Ambulance cheque Young farmers raise £1,000’s

MEMBERSof Chelwood Bridge Rotary Club visited the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, at Almondsbury, to present a cheque for £1200. The money was raised at an online auction run by the club last November.

Rotarian Colin Robinson said: “Whilst there we learnt that in the first two months of this year the GWAAC has been called out 308 times and on average they treat five patients a day.

“We also had a tour of their training facilities and were shown over the helicopter.”

Second marathon

FROME Young Farmers Club has donated £5,000 to two charities after holding three fundraising events last year.

At their meeting in March, club members handed cheques for £2,500 each to Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony and the Farming Community Network raised from its Frome YFC Summer Barn Bash at the West Woodlands Showground in July, the Frome YFC Annual Charity Hand Car Wash at the Bell at Standerwick in November and the Frome YFC Annual Charity Tractor run at the West Woodlands Showground in December –when 144 tractors took part.

A club spokesperson said: “We could not have raised these funds without the tremendous support of those that attended the 2022 fundraising events, our generous sponsors, and the hard work of the Frome YFC club members that volunteer to run these events.

“We are extremely proud to support these charities and the incredible work that they do.”

AMANDAPalmer from Congresbury is running the London Marathon for the second year in a row to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK.

Amanda, aged 49, has been an avid runner her whole life and she ran the London Marathon – her first ever marathon – last October, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in December 2021.

She said: “When I was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I was so close to cancelling my place in the London Marathon 2022, but I have an amazing support network around me who helped me realise that a Parkinson’s diagnosis isn’t the end of the world and that this was my chance to show Parkinson’s that I was still in control.

“I really enjoyed running the marathon and I benefit greatly from the positive impacts keeping active has on managing my symptoms and my mental and physical health. I enjoyed it so much I signed up to run this year too!”

Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, and currently there is no cure. It affects around 145,000 people in the UK and every hour two more people are diagnosed. There are over 40 symptoms, from tremor to pain to anxiety.

Amanda has set herself a fundraising target of raising £2,100 for Parkinson’s UK.

She said: “It’s so important for me to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s UK because I want to show people that if you are diagnosed with Parkinson’s, you still have a future and do things that you enjoy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

This year, 200 runners will be running the London Marathon to fundraise for Parkinson’s UK. It takes place on April 23rd.

Details: https://events.parkinsons.org.uk/fundraiser/amandapalmer/london-marathon-2023 parkinsons.org.uk/fundraising