Life
ISS UE 3 1
Editors Letter ........................................5
Keele University .................................22
Painting Competition...........................8
What s On ...........................................23
Brighter Futures. ................................10
Staffordshire Police............................24
Eco-Project .........................................10
Green Feet Hunt ................................25
Free Parking........................................11
Men Unite............................................26
Art Exhibition .....................................11
University Hospital of North
New Vic Theatre.................................12
Midlands..............................................27
Fundraising Event..............................14
Gardening...........................................28
Contributor Appeal ...........................15
Alice Charity .......................................29
Shop Local ..........................................16
Women s Institute...............................30
Government Funding........................17
Staffordshire County Council............32
Children s Competition.....................20
Quiz Corner ........................................33
NEW VIC THEATRE
NEW VIC THEATRE
Sunny Side Up, a John Godber Company & Theatre Royal Wakefield Production, will be at the New Vic from October 26 to October 30. Sunny Side Up is the hilarious and moving account of a struggling Yorkshire coast B&B and the people who run it. Join down to earth proprietors Barney, Cath and Tina as they share their stories of awkward clients, snooty relatives and eggs over easy, in this seaside feel good rollercoaster which digs into what staycations are all about. If you re thinking of holidaying at home this year why not book into the Sunny Side boarding House soon? Written, directed and starring John Godber with Jane Thornton, from the West End hit Scary Bikers, Sunny Side Up is Godber s latest play, told in his signature style, which blends authenticity and pathos as he addresses the problems of levelling up, leaving home and never forgetting where you come from.
And New Vic Theatre s festive spectacular for 2021 is set to be Beauty and the Beast, which will run from November 26 through to January 29. This Christmas, discover the original Beauty and The Beast, and fall in love with a true classic. A spokesman for the New Vic said: Our exceptional creative team are back together once again to create a show full of festive joy. Expect enchanting storytelling, music, humour and plenty of magical moments as we bring this wellknown tale to life in our spectacular trademark style. When Bella s family unwittingly doom her to imprisonment in a castle with a beast, Bella believes she is there to clean; her sisters believe she s about to be eaten. When she meets The Beast, what will happen ? A beloved fable that has been inspiring young and old for generations, join us at the New Vic this year and let us charm all ages of your family with a story where first impressions are not all they seem, and love and kindness have the power to change the world.
To find out more, to purchase tickets, and to get up to date information on any of the above shows, go online to: www.newvictheatre.org.uk.
FUNDRAISING EVENT
Sun shone for annual fundraiser
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scenic garden was the setting for a recent fundraising event by the Newcastle-based Tri Services and Veterans Support Centre. The sun shone for the wellattended event which was staged at the Old Hall in Madeley and saw lots of activities and displays for visitors to enjoy. A spokesman for Tri Services said: We held our Annual Garden fundraising event at the Old Hall Madeley on September 5 courtesy of Gary and Simon White. It had been scheduled for July 4 but Covid forced us to cancel the event plus it rained heavily on that day too. The weather was fantastic as was the turnout by the locals. In the garden we had Bushcraft, Military memoribilia, pyrography (wood burning) demonstrations, Models for Heroes, Staffordshire War Gamers, SSAFA, Help for Heroes, Air Cadets from 435 Sqn, The Cheshire Bugles and Drums.
RBL Bikers, a Ferret Scout car and two vintage cars. There was also a Tombola and raffle with lots of prizes to be had and free tea and coffee for all. Visitors included Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Pritpal Singh Nagi MBE and his wife Ruby, the Mayor of Newcastle under Lyme Ken Owen, accompanied by Mayoress Rachel Eaton, the High Sheriff of Staffordshire James Friend and his wife Sanda. All of the visitors spent time talking to as many people as possible and enjoyed their time with us. The spokesman added: All in all it was a great event for all concerned and we would like to thank all of our volunteers and supporters who worked tirelessly to make the event a success and to the public for coming along and supporting us on the day. Funds raised have not yet been fully counted but we are close to £1000, thank you all for your generosity.
Our final thanks are to Gary and Simon for their help and support and generosity in allowing us to host the event in their garden, thank you both. For further information go online to: https://veteransupportcentre.o rg. Photos from the Tri Services and Veterans Support Centre Facebook page.
CONTRIBUTOR APPEAL
We need you!
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E, here at the Newcastle Life Magazine, always strive to help promote and celebrate all things about life in this area but we often need your help to do this. Whether you have a story to tell about an achievement you, or one of your family members, has recently gained; or you have perhaps set yourself a challenge all in aid of charity; maybe you have a community event coming up which you would like to tell our readers all about; or perhaps you just wish to simply write a letter about what makes you happy about living in Newcastle-under-Lyme - we would love to hear from you. We are also on the look out for potential regular contributors to our community magazine maybe you are a local historian who could tell our readers about snippets of history from yesteryear in the area; or maybe you are a health and/or fitness expert who would like to pass on their knowledge to help others; maybe you are a local councillor who would like to let residents
know what you and your colleagues have been up to lately; or maybe you are a garden nature enthusiast who would like to submit regular reports about your latest findings we would love to hear from you too. Please email our Editor Belinda at hargreavespr@outlook.com
SHOP LOCAL
Love Local discount scheme launched
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new loyalty card has been unveiled by Jubilee2 to help boost footfall in Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre.
The Love Local scheme launched in August and enables direct debit and annual members as well as customers who pay for swimming lessons to access advertised deals, promotions and discounts from a range of retailers in the town. The loyalty card is being funded by Newcastle-under-Lyme Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Newcastleunder-Lyme Borough Council to help increase local spend and visitor numbers in the high street. The initiative encourages Jubilee2 members who receive up to three hours of free parking at the council's School Street and Brunswick Street car parks and swimming lesson families to visit local businesses either before or after their regular leisure visits. Newcastle-under-Lyme BID Manager Alex Taylor said: The new Love Local loyalty card
scheme is designed to encourage more residents to shop locally and visit their local high street. Cardholders can present the card to access discounts, promotions and special offers in participating stores, cafes, bars, restaurants, and market traders in the town centre. Businesses participating in the scheme, including Preen, Fireaway Pizza and Lymelight Boulevard, will benefit from greater promotion of their company and increased spending in their stores. We have been working with the Council and Jubilee2 on pulling the scheme together, and with such a fantastic range of shops in Newcastle, we really hope it will boost footfall and encourage more customers to shop locally. The new loyalty card is now available from reception at Jubilee2. Councillor Stephen Sweeney, cabinet member for finance, town centres and growth, said: We re delighted to work in partnership with Newcastle-under-Lyme BID on this mutually beneficial scheme. We want to encourage our valued leisure customers, who are back to visiting Jubilee2 several times a week, to celebrate and support their local shops in Newcastle town centre at this time. Offering them a range of exclusive discounts for a variety of quality services is a great way to achieve this. Creating vibrant town centres, where everyone can shop, is one of our main priorities; significant improvements are underway in Newcastle, as well as Kidsgrove, to help them adapt to long-term changes in how we use our high streets thanks to more than £52 million from the Government s advanced Town Deals Fund and Future High Streets Fund. We re making fantastic progress in breathing new life into our historic Newcastle market as part of this major transformation programme and it s great to see that several stallholders are thinking about signing up to the Love Local scheme. The scheme has the potential to be rolled out across the borough but is initially being piloted within the boundary of the BID. To find out which businesses are enrolled on the scheme and their current offers, please visit www.newcastleunderlyme.org/love-local-card. More information about Jubilee2 membership and swimming lessons is available at www.jubilee2.com.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Makeovers for subways in town
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ubways in Newcastle are receiving a makeover thanks to funding from the Government. The project has been organised by Newcastle-underLyme Borough Council using High Street funding from the Government. A spokesman for the council said: Our subways transformation project is coming on a treat. We ve been given £1 million of advanced Town Deal funding from the Government to spend on various schemes to facilitate regeneration and economic growth in Newcastle and we re using a small part of that money to make key pedestrian routes into the town centre more attractive, welcoming and safer. The transformation of the five subway barrels off the Grosvenor sunken roundabout includes: New specialist tiling manufactured locally by Digital Ceramics Custom Tiles featuring bright designs based on artwork gathered during the borough's successful 30 year campaign in Heart of England in Bloom; Murals by We are Culla depicting positive messages on staying safe, being kind and welcoming people to the town; CCTV in each passage, adding to the existing cameras installed in the centre of the roundabout and; Landscaping to the perimeter of the garden. The spokesman added: It s all about making the subway more pleasant and attractive for people walking through and it complements a larger programme of improvements currently taking place at the Grosvenor sunken roundabout. One subway user we spoke to said the improvements lift her spirits and brighten up her day.
CHILDREN S COMPETITION
Creative winner receives special visit
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wo police dogs have made a special visit to a Newcastle school as a prize for the winner of a Staffordshire Police-led colouring competition. PD Tiger and PD Archie made the visit to Ellison Primary Academy in Ellison Street, Newcastle. The visit was a surprise to competition winner seven-year-old Aria, who impressed the judges with her 3D police-themed design. PC Natasha Egar, who helped organise the competition, said: Aria s entry was really impressive and an out-of-the-ordinary entry which really captured the imagination. Dog-handler, PC Rob Mountford, was pleased to make the visit with the police dogs and spent some time with school children outdoors, demonstrating some of the tasks and tricks the PDs are able to carry out. He said: It was brilliant to see the children so captivated by the dogs, and to show them the types of work that they do, while also recognising all the fantastic entries that the pupils submitted to the competition. PC Egar added: It was such a lovely day and
great to be able to go out to the school and engage with the pupils for the first time in a long while, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The visit was Covid safe, conducted outside, with social-distancing between officers and pupils, and it really helped us see how life is returning to a sort of new normal within our communities. I think the class was the envy of the school that day, and Aria couldn t believe that she had won. The competition was run in partnership with Morrisons in Newcastle who kindly donated a £15 Kids Choice voucher and an activity book to Aria alongside her prize-winning visit. Second prize was won by eight-year-old Kayleigh of St Margaret s C of E Junior School, who is to receive a paint book, play dough, and confectionery for her entry. While the youngster in third place, Sophia of Ravensmead Primary School, received some art materials including crayons, paints, glitter and paint brushes. The Community Champions at Morrisons, on Goose Street, who arranged the prizes, said: We have loved seeing all the things the children have created and the talent the children have shown has been amazing. During Covid it has been hard for everyone and to be involved in this competition has helped the children to focus on something else. All the entries were amazing and it must of been so hard to pick the winners. Well done to all the children who took part. To find out more information about community policing in your area, visit Staffordshire Police s website at: https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/.
KEELE UNIVERSITY
Students support local charities
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ore than 70 students from Keele University s Business School have worked alongside local charities to support their recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of a social enterprise module taught by Dr Xuebing Cao and Dr Moshood Bello, the students worked in small groups to help 11 local non-profit organisations such as the Alice Charity, Brighter Futures, and Canine Partners find practical solutions to real life challenges they were facing. The students interviewed CEOs and representatives from the organisations and provided a range of recommendations to help them overcome issues they are facing such as ways they can adapt their business model in accordance with Covid, suggesting new marketing techniques, and ways to increase the success of fundraising activities. Florian Michelmann, a third-year international student, said: The module provided me with new insight on the work and mission of non-profit organisations and the challenges they face. I really liked that guest speakers were invited to describe their individual experiences in different businesses. Moreover, the group assessment helped me to strengthen my skills regarding organising projects, and allowed me to take a new perspective of business and management. Working with Alice Charity was superb, and we worked with their HR director to provide a
number of recommendations including ways to help them attract the right talent to work at the social enterprise and advising them to consider changing their branding to better represent their services as they are currently very femaleorientated through their logo and use of imagery." These recommendations were then presented to the organisations through online group presentations and a report, with many of the organisations giving positive feedback and supporting the students recommendations. Kayla Poole, HR Director at Alice Charity, said: It was an absolute pleasure to work with the students and hear their ideas and solutions to organisational problems. They came to each problem with fresh, innovate and creative ideas. Erin Sohnrey, a second-year Human Resource Management and International Business student, said: The experience of working with Brighter Futures has made me more aware of how much Staffordshire is affected by homelessness and poverty and how this is linked to other socio-economic problems such as mental illness, helplessness and exploitation. The module taught me how HR can support individuals who may come from difficult circumstances and the important role that social enterprises play. In my opinion, I think the organisation benefitted by the work we did and suggestions we made, and now fellow students are more familiar with a range of societal issues.
WHAT S ON Castle Artisan Market Every third Sunday of the month. Monthly Artisan Market held in the historic market town of Newcastleunder-Lyme. Celebrating the best local makers, bakers and creators with an exciting mix of live music and street food too. Details: www.facebook.com/castleartisan. The General Market Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday between 9am and 4pm selling a wide range of goods.
Saturday, September 25 Newcastle-under-Lyme Foodstival between 11am and 5pm at Brampton Park. Get your tongue tingling with a selection of tasty foods and delicious drinks. There will be a refreshing array of hot and cold drinks including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to tickle everyone s taste buds. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/237256734 547083 Monday, September 27
The Antiques Market Operated by the Antique Forum Group every Tuesday and Saturday between 8am and 3pm, selling a range of antiques, collectables and vintage items. The Car Boot, Bric-a-Brac and Collectibles Market Operated by the Antique Forum Group every Thursday between 8am and 3pm, selling a range of bric-a-brac and collectable items. The Farmers' Market Every fourth Friday of each month around the Guildhall and alongside the general market, between 9am and 2.30pm, bringing together food from local and regional producers and also periodic craft and creative makers. For further details about Newcastle s markets, go online to: www.newcastlestaffs.gov.uk.
Footprints Indian Night at 6.30pm at Evening Spice, Madeley. Fundraising night. Details: www.footprintsanimalsanctuary.co.uk October 20 to October 23 Absurd Person Singular at the New Vic Theatre. Details and tickets: www.newvictheatre.org.uk. October 26 to October 30 Sunny Side Up at the New Vic Theatre. Details and tickets: www.newvictheatre.org.uk. November 26 to January 29 Beauty and the Beast at the New Vic Theatre. Details and tickets: www.newvictheatre.org.uk.
Running until September 18 The Girl Next Door at the New Vic Theatre. Details and tickets: www.newvictheatre.org.uk.
Please note that the information in this feature was correct at the time of print but all events are subject to change. Please check with the venues for updates. Do you have a public/community event coming up which you would like to appear in our What s On feature? Email what, when, where, etc, to our Editor Belinda at hargreavespr@outlook.com.
STAFFORDSHIRE POLICE
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eighbourhood police officers got on their bikes for a charity recently and raised more than £600 in donations.
The officers from Staffordshire Police were fundraising during a crime-fighting initiative and raised a total of £627 for North Staffordshire charity, Alice. To coincide with the final week of the world s biggest cycle race officers pedalled for pounds at shopping centres across the area during Staffordshire Police s Business Crime week of action. The money raised during the Tour de Alice will go to funding the work of the Alice charity, which supports disadvantaged and vulnerable families in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-underLyme. Officers from Stoke North Neighbourhood Policing Team, including area commander Chief Inspector Simon Brownsword, pedalled from noon to 2pm each day from July 12 and July 16 at Asda in Tunstall, Tesco in Hanley, Morrisons in Festival Park, and finally, the Potteries Centre. Sergeant Charlie Emmett, of Stoke North NPT, said: It was a busy week with lots of people stopping to say hello and ask questions during Business Crime week of action. We raised awareness of how to tackle crimes affecting businesses and offered advice on safety and security. We re also delighted to raise funds for Alice
as they do tremendous work in our communities. Stephanie Talbot, Alice Chief Executive Officer, added: Both Alice charity and neighbourhood police officers are community based, working tirelessly for their communities, so it is amazing that neighbourhood police officers joined in our Tour de Alice event. Their support made a huge difference to how much money we raised, but as the cycling challenges were based within communities it also raised awareness of the work of Alice charity and the police, which helps our local families to understand what support is available for them. A great partnership. For more information or to donate: https://tourdealice.alicecharity.com/fundraising /stoke-north-neighbourhood-policing.
GREEN FEET HUNT
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new litterbusting initiative has been put in place across Newcastleunder-Lyme. The borough council s Green Team has placed green footprints directing people to the bins across the borough. A spokesman said: When you are out and about this summer, you may come across our Green Feet. This is part of our Bin it for a Better Borough campaign. If you happen to find our feet take a photo and tag us (on Facebook) in with the location.
MEN UNITE
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men s mental health support group based in North Staffordshire has received a major financial boost thanks to bereaved families from Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) has donated £10,000 to Men Unite which provides a range of services encouraging men to talk about their problems and overcome them after Newcastle Borough Council nominated it as its chosen beneficiary for funds raised from the ICCM s metal recycling scheme. The ICCM runs a scheme for its members, based on one initiated by the Dutch Cremation Federation, where metals remaining following cremation are recycled with the express consent of the families involved. It s operated on a noncommercial, open accounting basis, with all surplus monies shared among selected charities. Men Unite, set up in April 2019 by electrician Craig Spillane from Talke Pits, started off as a private Facebook group for a small number of close friends as a safe forum to discuss personal issues but it expanded rapidly and now has 14,000 members, from 80 countries, who have access to support 24 hours a day, seven days a week from trained volunteers. The community interest company, which is becoming a charity, has since launched a daily hub at Hanley Town FC where men have access to professional counselling services a Sunday league football team as well as a well-being league in partnership with Stoke City FC and Staffordshire FA, a food bank and a mental health workshop programme. The £10,000 donation is set to be used to fund future counselling services, including specific sessions focusing on bereavement, and enhance the new Daniel Platt memorial lounge at the drop-
in hub. The lounge is a place where visitors can sit and reflect and is named in honour of a Men Unite member who sadly took his own life. Craig, aged 42, said: I didn t know that metals could be recycled in this way; it s an amazing thing. We re a small charitable organisation so any donations we receive make a huge difference and go straight into helping people. We re just so grateful. Men Unite encourages men to speak out about their problems instead of bottling it up and eventually taking their own life. Male suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45; one person loses their life in this way every two hours. They re frightening statistics. I ve experienced troubles and I ve got a broad spectrum of friends from different walks of life who have as well for various reasons so that understanding underpins everything we do. This fantastic donation will help us to continue providing immediate counselling sessions for those who are struggling. This extremely quick service is very important as it can mean the difference between life and death. We re so honoured to be nominated for the donation. I m really proud that we are able to make such a difference to so many people s lives. The ICCM donated £10,000 to the Dove Service, a local grief support charity, in January. Councillor Trevor Johnson, cabinet member for environment and recycling, is the portfolio holder for bereavement services. He said: We re very pleased that the ICCM has accepted our second nomination and donated another £10,000 to such a great local cause. This is only possible because of the selfless actions of bereaved families who have decided to allow metals remaining following cremation to be recycled in this way. Men Unite are doing excellent work in the local area to address male mental health, something which has been affected by the pandemic, so this money will have a massive impact. I hope this provides residents who have lost a loved one with some level of comfort. Reusing metal, which would otherwise never break down, is also environmentally friendly as it preserves non-renewable resources. The ICCM, founded in 1913, provides policy and best practice guidance to burial and cremation authorities in the UK as well as representing them at Government level. For more information about Men Unite, visit www.menunite.org.
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH MIDLANDS
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niversity Hospital of North Midlands (UHNM) provides vital treatment for kidney failure in the homes of more than 135 patients thanks to the dedication of staff at the Trust s renal unit. A spokesman for the trust explained: There are two types of home dialysis that UHNM offers patients with kidney failure home haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Home dialysis has huge benefits for patients in terms of life expectancy and quality of life and is significantly more cost effective compared to hospital dialysis. UHNM is now one of only six hospitals in the country to have more than 100 people in this form of home care and the largest in-house assisted automated peritoneal dialysis in the country, covering in excess of 150 patient visits-per-week. UHNM recently surpassed 100 patients on peritoneal dialysis for the first time. Helen Capper, home therapies sister, said: Keeping patients at home with minimal hospital visits and enabling them to have the treatment of their choice has improved the quality of life for patients. Being able to empower patients to manage their own condition whilst safely supporting them is at the heart of what we do here and to now be able to care for more than 100 patients in their own home at one time is a significant milestone for our service. The home therapies team at UHNM is made up of healthcare assistants and nurses. The team offer an assisted automated peritoneal dialysis service where they visit patients homes to set up the dialysis machine for them. This service is
particularly beneficial for patients with pre-existing health conditions or the elderly and has expanded during the past ten years. Helen added: Despite the most difficult of circumstances during the pandemic, the team have worked selflessly and collaboratively, far in excess of what is expected of them, to provide patients with the best possible care, to prevent hospital admissions, reduce the burden on the inpatient ward and keep existing services running. The drive and determination of the team to enable patients to be on a therapy of their choice has been inspirational. This is such a phenomenal achievement, impacting patients lives for the better. Joanne James, aged 51 from Cross Heath, has been a renal patient at UHNM for 20 years. She said: I have been on peritoneal dialysis for three years now and the option to have it at home is really beneficial. In the beginning the team helped me gain confidence in understanding and working the equipment after a week of training so I was ready to use it daily at home. Home based dialysis means I can still have the freedom of going to work and spending more time at home instead of coming into hospital regularly. The home therapies team are very welcoming and are there for you no matter what, and it s really reassuring that I can stay at home knowing I have the support of the home therapies team.
GARDENING
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e all know the trailing or bushy lobelias used in bedding schemes up and down the country. Their big cousins, the Perennial lobelias are very different and are great plants for borders in a sunny spot giving lots of brightly coloured flowers in summer. The easiest and hardiest perennial ones are varieties of cardinalis and speciosa. These grow from a rosette of leaves and send up two to three feet / 60-90cm spires of colourful flowers in summer. Traditionally they are considered to be bog plants. Indeed, they grow wonderfully in moist or wet soils in summer and can even succeed at pond edge plants. However, I ve found that these varieties will also perform well in dry soil, although they don t grow quite so tall. We ve found that they perform wonderfully in full sun in our very well drained soil. These types are usually winter hardy, although slugs can be a problem in wet soils. We ve tried lots of varieties in our garden to find the hardiest. The bright red Bees Flame also has bronze leaves through the summer as does Russian Princess which has shocking pink flowers. Tania has multi-coloured leaves in spring, turning to plain green in summer and deep pink flowers. Another spring-variegated variety is the lovely pale pink Compton Pink. Hadspen Purple is also very reliable.
The unattractively-named species, siphilitica, is lower growing, bushy and very tough. The basic species has blue flowers, and the variety Alba has pure white. Propagation is best by division in spring. Clumps can be cut up into chunks and replanted. Sometimes it s possible to divide down to individual rosettes, but these take longer to make good plants. The less hardy South American varieties of Lobelia are trickier to grow. The most impressive and easy was Lobelia tupa, known as Devil s Tobacco. This grows to eight feet / 240cm tall with flower stems studded with red or orange-red flowers from July to October. It needs very well drained soil in winter. It is easily grown from seed but needs help getting through its first winter in the ground a deep mulch or a covering of pine twigs to insulate it. Once established it will survive down to -10 or -14c. We also tried the species bridgesii, polyphylla and laxiflora but these seem to only survive the mildest winters outdoors here. Janet and I run Plant Hunters Fairs, specialist plant fairs at wonderful locations offering special reduced entry rates on the plant fair dates. For details go online to: www.planthuntersfairs.co.uk. Martin Blow
ALICE CHARITY
Uniform donations to support charity
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Newcastle-based charity has received a donation boost thanks to a fundraising club.
The donation to the Alice Charity has been made recently by Phoenix Mcc, which is a family orientated club that likes to do its bit for both local and personal members charities. A spokesman for the charity said: Huge thanks to Phoenix Mcc for their recent school uniform donation which will be distributed to help support local families who are in need. Alice is a local charity which supports families in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme
socially, emotionally and financially through the experience of safeness, kindness, warmth and compassion. The team at Alice Charity are currently gearing up to tee off with a charity Golf Day on September 24. The Alice Charity Golf Day will take place at Trentham Park Golf Club. A spokesman said: Our annual Golf Day is back. Enjoy 18 holes of golf, breakfast, two course meal, prizes for winners. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For further details about the Alice Charity, go online to: https://alicecharity.com.