Become a Friend Winter 2014

Become a friend Winter 2014

New Year Message from Heather Wood

Christmas at Home Appeal George Howarth and his family featured in the Christmas Appeal at the end of last year.

They have been involved with Rainbow Trust since December 2012 after George was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer.

Chief Executive Welcome to the first 2014 edition of Become a Friend and Happy New Year wishes from all of us at Rainbow Trust. © Phil

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Most children get chicken pox at some point, and George was no exception. But after the spots cleared up, he was left with a limp. Scans later revealed that it was Lymphoma.

“Nothing could have prepared us for hearing those earthshattering words. Our whole life turned upside down that very second.”

George was told that he would need five lots of chemotherapy. Despite this, scans then showed that his tumour had returned and he needed more treatment. The family was constantly at the hospital, often for weeks on end and in semi-isolation. “It was a frustrating and very lonely time. We saw a poster in the hospital about Rainbow Trust and the support it offers to families like ours, and got in touch.”

“As parents you never contemplate the thought that your child may die before you and yet we had to prepare ourselves for that possibility.”

The Howarth family would like to say thank you to their Family Support Worker Kath for all she has done for them. “She would drive to hospital and support us and would play with George to help keep his spirits up and give us a break. Not only does she help with the practical side of things but she is a tower of strength to us emotionally, providing great company and comfort during the lonely times. We trust her completely and when we’re feeling overwhelmed by the demands of George’s illness, she is there to pick us up and help us keep it together. Thanks to Kath, our family is stronger than ever.”

With the hurly burly of Christmas behind us life begins to settle back into a normal routine through January – and that is usually different for each of us. For the hundreds of families we work with their ‘normal’ won’t return with the New Year.

We know that with your continuing help we will be able to support them through daily chaos and uncertainty which so often becomes their normal as they cope with the reality of caring for a sick child.

Your commitment and energy is inspirational and every hour you give makes a difference; stretching our resources further to ensure we maximise every opportunity to raise profile, support effectively and raise much needed funds.

Thank you

Just two words – but they are said with heartfelt gratitude to each and every volunteer. I look forward to seeing you during 2014, in the office and shops at events and of course in the community.

We are delighted to tell you that the appeal has raised over £12,000 to date with more still coming in.

Thank you!

We have so many different ways – large and small – how people can get involved with Rainbow Trust - so why not give Andrea a call on 01372 220043 and pop in for a chat and a cuppa.

Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, 6 Cleeve Court, Cleeve Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7UD Registered Charity No. 1070532 rainbowtrust.org.uk

Volunteers Making a Difference We now have 25 volunteers working alongside our care teams; here are a couple of their stories.

which has meant that the mother can go home for a few hours. This has been greatly appreciated by the family as it enables them to have additional breaks; with Annabel and Eleanor both being able to slot in at times to ensure muchneeded support.

Annabel and Eleanor take the girls for outings and the parents say this enables them to have ‘me time’. Mum says, “It is the only time I can have a relaxing bath or just to be able to finish a cup of tea is lovely.”

The little girl is currently awaiting major heart surgery.

Annabel and Eleanor have already discussed with the family what kind of support they will need during this time.

Shelly (pictured below with Bradley Lowery age 3) joined Rainbow Trust’s Durham team in December 2012 as a Family Support Volunteer and works either one or two days a week, depending on her shifts. She helps provide support to children and families, taking them to soft-play areas, or accompanying them to a hospital ward.

“Last week I was looking after a baby who had a bone marrow transplant. I had met his mother previously, and I accompanied them to the ward. I feel here like I am making a difference, like I am doing some good, unlike in any other role.”

Shelly says “whilst volunteering with Rainbow Trust I have come across so much positivity that it keeps me going. I have worked with a 14-year old girl who has had cancer since birth. It was so refreshing to see a positive teenager – so upbeat regardless of her issues.”

“A volunteer is a very special person because they are giving up their own time to be with families because they want to. It is dedication in my eyes.”

Rainbow Trust Father

“The Family Support Workers have been so welcoming, so lovely. When you join a place you sometimes feel a bit of an outsider, but they have made me feel one of the team.”

Annabel (pictured above) volunteers with Eleanor from the Southampton care team. Where they have been supporting a family over the past couple of years. The mother and both girls have the same medical condition; which involves cardiac problems.

The youngest girl is three years old and has very complex cardiac problems; she spent most of her first year of life in hospital.

Eleanor commented: “Annabel’s involvement has been extremely valuable to this family. We have given support as a team by accompanying the mother and both children to hospital appointments, enabling the father to go to work.

Annabel has occupied the children while the mother has spoken to me about appointment outcomes, test results and any concerns.”

When the little girl has been admitted to hospital Annabel has gone to the hospital ward for a morning or afternoon

If you would like to know more about the different volunteer opportunities we have with our care teams; or if you would like to have a chat generally about volunteering please contact Andrea on 01372 220043 or email andrea.kelley@rainbowtrust.org.uk

News from the Community Fundraising Team As the nights drew in and the temperature began to plummet, the community team warmed themselves up with a fantastic feast of fundraising firsts.

Woodcode Nurseries, Wallington In October, visitors were treated to a frighteningly fun week at Woodcote Nurseries in Wallington; where pumpkin bowling, witch hat hoopla and broomstick treasure trail were the order of the day. Visitors had a smashing time as they attempted to knock down all the pins on our pumpkin bowling alley whilst also getting the opportunity to have photos taken with an array of creepy crawlies. A big thank you to all the staff at Woodcote Nurseries for all their help, as well as our fantastic volunteers, including all our helpers from Wallington Girls Sixth Form.

The Big Hour

Candle Light Walk

A big thank you to Hannah Wiltshire, who volunteered for the Big Hour 2013 in Bristol. Hannah (pictured below) runs her own caking-making business in Bath and kindly volunteered her services to teach some of the children and their families who are supported by Rainbow Trust how to decorate a very tasty centrepiece cake. Each family sold slices of their cakes, or raffled the cake as a prize to raise money for Rainbow Trust in celebration of the Big Hour.

Thank you to all of you that helped to make our very first Candle Light Walk at Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking a huge success. Over 120 children and adults, guided by candles and torches, followed Santa to the top of Ranmore Hill to help us raise over £1,000. The walkers were greeted at the top by the Allsorts Community Choir, who also led a minute’s silence to reflect and remember children that have been supported by Rainbow Trust. The evening was concluded with a fabulous firework display courtesy of Denbies Wine Estate. Thank you to everyone for making the evening a magical success.

Thank You!

Bookham Carol Concert In December Rainbow Trust’s Community Team held their annual Bookham Carol Concert, which certainly helped us get in the festive mood. The congregation was treated to an array of well-known carols and Christmas songs as well as speeches and readings by people associated with Rainbow Trust. The team also had a busy month being Santa’s Elves and wrapping shoppers presents, in the run up to Christmas.

1st Purton & Lydiard Scouts The 1st Purton and Lydiard Scouts chose Rainbow Trust as their community charity for their annual fireworks display.

Our lovely volunteers Noel Ansell, Colin Mackay and Adam Dearsley dressed up as George, Zippy and Bungle, collecting donations from spectators and manning a merchandise stall.

They raised a brilliant £311 – well done!

Lorraine, Genni and Nick want to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers who have helped at events throughout the year and to wish you a very Happy New Year.

News from our Friends of Rainbow Trust Essex Friends The Essex Friends held another very successful sponsored walk, raising a fantastic £1,004.

Venus House from Quilters School Billericay has been supporting Rainbow Trust and has raised £606.55.

The Essex Friends were very fortunate to benefit again this year from the Father Christmas sleigh collections – the collections along with other Christmas events raised an amazing £5,145.91.

A huge thank you to Brian Eagling and all the volunteers that helped with the collections. It’s a fantastic amount and all the hours you put in to raise money for less fortunate children is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your continued support from everyone at Rainbow Trust.

Hampshire Friends

Thank you to the Hampshire Friends who hosted another successful Rotherwick Fair in October; raising over £23,000 for Rainbow Trust, a fantastic amount and complete testament to the hard work and commitment of the committee, with special thanks to Sarah Bunting, Annie Wainwright, Katie Tottenham and Belinda Chaffer for ensuring the smooth running of this event.

The Hampshire Friends brought their fundraising in 2013 to a close by hosting two further events; their annual wreathmaking workshop proved extremely popular and then on 17 December Bella Davies managed a Year 7 and 8 Disco at the Rotherwick Village Hall which raised an amazing

£3,060.

Another very successful year of fundraising, thank you from everyone at Rainbow Trust.

Essex Friends: sponsored walk, Venus House, Father Christmas Sleigh collections and Christmas collections

Deutsche Bank staff vote for Rainbow Trust At the end of 2013 Rainbow Trust received the fantastic news that we had been chosen by the staff of Deutsche Bank to be one of their two charity partners in 2014. Working with the investment bank for the coming year is a fantastic opportunity to raise a huge amount of money, around £755,000! We would like to thank all the volunteers who helped significantly with securing two-thirds of the employee votes through friends and family.

Rainbow Trust is incredibly grateful to all the Friends Groups who work tirelessly to raise funds and raise our profile in their local areas. If you are interested in joining or starting a Friends Group, Lorraine would love to hear from you on 01372 220085. Thank you!

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