14404 Francis House Newsletter 09

14404 Francis House Newsletter 09
12/3/09
GIFT AID
12:35
Page 1
EVENTS
FRANCIS HOUSE NEWSLETTER SPRING 2009
We are most grateful to everyone who has
already completed a Gift Aid Declaration.
To date over 2000 supporters have signed
up to the scheme.
“The Bails are Off!” – Friday 19th June
Following the Budget in April 2008, the
Chancellor pledged that following the fall
in the basic rate of income tax from 22 to
20% charities will still be able to claim 28p
for every £1 donated. This will be made up
of 25p per £1 plus 3p transitional relief and
will continue until 2011.
Guest speakers Geoff Miller ex county of England
player and now a National Test Selector and starring
Kevin Connolly of BBC’s ‘Dead Ringers’.
Join us for a lunchtime special in the new Gold
Marquee at Lancashire Cricket Club.
Reception drink and 3 course lunch £55.00 per ticket
(£500.00 per table of ten).
Concerts with Chethams School of Music
If you are a UK taxpayer and haven’t
already signed up please consider
completing and returning the slip overleaf,
no donation is too small to be gift aided.
If you are planning a special occasion wedding anniversary, birthday, christening
etc and wish your guests to make their gift
a donation to Francis House, we can supply
small gift envelopes and cards to be sent
out with your invitations.
We can only claim gift aid if the donor pays
UK tax and we have their name and home
address.
Please phone Pauline on 0161 434 7252
or email:
pauline.armitage@francishouse.org.uk
if we can help.
As you will know Francis House has a special
relationship with Chethams through Brigitte and
her family. Last year we enjoyed two wonderful
concerts at the Cathedral and the RNCM. This year
two more concerts are planned.
23rd June at Chethams, Whiteley Hall.
This will be a French Horn Celebration Concert and
the highlight will be Britten’s Serenade for Tenor
Horn and Strings – Tel: 0161 834 9644.
On the 9th November we shall hold another concert
at Manchester Cathedral, programme to be
confirmed.
We take this opportunity of wishing all of our
friends at Chethams congratulations on their 40th
anniversary.
Concert in the Park 2nd August
STANDING ORDER
The majority of our income comes from
fundraising activities and though very
welcome none of them guarantee us
regular income. That is why the supporters
who pay by standing order are so important
to us. Here is a source of income that can be
relied on.
Following our last appeal we now have
nearly 700 loyal friends who have set up
standing orders, many of them have gift
aided their donations so that in 2009 we
will be able to reclaim over £11,000 from
the Inland Revenue. This source of income
guarantees us over £100,000 per year. Our
aim is to raise this even further - and so we
are asking for your help.
If you can consider setting up a Standing
Order please phone Pauline on 0161 434
7252 or email
pauline.armitage@francishouse.org.uk
A big thank you to all who have signed up
already.
Once again we are partnering IMG and Tatton for a
‘Back to the 80’s’ concert starring the Human
League, Belinda Carlisle, ABC and Go West.
Tickets are £29.50
Children 5-16 £20.50
Seniors £20.50
Family ticket £82.00
Booking through Francis House means that a
percentage of the price goes direct to the Hospice.
This year we are also organising the hospitality on
both the Halle and the Party Night.
Ticket and Hospitality Hotline: Judy 01625 583453.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Saturday 5th September - Annual mixed Open
Bowls Tournament at the Drum and Monkey,
Alderley Edge.
Tel: 01625 583112 or egconsultancy@aol.com
Friday 4th December - Annual Ball at Mere Golf &
Country Club
For more information on any of these events
contact Judy on 01625 583453.
Oldham Business Turns Pennies into
Pounds for Children’s Hospice
An Oldham company’s first venture into raising money
for charity has made almost £2500 for Francis House
Children’s Hospice.
The family run Focus Education and Talking Point
Exhibition Centre at Scouthead in Saddleworth
provides teacher’s guides to schools across the UK and
decided to donate 10 pence from every item they sold
between August 2007 and 2008.
A total of £2429 was raised from sales and this money is being used to help
the work of Francis House by funding the care team – it costs £222 per hour
to run the hospice.
Claire Duggan of Talking Point feels the work of the
hospice is something which touches everyone and is
a great help to children and families from Oldham
and the North West. She said:
‘As a family business we wanted to support a charity
which reflected our values and which would provide
help and support for children from the Oldham area
and we are delighted to have found this in Francis
House.’
YOU WON’T LIKE ME WHEN IM ANGRY
David Woodrow showed his true colours as he accepted a generous donation
of toys from Salford’s Lowry Centre Manager, Robert Hallworth.
The pair – who had started to turn a delicate shade of green – joined in the
fun by trying out some of the goodies themselves.
David Woodrow became quite attached to the Hulk gloves and said he wasn’t
sure if he was going to give them back:
“Growling mittens could come in very useful in persuading people to support
us and may become a regular part of my work for the hospice. But seriously,
this donation of toys should bring smiles to many children’s faces as well as
helping us to raise vital funds and so we are very grateful to Hasbro UK for
their kind offer”.
If you think that you know what David is saying why not enter our
competition.
The writer of the chosen caption wins
a prize of a free place at our next
abseiling event.
Please send your entries to Hulk
Competition, Francis House
Fundraising office, Blade House,
Battersea Road, Heaton Mersey,
Stockport, SK4 3EA or
e-mail your suggestion to
andy.glynn@francishouse.org.uk
Don’t forget the Soreen .. David?
One of the all time classic advertising slogans ‘Don’t forget the Soreen
Doreen’ was given a Francis House twist at the CAMRA Winter Ales Beer
Festival in February.
The company who produce the malt loaf offered to join our stand at the
event and provide drinkers with pieces of buttered Soreen to help soak up
the ale – and what a success it was.
Fundraiser David Woodrow spent a lot of time with the Soreen team
dishing out the malt bread and taking donations in exchange. He said: “As
well as creating a lot of additional interest at our table the offer of a free
sample provided us with more funds than we had expected as real ale fans
would generously throw money in our buckets as they took a slice”.
On the day Francis House raised more than £2,800 from selling promotional
goods, raffle tickets and donations – including £300 from Soreen.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
FRANCIS HOUSE NEWSLETTER SPRING 2009
7th MARCH
Diva MMTV themed charity ball event
Imperial War Museum,
Salford Quays
Pam 0161 443 2200
8th MARCH
Abseil
Velodrome
David 0161 443 2200
16th APRIL
Corporate Day - Become a
Premiership Player for a day
Manchester United
David 0161 443 2200
23rd APRIL
St. George's day ICE golf competiton.
St. George's Disco at night
Altrincham Old Hall
Pam 0161 443 2200
3rd MAY
All Day Music Charity Gig 11am-11pm
(more bands than last year - 8at present).
Thatched House Pub,
Churchgate, Stockport
Pam 0161 443 2200
9th MAY
Football Charity Ground Collection
(collectors always needed)
Old Trafford - Manchester United
vs. Manchester City
David 0161 443 2200
9th MAY
Metropolitan Hotel Fun Day
to be decided
Pam 0161 443 2200
11th MAY
Viewing Day
Francis House
0161 434 4118
15th MAY
Dance Into Spring. Tickets £40 to include drink
on arrival, 3 course dinner and dance
The Hunting Lodge,
Adlington Hall
Kate 0161 443 2200
9th JUNE
Charity Golf Day - Teams of 3
Davyhulme Park Golf Club
David 0161 443 2200
13th JUNE
Summer Party. £30 a ticket to include welcome
drinks, free entry into raffle, BBQ, DJ and band
Northern Tennis Club
Fiona Armstrong Hall
07961 127548
14th JUNE
Macclesfield 3 Peaks Sponsored Challenge
Tegg's Nose/Cat & Fiddle
Maurice Ireland
01625 829320
19th JUNE
The Bails are Off Luncheon
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Judy 01625 583453
20th JUNE
7-a-side Charity Challenge
Manchester United - Carrington
Academy
David 0161 443 2200
23rd JUNE
Concert
Chetham's School of Music Judy
01625 583453
Verona Sports Tours
0161 703 8161
25th-28th JUNE
Opera Trip
28th JUNE
Abseil/Zip Slide
Baiting Dam, Ripponden
0161 443 2200
5th JULY
City of Manchester 10K Sponsored Run
Sports City Kate
0161 443 2200
2nd AUGUST
Open Air Concert
Tatton Park
Judy 01625 583453
10th SEPTEMBER Charity Golf Day
Stockport
John 0161 456 7904
8th-15th OCTOBER Charity Golf Week
Almerimar, Spain
John 0161 456 7904
17th OCTOBER
The Glass Slipper Family Ball
Adults £65.00 Children £30.00
Shrigley Hall, Pott Shrigley
Karen 0161 428 8871
07827 442007
9th NOVEMBER
Concert
Manchester Cathedral
Judy 01625 583453
DECEMBER
Charity Ball
Mere Golf & Country Club
Judy 01625 583453
ANNUAL RAFFLE
If you do not receive raffle tickets for the Francis House Christmas Draw with this Newsletter and would like to support the raffle, we
will gladly send you some. Phone Pauline on 0161 434 7272 or email: pauline.armitage@francishouse.org.uk
THE NEWSLETTER FROM FRANCIS HOUSE
www.francishouse.org.uk
SPRING 2008
14404 Francis House Newsletter 09
12/3/09
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FRANCIS HOUSE NEWSLETTER SPRING 2009
In the first few months of the year
Francis House has had visits from some
well known friends. Our front cover
shows James with actress Sally
Whittaker (Sally Webster in Coronation
Street). Sally has bravely agreed to run
in the Wilmslow half marathon to raise
funds for Francis House. In February we
had an unannounced visit from Sir
Bobby Charlton who left the lads
speechless and not wanting to wash
their hands! (However one of our
young ladies recognised him as the man
from the Actimel advert!!). In early
March we re-addressed the balance
when Stephen Ireland visited and was
interviewed by the national press as he
launched his new website (which has a
link to our Francis House website).
HAPPY RETIREMENT?!
This month sees the retirement of Sister Francine
who came to work on the Care team in 2001
after many years running nurseries for the
Catholic Children’s Rescue Society. We could wish
Sister a peaceful retirement but in fact she is
continuing to support Francis House by working
with Alan in the shop, carrying out reception
duties and continuing to care for the meeting
hall. Even so we want to take this opportunity of
thanking Sister Francine for all of her dedicated
work over the years and in anticipation of what
she is still going to do in the future.
Stephen has been keen to help Francis House for several years and has made several visits and is
quoted as saying.
“Francis House is a place close to my heart. I love going to visit there and talk to the children and
parents. Francis House performs a vital function for families who may be scared or confused. The
staff do a great job and things don’t get any easier when there is the financial turmoil that there
is at the moment. This is not something that I like to shout about because I don’t want people to
think that I am helping for the sake of publicity. I am committed to helping and will do so for as
long as I can, even when the football is over and done with.”
NORTH
ALLERTON
SCHOOL
North Allerton
School had a most
successful year of
fund raising
finishing with a ball
in November to
raise a fantastic
amount of
£8100.00.
Hmm, I’d like a cheque for £2,500 please.
Some wishes do come true, especially with the help
of the kind people at the Garrick Playhouse
Theatre in Altrincham who collected money during
performances of their Christmas Pantomime,
Aladdin.
Francis House does care for children with incurable conditions but many of them
spend time with us over several years. We differ from the traditional adult
hospice in the amount of care and support we provide for the family as a whole,
offering respite for carers and parents during their time with us. There can be as
many as 200 families involved with the hospice at any one time as we provide
what has been described as a ‘home from home’.
Francis House is staffed by a dedicated team of professionals and a strong body
of volunteers who provide domestic, administrative and fundraising support to
provide the best care for the children and families of the North West.
The charity receives only a small amount of
money from central government and local
authorities and the rest is made up from
our own fundraising efforts.
To stand still we need almost two million
pounds a year, the bulk of the funds being
used to provide the best care for our
children – breaking this down into a more
manageable sum it becomes £222 per hour,
24 hours a day, seven days a week. We
never close.
Looking to the future and the longer lives of many of our children we are
planning to expand to enable us to provide an even better service. During the
1990’s many of the children we cared for lived into their teens, but today we are
seeing a need for care for young people into their late twenties. This is one of
the issues that we hope to address as we look at plans for future expansion and
development.
Friendly Warning!! Be Aware!!
As you are aware we struggle with the fact
that there are several charities with the word
‘Rainbow’ in their name.
At the moment we are receiving many
enquiries from people who are being asked
on their doorstep to sign Direct Debit forms.
This is nothing to do with Francis House. We
are the ‘RAINBOW FAMILY TRUST’ and we do
not carry out door to door collections.
Please tell your friends and neighbours.
There are two routes to cater for all standards of
fitness. You can do the scenic half marathon taking
in Teggs Nose, Shuttlingsloe and Shining Tor or the
more leisurely seven mile walk in the Goyt Valley.
Last year the event raised £20,787.00 and a big
thank you goes to the sponsors Arighi Bianchi.
Why not come along and bring friends and family?
For information ring Maurice on 01625 829320 or
peter.forster@francishouse.org.uk
BOWLING INTO THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORD BOOKS
and RAISING £7043.41 FOR FRANCIS HOUSE
The Lloyd Hotel Bowling Club from Chorlton started to bowl on Saturday October
25th and finishing at 5.00pm on Saturday November 1st, two teams of six players
bowled continuously throughout the week and set a new record of 168hours for
outdoor bowls and raised £7,043.41 for Francis House.
Marco Frigatti, Director of Records at Guinness World
Records presented a certificate to the extremely exhausted
guys on the final day (Saturday 1 November) of the
marathon and confirmed the clubs claim to be the new
Guinness Book of Records holders of the world record for
the longest game of outdoor bowls.
Not only originally guaranteeing to raise £500 with
collections from the audience but they ended up
handing over another £2,000 on top.
The last time I entered a race was at primary school and that was with and egg and spoon so
up until recently I would have laughed at the thought of running 13 miles.
It was the suggestion of Duncan Evans, a trainer at the gym I go to, who first put the idea into
my head and midway through January I went out for the first time with my next door
neighbour, Alison Irving. What surprised me was how quickly you can build up the miles and in just under a month I was running six miles,
often with Alison and a group of mums from my youngest daughter’s school.
The thought of running more than twice that distance is a bit scary at the moment but I’m enjoying the exhilarating feeling it gives me
and the motivating thought of letting people down if I don’t do it.
To push me on I decided to have a reason for doing the miles, more than just getting fit and to run with a goal in mind. I decided to support
Francis House and once I’d phoned the hospice I knew there was no going back – I’ve seen the great work the hospice does for so many
families and children and I think of them when it gets tough and this pushes me on.
Deciding to support the hospice has been a great reason to get out there on those cold and wet days when I’d much rather stay indoors in
the warm. Another bonus is the incentive and encouragement I’ve had from my own family who say they’re proud of me for having a go.
Sally
Sally’s sponsorship page is www.justgiving.com/sallydynevor
Title
The relationship
with American
perfume and
beauty products
company, Kiehl’s,
continues to
blossom. The
company held
an event at House of Fraser in Manchester
where they donated a percentage of their
takings and held a raffle in support of Francis
House.
Coronation Street celebrities, Anthony Cotton
and Tupele Dorgu joined in the fun along with
our very own David Woodrow, seen here
enjoying a Manhattan cocktail.
Almost £400 was raised for the hospice adding to
the amount raised during their opening week.
Thanks to the staff of Kiehl’s for their help,
enthusiasm and generosity.
Forename(s)
Surname
Address
Post Code
Email
I wish the charity to treat:
WATES QUIZ NIGHT TEAM PRESENT
£2000 CHEQUE TO LOCAL HOSPICE
Following a highly successful charity quiz night
held by the Wates Group, their clients and
supply chain raised over £2000 for Francis
House Children’s Hospice.
The event’s success has inspired the team to
start planning next year’s event. We can only
hope that we will gain similar support and be
able to raise as much to help the charity in
2009!
CORNISHMAN
PUB,
WYTHENSHAW
Landlord Michael
Flannagan, friends
and customers joined
together to hold a
charity night and
raised £1,840.00.
Well done and many
thanks to the ‘little
helpers’.
CORRIE STAR SALLY ON THE RUN
Coronation Street actor Sally Whittaker - who plays her namesake Sally Webster in the series is taking part in the Wilmslow Half Marathon at the end of March on behalf of Francis House.
Here are her thoughts about training and running for charity.
Details of Donor:
THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Oh Yes they did!
It’s almost Easter and we’re still talking Christmas.
We felt we had to mention the communication skills of Kate Kenney in being the
catalyst for a mass group of Father Christmas lookalikes taking part in our Santa
Run in December.
Kate, who by coincidence works for communications company the Connaught
Group, began with a couple of friends and by the time she’d finished there were
almost 60 Santas and three companies
taking part to raise money for Francis
House.
As well as Kate’s colleagues there were
runners from two housing associations,
Parkway Housing and the Eastlands
Group and altogether they collected
£1700 for the hospice.
Once again Maurice Ireland and his Prestbury Group
are organising the Macclesfield 3 Peaks challenge.
This event is now in its seventh year.
Gift Aid Declaration
Name of Charity:
RUB THE LAMP AND MAKE A WISH
That day could be at least another decade away with Stephen going through a very good spell
Three Peaks Challenge! 14th June 09
We know that each of our friends,
whatever their background, whatever
their status are important to our work
and we value every bit of help that we
receive.
David
Stephen has had a good season to date and is about to launch a new website linked in to Francis
House.
Francis House is the North West Children’s Hospice.
The hospice was established in 1991 and was only the fifth centre in the UK at
the time it opened. There’s often confusion over the role of Francis House, many
thinking it’s a junior version of the adult hospice where people usually spend
their last days, but nothing could be further from the truth.
You will realise that the economic
situation affects Francis House and our
families but thanks to your generosity
in the past and your continued
commitment, we feel able to ride out
the economic difficulties and still plan
for future development. Whatever
your faith background please keep our
children, their families and the staff
and volunteers in your thoughts and
prayers and whether you celebrate
Easter,
Passover,
New
Year,
Enlightenment Day, Rama Navami or
just greet spring with joy and happiness
may we wish you every blessing and
thank you for being our special friends.
Stephen Ireland was another of our visiting friends this month.
FRANCIS HOUSE NEWSLETTER SPRING 2009
WHAT A LOAD OF SANTAS
We are so lucky to have so many
generous friends who take the work of
Francis House to heart and who want to
help us to help our children and their
families.
We are also very conscious that many of
our friends are struggling as a result of
the economic slowdown. Redundancy,
loss of homes, loss of pensions are
making life difficult for so many of you
and we want you to know that you are
in our thoughts and prayers, named
and unnamed.
FRANCIS HOUSE NEWSLETTER SPRING 2009
THE HEART OF MANCHESTER
RAISED OVER £6,000
(please tick as appropriate)
the enclosed donation of
£
The pupils and staff at St Peter's RC High School,
Specialist College for Business and Enterprise,
and Kate Puc from Francis House, compiled the
Heart of Manchester calendar for 2009 as
Business and Enterprise project for the school
and raised in excess of 6,000 for Francis House
Richard Fleeshman, Michael LeVell and Kirsty
Howard helped us to launch the calendar at the
Christmas Tree Festival. A big thank you goes to
all of the year 9 pupils and staff at St Peters
school.
the donation(s) of
which I made on:
all donations I make from the
date of this declaration until I
notify you otherwise
WE ONLY VISIT THE FINEST ESTABLISHMENTS
all donations I have made from
1st April 2003 and all
donations I make from the
date of this declaration until I
notify you otherwise
Or so Kate Puc would have us believe, although she is often pictured at the
best gigs. Here she is mixing with the royalty of clubs paying a visit to St
Kentigerns. This was more than a social call though as Kate collected a
cheque for £5,150.00 which was raised by Kay Burns & Ena Kennedy by
holding a Charity Dance organized by Kevin Fitzpatrick. Kevin is the newly
crowned ‘King of Clubs’ – St Kentigerns was voted the best in the UK at the
end of last year.
A very special thanks to Margaret
Murray and her family who
donated £2072.00 to the total, an
amount raised in memory of Martin
Murray, who himself was a great
supporter of Francis House. Martin
sadly passed away on December 3rd
1995
£
as Gift Aid donations.
I am a UK Tax Payer.
MANCHESTER LADIES AUXILIARY
Manchester Ladies Auxiliary raised £1000
during a very successful fund raising year, but
sadly somewhat darkened by the death of one
of their members Eunice Cullen who was a
great supporter of the Hospice. We send our
condolences to her family.
Signature
Date
Registered Charity No. 328659