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For Rutland: Improving Lives in Rutland

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Night & Day

Night & Day

Established in 2014, For Rutland is hosting its Good & New Clothing sale this month at The Rutland Showground...

FOR RUTLAND it was formed in 2014 with a view to improving lives in the local community, but even its founders Elizabeth Mills and Trish Ruddle could scarcely have imagined that a year off its 10th anniversary, the service would have brought over £8m into the county in the form of grant funding and benefits for local recipients... nearly £1m each year.

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Its current chairperson is Jeanette Warner, and together, the charity and its volunteers work tirelessly to raise the £87,000 a year to fund specialist advisors who provide free, confidential, independent and non-medical advice for those living in the county with long-term health conditions.

“One in four people in the UK suffer from long term conditions, such as cancer, strokes, dementia, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and mental illness. This affects every part of our community and people of all ages,” says Jeanette.

“The point of diagnosis is often just the beginning. Living with the practical problems associated with long-term conditions can be overwhelming at a time when people are at their most vulnerable.”

Good & New Clothing Sale

This year’s sale takes place on Friday 24th March from 5pm via ticketed ‘early bird’ entry and on Saturday 25th March from 8.30am, at the Rutland Showground, with all items half-price.

The service helps local residents, often trying to cope with their own, or a spouse’s long term conditions, to maximise their income, manage debts, and the service provides help with employment, housing, relationships, access to care services or referrals to other services.

Among the ways the service raises its funds are The Grand Bottle Tombola at the Rutland Show, and its most popular event, the Good & New Clothing Sale which is usually held at Barnsdale Lodge but this year, due to a refurbishment of the hotel, will instead take place at the Rutland Showground. The sale typically attracts over 650 people and raises over £50,000 a year with designer items including accessories like shoes, bags and millinery, as well as items for gents.

Whilst the event is open to the public on Saturday morning 25th March, you can enjoy first dibs at a ticketed VIP preview evening on Friday 24th March, for £20/ticket, which also includes a glass of Champagne and canapés, provided free of charge to the charity by Hambleton Hall, who support the event alongside sponsors Hegarty Solicitors. n

Find Out More: For Rutland raises funds to pay for two Specialist Advisers, who provide non-medical advice to people of all ages living with long-term health conditions see www.forrutland.org.uk.

Tickets for The Good & New Clothing Sale’s Friday event can be obtained by emailing info@forrutland.org.uk, and on Saturday, admission is £5 on the door, with everything half-price from the previous evening.

Your Local Air Ambulance

3,119 PEOPLE were grateful for the presence of the area’s air ambulance in 2022. Funded entirely by donations and receiving no money from the NHS or from national or local government, the service exists only through the generosity of its supporters, fundraisers and donors.

The service took to the skies of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire 20 years ago, and five years later extended its operating radius to include the counties of Derbyshire, Leicester and Rutland from its hub at Nottingham Heliport

In 2022 the service attended 1,069 medical emergencies (cardiac arrests, for example) as well as 839 road traffic collisions as well as falls, or sports injuries and it provided help to casualties of equestrian incidents, plus industrial and agricultural casualties, often in remote or rural areas.

Flying at up to 185mph, the service’s two AgustaWestland AW109SP aircraft cover the territory staffed with critical care paramedics, doctors and pilots. The aircraft both fly during daylight hours.

In addition, the charity has the Children’s Air Ambulance, a vital inter-hospital transfer service which covers the whole country. The charity also operates two Critical Care Cars with doctors and critical care paramedics with the ability to anaesthetise, intubate and administer specialist drugs. n

Find Out More: Each mission that Your Local Air Ambulance service flies costs £1,700, raised entirely by donations. To make a regular donation, play the service’s lottery or for information about the charity’s network of 56 shops, see www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk.

Matt Hampson Foundation

IT’S THE AIM of the Matt Hampson Foundation to inspire and support young people seriously injured through sport. Namesake Matt – or Hambo as he’s known – sustained a life-changing injury whilst practising for an under 21 Six Nations match against Scotland in 2005.

In what was described as a freak accident during a scrummage, Mat’s neck became dislocated, severing his spinal cord, paralysing him from the next down and requiring the permanent assistance of a ventilator to breathe.

A foundation was formed in 2011 to raise money for a facility that would provide advice, support and therapy for those with similar

Find Out More: life-changing conditions. Work began in 2016 and the facility at Burrough on the Hill opened in 2018. At its heart is the Get Busy Living centre and its Challenge which invites donations to expand its gym and social areas and create a new hydrotherapy pool. n

How Many Good Causes

There are about 166,000 charities in the UK, with a total annual turnover of just under £48bn. Charities in the UK spend over £40bn a year, and employ 827,000 people. Source: NCVO.

Stamford Civic Society

STAMFORD was the first of England’s Conservation Areas created back in 1967, and it’s no accident that the town has maintained its sense of commitment to preserving its unique look and feel since. However, predating even the town’s protected status, Stamford Civic Society has been looking out for the town’s interests since 1962.

In addition to ensuring the preservation of the town, the Society organises meetings with speakers and trips to local ‘of interest’ places for members. Its ‘hands on’ Urban Group, was incorporated into the society itself in 2013 and now performs everything from a bit of sweeping and painting to keeping an eye out for vandalism... in short, doing whatever’s necessary to keep the town looking smart whilst working with the town/district councils and other groups such as Stamford in Bloom. With over 200 members, the group was responsible for creating blue plaques in 2022 recognising three of the town’s famous sons; Frank Pick, Colin Dexter and Harry Brown. n

Anna’s Hope

IN FEBRUARY 2005, Anna Hughes of Stamford was diagnosed with a brain tumour and after a 15 month battle, lost her life to the condition. Her parents Carole and Rob Hughes vowed that they would try our best in the future to help children with brain tumours, to try to improve their chances of survival and support their rehabilitation.

The two founded the charity Anna’s Hope, the aims of which are to help children and their families during cancer treatment, help to provide specialist neurorehabilitation, facilitate family support groups and to raise awareness of brain tumours, the side effects of a tumour and the fact that their treatment can have a significant impact on a youngster’s learning, physical and emotional ability.

“The charity is now in its 17th year and has helped hundreds of children and their families and we are proud to have influenced and been able to invest in a pioneering dedicated neuro rehabilitation service called Brainbow,” says Carole.

“We are also proud to have raised awareness of brain tumours which is the biggest cancer killer of children and young people and helped those who survive reach their full potential. Without Anna, this may not have been possible. Anna has changed our lives and now she is changing the lives of others.” n

Find Out More: For more information about Anna’s Hope and to donate please visit their website www.annas-hope.co.uk. For those who want to enter the Half Marathon or the Anna’s Hope 5K Fun Run in the Great Eastern Run, which take place on 15th October 2023 visit www.letsdothis.com/gb/e/great-eastern-run-16703.

LIVINGIN A RURAL COMMUNITY has many benefits, but in the event of a serious medical emergency, it can also mean that a casualty takes a little longer to reach.

Fortunately, there’s a team of volunteers across Rutland keen to improve the chances of reaching a patient as soon as possible. Rutland Community First Responders are members of the community who undertake to undergo training and provide a uniformed first response service for their local communities, equipped with an AED defibrillator, oxygen and various monitors.

There are currently eight such responders based in villages like Langham, Cottesmore, Greetham, Barrowden, Empingham and North Luffenham. Dispatched automatically by 999 call handlers when appropriate, these First Responders can often reach a patient fast, providing a calm presence of mind, reassuring the patient and their relatives, liaising with paramedics. Crucially their early intervention with patients requiring CPR or the use of an AED can also dramatically improve someone’s chances of survival.

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