abandoned but have now been successfully fostered. One rather large rose bush caused a bit of a rumpus by appearing mysteriously when the team must have been blinking but turned out to be merely looking for her friends.
Altogether, it was a fun way to raise funds and, judging by the weight of the collection bucket, a greatly appreciated service into the bargain.
Beate Coward
10 May 2008
Weymouth &
Portland Friends Start Second Year of Fundraising
The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House have now entered their second year, determined to beat the target that they succeeded in raising during their first year, thanks in no small measure to the invaluable help they received from numerous, generous groups and individuals. What has spurred the Weymouth & Portland Friends on to even greater efforts was a report given recently by Lin Hudswell, the Community Fundraising Manager for Julia's House, at the group's first AGM concerning developments at Julia's House and the funds needed to support them.
The factor that in particular motivates the Weymouth & Portland Friends is that 25% of the children and families that Julia's House cares for come from our area.
The Management Committee of the Weymouth & Portland Friends have therefore planned an ambitious programme of events. These range from a monthly presence at various table-top sales, running stalls at local fetes and fairs and Weymouth seafront as well as organising our own garden party at Queen Anne House, sponsored events and street collections.
In addition, there are several heart-warming developments in the air for 2008 as a result of initiatives from caring local organisations and individuals. Last autumn the Management Committee of the Portland Steam Fair, a prestigious event that takes place over two days in mid July at Southwell Park, announced that they would be adopting Julia's House as their main charity to benefit from their endeavours this year. In addition Weymouth Football Club has agreed to adopt Julia's House as their charity for the coming year. Julia's House will also be one of the nominated charities to benefit from the Sutton Poyntz Street Fair. Several Weymouth College students recently visited Julia's House and are now looking at carrying out fundraising activity.
The latest offer of extremely exciting assistance comes from a group of staff at HMP The Verne, led by Prison Officers, Alec Conway and Danny Leggatt, who are actively exploring ways in which staff and inmates could help Julia's House. The Verne is well known for its support for charity but the enthusiasm and commitment that Alec and Danny showed in discussing original ideas as well as tried-and-tested ploys to raise funds for Julia's House does them, and all associated with them, a great deal of credit. The message is most definitely 'Watch this space!'
The Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House meet once a month and new volunteers are always welcome. If you're interested or would like any further information, please contact the Brenda Bonwell, who chairs the group on 01305-783807. Likewise, if you would like Brenda to give a talk about the work of Julia's House to a group you belong to, please do not hesitate to contact her.
Beate Coward
17 March 2008
Brenda flies the flag for Julia's House at Community 2000 Portland
Saturday 16 February 2008
This morning the Chairperson of the Weymouth & Portland Friends of Julia's House, Brenda Bonwell, was once again to be found at her usual spot in the Community 2000 Portland. Brenda regularly wo/mans a couple of tables at the monthly Portland Rotary sponsored table-top sales, one laden with Julia's House merchandise and the other almost buckling under a wide variety of bric-a-brac.
Not only do the proceeds from the morning's sales provide a welcome donation to Julia's House funds but it also enables Brenda to publicise the sterling work being undertaken by the carers and staff of Julia's House.
Beate Coward
16 Feb 2008
