On Friday 14th October, Sainsbury’s were awarded a certificate for their devotion, dedication and great achievement in raising money for Crawley Guide Dogs.
Attending were Jean Brookwell and Jason Howell from Sainsbury’s. Jan Dunn with guide dogs Elton and Tanner, Mick Mckeganey with guide dog Eddie and Henry Smith MP who are all fund raisers for Guide Dogs. Also present were Doug Branch with guide dog Baker who is the organiser for the charity events and Sharon Milani who is the treasurer.
We were celebrating the presentation of a certificate to Sainsbury’s Queensway for collecting £2507 since May 2011. We have a target of £5,000 to Name A Puppy which we hope to reach within the year of charity partnership.
This month Guide Dogs celebrated their 80th birthday!
Doug Branch told us “we have a ‘Name A Puppy’ running with The Parsons Pig pub on the Balcombe Road who are raising money with a monthly pub quiz, golf days and fun days as well as comedy nights at Crawley Rugby Club. Their total raised so far is £2,894 over the last 13 months!”.
It was an honour to meet the guide dogs and their owners and would like to thank Sainsbury’s and all who support this worthy charity for their dedication. Would you like to help? If so please visit their website here.
We would also like to thank Henry Smith for helping with the interview. He was very good, don’t you think
On Friday 11th of March at 8pm 119 people packed out Hazelwick school to “Zumba for a reason”
That reason was to raise awareness and funds for The Cystic Fybrosis Trust, Organised by Joanne Cooper.
Cystic Fibrosis affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with thick sticky mucus. This makes it hard to breathe and digest food.
* Each week, five babies are born with Cystic Fibrosis.
* Each week, two young lives are lost to Cystic Fibrosis.
* Average life expectancy is 38 years.
I didn’t realize just how many people around me are affected by Cystic fybrosis until I started organizing the event. Mums at my childrens school spoke to me about there experiences, ladies in my classes, A neighbor of mine even knocked to donate £30 as she had lost a close friend to CF.
Lots of fantastic local instructors gave up there spare time to come down and to teach for everyone…. Vicky Hayes, Mandi Zumba lloyd, Sarah Cubitt, Ellie Cubitt, Sarah Broadley, Sarah Ray, Jayne Nicola and Nicole Wizotzki.
We Zumba’ed for a full hour and a half and raised £1090.08!!!
We had a special surprise at the end of the evening. The wonderful Sam Kenneally who attends Joanne’s Wednesday class sang the last song for everyone… bringing the night to a fantastic end….
Thank you to everyone who donated xxx
7:45pm till 8:45pm
Zumba
Hazelwick School
South Hall
Mill Lane
Three Bridges
Crawley
RH10 1SX
Steve Hayward had his long hair shaved off in support of his son and to raise much needed funds for charity.
On Friday 27th August Steve Hayward of Crawley had a slightly different day at his place of work. Just three weeks ago Steve’s son David was diagnosed with leukemia and has since lost all his hair. Steve felt compelled to have all his long hair shaved off in support of his son whilst raising over £2000 for Cancer Research UK.
Steve works for PMA in Horsham and told us “other members of staff have also been touched by cancer so they were more than willing to let us use the forcourt to raise money.
Trisha, David’s Mum said “we are specifically targeting teenage cancer because of David”. Trisha went on to explain that David had not been well for some time. The doctors told them David had a virus but it seemed to get worse, so they persisted and another doctor at Redhill Hospital diagnosed David with acute lymphacytic Leukemia.
Family and friends were present to help raise money. Some were busy cleaning cars, cooking the BBQ, selling some delicious cakes made by Trisha and even face painting. And to really set the day off they all dressed up too! Everyone present stood with encouragement as Steve had all his hair removed.
We would like to say a massive well done to Steve. Although we could tell the emotion was getting to him as the time drew closer for the big chop (as it would anyone) but we think Steve did a great deed. In our opinion a bald head really suited him!
If anyone wishes to donate to Steve’s charity raising efforts please visit here. Do remember, every little counts. We want to wish young David a full recovery :-) xx
Interview with the Hayward Family:
These pictures where kindly donated to us by Jules Neale, who is related to Steve and felt she had to be there to support the whole family. Thank you Jules xx
On Saturday and Sunday (21st & 22nd August) the stage was set for the annual Mental Health Awareness event at the Wingspan, known as Wingfest!
Organised by Carl Brooks, the weekend was a massive success with £647.03 raised for the Mental Health Awareness charity. Officially kicked off with a little speech from Mayor Lee Burke, it went from strength to strength. The event was held over two days with Saturday being host to the live bands, then Sunday hosting the accoustic side. The line up was an ‘A’ List of local talent including:
Saturday: -
1 in 4
The Nite B4 feat. The Fabulous Dormettes (Kenny, Cara, Hayley, Su, Ian, Luke & Jake)
Yer Momma
The Titanics
3 Dimensions
Stringloaded
Borrowed Time
Age of Tapes
Blues Business
Soul Business
Dizzy Tales
Junn House
Sunday: -
Paul James
Brogue
Epithany
Ken Birch
Will Martins
Danny Dangerously
Rory Flynn
Michelle Dean
Natalie Hovard
Paul ‘Chicken Legs’ Buris
String Loaded
The Toons
Tariq & Reis
Rising Tide
1 in 4
Crawley Happy Times went down for the Saturdays performances and took some video for you to enjoy. Pictures of Sunday were kindly taken by Carl Brooks. You can view them here.
We would like to thank Carl for inviting us to this amazing event and want to congratulate all involved.
West Sussex County Council and NHS West Sussex will jointly be reviewing all home care contracting requirements across the county to look at long-term needs and how best to provide the service.
At present the Council and NHS West Sussex commission more than one million domiciliary care hours per year from more than 100 external organisations, at a cost of approximately £28 million. This means that there are significant variations in prices charged and capacity issues within the market.
Deputy Cabinet Member for Adults’ Services Graham Tyler said: “West Sussex will have an increasingly elderly population over the coming years, but without additional funding to care for those who need it.
“The review of the contracts we have for home care will enable us to buy care for residents who need it at a competitive price.
“I would like to reassure residents that the quality and level of service will not be affected by these changes.”
Home care helps people with personal care needs within their home.
The County Council moved away from an in-house home care service with the launch of the Regaining Independence Support Service, providing short-term care and occupational therapy to help people remain independent in their own homes.
Home care is contracted through external organisations.
Graham added: “The County Council is in the middle of a financial review and expects to have to find a further £75 million of savings over the next three years.
“By making our home care service more efficient and effective, we aim to achieve a saving for the County Council of at least £2.5 million.”
The County Council will carry out a review to identify the total home care requirements for residents, not only for adults’ services but also children and for NHS West Sussex.
There will then be a tendering process to contract with home care providers to deliver current and future care needs. The new contracts are aimed to be in place starting from April 2011.
All residents who have home care will be kept up to date as the work progresses
Over the weekend a few hundred people came to Grattons Park in Pound Hill for the twenty four hour Relay for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK.
Organised by the committee and lead by Laura Senekal, the weekend was once again a huge success with a massive £50,000 raised, beating previous years and smashing any set targets.
We had three trophies available for the teams:
* Top Fundraiser went to Little Gems who raised over £10k
* Top Donation Station went to Buzzum Buddies who collected 330 donation bags worth over £6k to the Charity
* Spirit of Relay went to More the Merrier for being so much fun over the weekend
Over the year, each team entered found various ways of raising money to put into the pot at the final Relay for Life weekend. This year the sun shone down on the event, as it did last year, and made it a fun, entertaining and emotional couple of days. As well as the entrants, organisers and supporters present were the local fire brigade spraying water on the people walking on the track with help from the First Aid team. His Worshipful the Mayor Lee Burke and Mayoress Ali Burke also came along in support. Two local Community Wardens, Carolyn Rosier and Stuart Hendry looked on with a gentle and comforting presence.
Over the weekend entertainment came from the following:
* Nickie Poslad School of Dance
* Crawley Black Belt Accademy
* Reigate Sea Cadets Band
* Fi Steps
* The Matt McConnan Band
* Solice
* The Songbirds Choir
* Andromeda
* Chinchilla Zilla
We would like to congratulate all who were involved and to those who came along in support of this magnificent event. As Laura Senekal said in her speech “cancer never sleeps so we didn’t either”.
The teams were as follows:
* Sweetness and Light – Capt. Claire Harker
* Team Yummy!
* The Single Ladies
* Amigos para Siempre
* Starbucks
* The Red Runners – Capt. Deborah Davies
* NEDS NOMADS
* More the Merrier
* Completely Mental – Capt. Tracy Wells
* Crawley Chamber of Commerce – Capt. Steve Rham
* Buzzum Buddies
* Just Wills
* Happy Feet – Capt. Cala Golder
* The Double D’s – Capt. Emma Duke
* Funky Fabulous Playworkers
* Beck’s Bounces Back – Capt. Cath Byrne
* Rhinestone Cowboys – Capt. Gemma Robinson
* If Carlsberg Did Realy Teams…. – Capt. Nikky Smith
* Little Gems
* Shooting Stars – Capt. Michelle Fitzgerald-Lees
* Sudra’s Quest – Capt. Jamie Nayee
* The Vino KeenOs – Capt. Tracy White
* Team Ross
* Purple Party People
* Woo Woo’s
* To Be Advised – Capt Matt Cole
* Grampus 2010
* The Referees – Capt. Donna Smith
* Suzy’s Starlets
We apologies if we did not get all the Captains names, it was a very busy weekend and you were all very busy walking the track. We did get to speak to Steve Rham, Captain of the Chamber of Commerce Team who told us he carried a pedometer which over the course of the weekend clocked up 34,600 steps. Steve said “if i did that myself, that would mean together everyone who took part would have walked well over a million steps! We are very proud to have raised just over £2,500 for Cancer Research UK”. Although Steve went on to say he felt extremely sore and tired after the event, it was all well worth it and they will, as they have done for many years, be entering again next year.
We took footage and pictures for you to enjoy. We still shed a tear when listening to Laura’s speech, so it might be wise to get the tissue ready xx
Footage from Saturday and Sunday
Pictures of Relay for Life 2010
The last lap of 2010 and the first of 2011
Laura Senekal and Mayor Lee Burke hand out the awards
During your time as a Crawley resident, have you ever, at some point in time, heard the words ‘Rotary Club’? And have you ever wondered ‘what do they do?’. We have.
Mascot and friend, donated to the Rotary by Laura Moffat when won in a competition
So, to answer this question Shelley met up with Geoff Williamson. Geoff has been involved with the Rotary Club for several years and has just finished a year as President. Shelley asked “what is the Rotary Club and what is it’s purpose?”. Geoff told Shelley ”the Rotary Club is a coalition of business individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Being a Rotary member gives experienced business people the chance to give something back to the community. We raise money for local charities and good causes like Open House, St Catherines and many others. It’s also an opportunity to help those less fortunate than us abroad. For instance, we are currently working on a campaign to assist in the vaccination of children in Africa and Asia, against the infection of polio. Polio is a crippling and sometimes fatal disease. All we are asking for is a donation of £1 which will help immunise five children against polio. We are very grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging to match the funds raised by Rotary worldwide for this campaign. This is just another great example of business’ working together with the community to raise funds for local or international aid.
Some of you may recognise Geoff from when he and many others dressed up and walked round the industrial estate to raise money for a local charity which was featured here…
It soon became apparent these words we had had heard about, ’Rotary Club’, stood for community engagement, support and aid. Their achievements are endless and that’s not even getting onto the subject of their fund raising efforts and events.
Geoff did mention to Shelley about membership saying they are currently open for new members. There are only two conditions, you are aged 18 or over and have at least two years business experience. If you are interested in having a chat or popping along to one of their meetings to get more of a feel for the club then please visit their site here for further details.
Have you ever been involved with Rotary Club or benefit from their great work? Are you a current member and want to express your view? Then please let us know by writing in the comments box below.
A Crawley-based company that supplies medical equipment to hospitals and clinics throughout the world has raised over £11,000 in aid of a local charity.
Varian Medical Systems is a worldwide manufacturer of integrated cancer care systems. The company – which employs over 200 people at its Crawley manufacturing, engineering, sales and service centre – chose St Catherine’s Hospice as its charity of the year in September 2008. In the 12 months since then, the staff at Varian have supported the hospice through a variety of activities, including:
• blue bag donations to St Catherine’s charity shops, which raised nearly £1,000
• participation in the Flora London Marathon by Varian employee, Michelle Cook, whose sponsorship totalled over £1,800
• a summer ball which raised over £1,000
• a Christmas raffle which collected over £700
• a bike ride which raised over £500
St Catherine’s provides specialised end of life care and support for local patients and their families, friends and carers in Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and East Surrey.
Matthew Cornish, Corporate Fundraiser at St Catherine’s, said: “We were delighted when Varian chose us as their charity of the year. The ongoing commitment and enthusiasm of their staff has been really impressive, and greatly appreciated by everyone at St Catherine’s. We hope their example may encourage other businesses to support us in this way.”
Rosemary Myles, Charities Team Leader at Varian, said: “When you are asking people within your company to support a charity throughout the year, it is hard to go back to them again and again asking for support for different fundraising initiatives, but at Varian we do, and the great thing is that there always seem to be enough people willing to give their time and money.
“St Catherine’s was nominated as our charity of the year by one of our employees and it has certainly proved to be a popular choice. So many people know of someone who has benefited from the wonderful care provided by the hospice, and I am sure that provided the motivation needed to enable us not only to achieve our fundraising target of £10,000, but to exceed it!”
For further information about the many ways in which businesses can support
St Catherine’s, please call 01293 447365, email matthewcornish@stch.org or visit www.stch.org.uk
On Sunday 18th October, ’09 Crawley Happy Times donned their new t-shirts and set off for K2 Leisure Centre for the St. Catherine’s Hospice 10k.
The CHT teams waiting for the race to start
On the track waiting for the starting gun
Two teams were entered by Crawley Happy Times making eight runners altogether. They joined the rest of the entrants at the start line at 10:30 on a bright and warm Sunday morning. Everyone looked excited and slightly nervous, then the gun went ‘bang’ and we were off.
Around 600 people entered the 2009 10k run
And they are off!
After a lap on the K2 track we then left the stadium and went around Tilgate forest, over the M23 and then back again via a different route leading back to the K2 stadium.
We had a mixture of talent in the two teams entered. We had Daniel Manville who has run half marathons in the past (and did extremely well), Danielle James who is a young fit lady who has some running experience and Jennifer Griffiths who is a fitness instructor. They all did extremely well on CHT’s behalf. Then we had Shelley Fagence-Traynor, Michelle James, Emma James, Amanda Toyne and Jade Downey who were not so experienced although 100% effort was shown.
2009 10k St. Catherine runRunners making their way through the start
The encouragement from the other participants and the race officials standing at check points along the way, was immense. It was this encouragement that kept us all going. Daniel was way ahead with Danielle and Jennifer hot on his heals. Shelley, Michelle, Emma and Amanda decided to stick together on the way round and Jade was not far behind. Shelley was suffering from a bad bout of flu but managed to keep going, even running some of the way
St. Catherine’s Hospice is such a great cause. Requiring around five million pounds to keep up the much needed work they do for terminally ill people. All of which is donated in some form or another. St. Catherine’s give so much back to the community too. They hold many fund raising events which are fun and entertaining for all entrants and the community alike. If you have a fund raising idea, then don’t hesitate to contact any of the amazing staff members on 01293 447333 who will be happy to help you in every way possible.
So, the end of the run was in sight, and the legs were starting to feel like jelly. We entered the K2 track on our last few killometers and were greeted with a loud round of applause from the bystanders who had patiently waited for us stragglers to finish. We were even greeted by the Worshipful the Mayor Brenda Burgess and her wonderful husband Bob Burgess. The last few steps seemed like an eternity but the finish line was in sight and we all made a last deperate dash……and we were done! We were greeted by our families who looked on so proudly as we all gasped for breath and composure. We were given our medals by St. Catherines which we have all placed in plain view of all visitors to our homes
Shelley, Emma, Amanda & Michelle on the last stretch
(L-R) Danielle, Michelle, Shelley, Amanda & Emma
Crawley Happy Times would like to extend their congratulations to every one who entered. As Shelley’s youngest son said, “it’s not about winning Mum, it’s about taking part”. He is so right! If you feel you would like to be part of this next year either as an individual or as a team, please call Catherine Boulter of St. Catherine’s Hospice on 01293 447364 for further information. We are still accepting sponsors, so if you feel the need to contribute, please contact Shelley on 01293 572182 or email shelley@crawleyhappytimes.co.uk
A well deserved drink at the pub after. Well done to all!
All girls together
A special thank you goes to the eight individuals who took part as the Crawley Happy Times team and a thank you to Paul Sheldrake of Creative Vision Promotions for supplying the t-shirts which were wonderful! Roll on next year xx
Finished at last! Shelley and her son Logan who was there at the finishing line to congratulate his Mum
Our thanks to Creative Vision Promotions for the t-shirts
On Thursday 24th September ’09 Crawley Happy Times had the privilege of attending the Crowne Plaza Hotel’s Elite Health & Fitness Club to hear about some amazing people.
Why are they so amazing?
Twenty-six members of the Elite Health Club at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Gatwick, have completed an epic swim covering the distance of the River Thames – 220 miles! This equated to swimming 23,066 lengths of the pool. The members only had 50 days to complete the challenge of swimming 462 lengths each day between them.
Staff & Ladies from Elite Health Club with Michael Beasley STCH
This latest challenge follows other successful challenges and social events including swimming the English Channel and also to run, walk and cycle the length of Route 66. So far these challenges have helped raise nearly £5,000 for St Catherine’s Hospice.
We met up with Michael Beasley, Corporate Fundraiser for St Catherine’s Hospice who said: “We would like to thank the Elite Health Club and its members for their valued support. The challenges and social events are great activities for the members to get involved in and also helps raise valuable money for the hospice. Their support will help us continue to deliver vital end of life care in our community.”
Katie Brindle, Elite Health Club Manager said “I would like to say thank you to all the members that have taken part in our challenges and for their sponsorship. They have made a tremendous effort to get to the club and swim their lengths to complete the challenge on time. Thank you to Stuart who designed the challenge. If it wasnt for his creative mind we would not be able to run events like this! St Catherines is our local charity and all our staff and members are happy to help raise money for such a good cause. I would like to say thank you to St Catherines for their support with our money raising. Raising over £5000 for St Catherines so far is a brilliant well done all”.
We were very impressed with this great achievement, especially as the participants we met and spoke to were ‘mature’ ladies. Well done ladies.
For further information on Elite Health & Fitness visit their website here or call 01293 608614. Maybe you would like to be part of their next challenge
During the day instructors took part in 120 one minute rounds, and students fought in 60 one minute rounds. There were 300 students who participated and 30 instructors, all of whom were supported by family and friends.
Stephen Brooks is the head of association and has been the main instigator in raising money. Stephen said “We are grateful to The Royal Marsden as most, if not all of us, have in some way been effected by cancer. Therefore, we quite literally fight for charity.”
The £30,000 raised is to be specifically used in developing the new Children’s and Young Person’s Centre at The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton. This project aims to create enough money to build what could be Europe’s leading Cancer Centre for Children and Young People, and with a target of £15million this money is a big help to the cause.
However, this sum is only part of the money raised by the Martial Arts Schools. To date they have totalled around £140,000 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. This is a huge achievement and has been highly commended by the hospital’s Fundraising and Community Development Manager, Amanda Heaton.
Amanda said, “This wonderful association has raised a large sum of money, and I am amazed at their success. Everyone there should be very proud of themselves and I hope they had a great day. I am sincerely grateful to everyone who participated and to those who organised the tournaments. Long may this fundraising event continue.”
We at Crawley Happy Times feel extremely proud to have such an amazing group of individuals who come together as a team to raise such a large amount of money. Well done!
On Sunday 18th October folk from in and around Crawley will be donning their running shoes for a massive 10k race in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice.
Last year more than 600 people took part, raising over £30,000 towards much needed end of life care. Let’s see if we can beat that this year.
The Course
This years Crawley 10k charity race will take place through the beautiful scenic Tilgate Forest which will be fully marshaled with clear frequent signs and water stops. The race starts at the K2 Leisure Centre running track, following forest tracks, paths, playing fields and a road. Experienced and non-runners are all welcome. You could even walk the course if you just wanted to be part of the event. Unfortunately the course is not suitable for pets or wheelchairs due to the uneven ground covered. All entrants receive a medal with an award being presented to the winning team, man and woman.
Who are St Catherine’s?
St Catherine’s are a well deserving charity, caring in so many different ways for our loved ones who are terminally ill. St Catherine’s also give so much back to the community by holding such great events such as the recent Dragon Boat Festival and the Midnight Walk (Horsham). It is definitely a givers gain philosophy which enriches the entire community.
Who can enter?
Catherine from St Catherine’s said “experienced independent runners are frequently present as were on previous occasions as well as running clubs but this year we would like to encourage more businesses to get involved. They only need a team of 4 to enter and can even enter more than one team if they wish. We are really looking forward to this years race and hope to raise a lot of money for the charity which needs around 5 million pounds a year to maintain”.
Runners in last years 10k charity race
How much does it cost?
Advanced entry fees range from £10 to £12 with fees on the day at £15. Places for entry are limited so it is advisable to enter as soon as you can. You can do this by filling in a form online or emailing catherineboulter@stch.org.uk. For any further queries please call 01293 447364.
Crawley Happy Times will be covering the race and interviewing the winners. If you are not entering the race please do still come down and say hello and support the runners.
So, we are rapidly approaching the end of the school summer holidays and the children are probably getting a little bored by now. So what can you do with them that will keep them occupied and assist them in sleeping well? The answer is to bring them down to Cherry Lane Adventure Playground in Langley Green, Crawley on Friday, 21st August!
“What is happening?” I hear you ask. Well, this is what we put to Dawn Parkinson, Manager of the Playground. Dawn said, “Cherry Lane Adventure Playground will be holding its annual Fun day on Friday, 21st August, from 11am – 4pm.”
“Entry is free, but, to access all the inflatables for the whole day, there is a charge of £3.00 for a wristband. This will include face painting and games so everybody can have a go! Make sure you stick around to see our Belly Dancing show at 2pm which the children have been preparing for bt attending workshops, ready to perform on the day. You can also become a star for the day on the Karaoke!”
Dawn went on to tell us; “There will also be a BBQ selling hot food, a Tombola and Raffle, with prizes donated by local shops and businesses. All the proceeds will go towards buying new games and equipment for the coming year”.
We asked Dawn how the event went last year, and she said; “last year we raised £800, which we spent on a new TV, computer games and mixing decks, plus lots of Art & Craft materials. This year, with your help, we hope to match this amount, plus raise even more, as we would like to buy new equipment for our music room and add to our collection of Go Karts, which have been really popular this year. We look forward to seeing all our old friends and many new faces to make this a fantastic family event”.
The day is for chiildren of all ages but please note children under the age of 6 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
It sounds like it is going to be an excellent day, and for just £3 the children can play, get tired out and go to bed early. The best value for money a parent could buy!
Crawley Happy Times will be attending, so if you want your picture on the site, meet us down there! Our thanks go to Michelle Matthews for making us aware of this event and Dawn Parkinson for inviting us along.
If you have any further enquiries as to what Cherry Lane Adventure Playground can offer your child, then please call 01293516163, where a member of staff will be available to provide any help or advice.
On Saturday we joined The Connoisseurs at The White Knight in Pound Hill for their charity fundraiser day. The sun shone, the music played, the food was eaten and the charity fund went up and up.
Getting the kids involved
The Beautiful Fuzzilicious Fresh
We had the pleasure of speaking to the guys who put so much effort into making the day a great success and they told us they felt there were not enough opportunities for youngsters to participate in fundraising. In light of this, they put this day together in a way they felt would attract the younger side of the community. They certainly got it right! You can hear more from the guys in the interview at the bottom of the page.
Females get funky
It really was a wonderful day. From 14:00 onwards, each DJ took it in turns to play their selected preference of music, ranging from happy house to heavy drum and bass. First up we had the pleasure of the beautiful Fuzzilicious Fresh. A local female DJ, who told us that, to be any good, you must know your music and what your audience will want to hear. Fuzzilicious Fresh played some brilliant garage tunes for us.
Cherry… fly?
Next up, we were honoured with another female DJ who goes by the name of Cherry Fly. Cherry Fly wore an amazing black & purple outfit and blasted out some great house tunes. She told us she feels that a good education is a great asset to have, even when DJing: Cherry Fly went to college to advance her music knowledge along with her mixing skills and would encourage others to do the same.
The wonderful Cherry Fly
Filling our tums
Meanwhile, the hot dogs and burgers were flying off the grill. Dave Winbolt was the ‘chef’ for the day, assisted intermittently by Scott ‘Ronson’ Clarke. Dave created some delectable food at a reasonable cost, with all proceeds going to the nominated charity of the day, St Catherine’s Hospice.
Dave Winbolt & Scott 'Ronson' Clarke
Baby steps to dance diva?
My burger was cooked to perfection: I thoroughly enjoyed it! Everyone seemed to be having a whale of a time; one particular lad stood on the steps ‘cutting’ some moves to the tunes, especially as he could only have been about eighteen months old!
Cut Swifty mixing it up
Keefos on the decks
Dan Gee bangin' out the beats
Vibrant duo Del Santiago & Pierre Monnoit
Cut Swifty was the next DJ to entertain the ever growing crowd of supporters. Followed by Keefos, Dan Gee, Del Santiago & Pierre Monnoit (Multiplayerz), then last, but not least Marcus Lee, this was a night to remember.
The White Knight: Management
Marcus Lee making his mark
In amongst the revellers, running around keeping everyone happy and the place clean and tidy, were landlord and landlady of the White Knight, Bridgette and John. They have supported this event from the start and were honoured to have it held in the White Knight.
The White Knight public house is a splendid place to hold this type of event due to the space and atmosphere of the building. There are pool tables, darts and large flat screen TVs for the sports enthusiasts and a neat dance floor, with a stage for the DJs which also includes a convenient communal area around the dance floor which is great for private parties. We found the toilets were consistently clean and tidy and the service prompt and friendly. Bridgette and John told us all about their involvement- they told us it was a brilliant way to raise money for such a worthy cause, and they look forward to hosting other similar events in the future. A highly recommended location, in our humble opinion. For more information on the White Knight and its management, please watch the interview below.
So.. how much £££ did they make?
Always service with a smile
The White Knight, Pound Hill, Crawley
As the day drew to an end, the donation buckets started to fill up with donations from those jingling any change in pockets. We are pleased to announce the total amount raised for St Catherine’s Hospice came to a whopping £470! Dan told us that they hope this is the first of many fund raising events; we think they may be on to a winner and hope to be invited to the next one. Well done!
P.S. I believe Dan is already planning part two… watch this space….!
This Saturday, 15th August, marked the third event for Harvester’s fundraising events for The Make A Wish Foundation. The staff donned their uniform-themed outfits and entertained the visitors while they dined. Their aim is to raise £800 by the end of August. We spoke to the manager Lisa.
The Harvester’s previous events have included a Country and Western theme night: staff dressed up as saloon girls and cowboys to name but a few, and there were children’s cowboy hats available to purchase. All proceeds were donated to the Foundation and will be again this year. They also held a cake sale. Claire Halton, who works at The Harvester, told us “staff cooked or provided cakes and cookies for customers to purchase. There was face painting available for the children. This proved to be a lovely day for the whole family, though desserts weren’t popular on this day… I can’t think why not! Everyone had a wonderful day and we are hoping this year will be just as much fun; along with funds being raised for the Make A Wish Foundation“.
In this photo: – Claire Halton (Policewoman), Lisa Wood (Secretary), Cheryl Halton (Policewoman), Scott MacArthur (General Manager), Cullum Stuart (Builder), Sham (Footballer), Joanna (Policewoman), Milan Jaros (Life Guard), Tony (pilot), Sam (Nurse), Luigi (Russian Army), John (Chef), Dani (Foxy Cheerleader), Paul Jacob (Fred Flintstone), Anna (Army Personnel) and Trisha (Hawaiian Waitress)
Claire continued: “Make A Wish Foundation is such a fantastic charity. The Harvester set a target of £800 to raise and they are half-way to this target right now. It would be brilliant to see some new faces showing support, and you will get fed well at the same time. We are raising money throughout August, so if people can come down and make a donation, this would be greatly appreciated”.
All of the staff and management team have put time and effort into organising and carrying out these events and are proud to be doing this for Make A Wish Foundation.
Why not release yourself from the shackles of the kitchen and take a trip down there tonight?! You won’t regret it!
On the 15th August, Dan Gillingham and friends are holding a charity dance night in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice.
Dan ‘Gee’ Gillingham, a local DJ, is using his talents to raise money for the local St Catherine’s Hospice, who care for those who are very ill. Dan said “This is our charity launch event being held at The White Knight. Hopefully this is the first of many more charity events in Crawley over the next few months and years. Myself & Marcus Lee, along with our close friend Ronson (all DJs) wanted to start an event in Crawley for all the people that enjoy hearing us play. So we thought the ideal way would be to combine this with raising money for charity.”
We asked Dan why he’d chosen St Catherine’s Hospice; “We chose St Catherine’s Hospice because it is a charity very close to my heart due to a family member spending time there before they passed away. This is an amazing place with amazing staff and it is dependent on the public raising funds to stay operational. So we got together with some of our DJ friends, who are all local to Crawley, and arranged to throw a wicked day/night event, with some serious music and, of course, to raise as much money as possible! The White Knight Public House and all the DJs (inclusive of all equipment) have all donated their time and services free of charge, so it makes it easier to donate all proceeds to the charity”.
We spoke to Bridget Brant of the White Knight, who said “We completely support this event. St Catherine’s Hospice is very close to our hearts as we also lost a member of our family three years ago and could not have coped without their support and assistance.”
Debbie Plentie, PR & Communications Executive at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “”We have heard about this event and it’s fantastic that Dan and his friends are using their musical skills to support us in this way. We need to raise £4.7 million through voluntary income each year and we’re really grateful to our community for supporting us through activities like this, because every penny counts.”
Crawley Happy Times Online think this is a wonderful and inventive way to raise money for such a fantastic local charity. We look forward to seeing you at the event, where we will be interviewing the DJs and, of course, those who support the event by attending.
TEN community groups serving a wide variety of ages and needs have benefited from West Crawley County Local Committee’s latest round of cash grants.
The Committee agreed grants totalling £7345. The cash comes its Community Initiative Fund, which is money it receives from West Sussex County Council to help the activities of local community groups.
The organisations receiving grants included:
Crawley Friends Housing Association – £1000 to buy equipment and materials for Camfield Gardening Club, which encourages vulnerable adults to work together.
Creasy Drive Venture Playground – £560 towards its Cook Club, which teaches children how to cook healthy meals.
Crawley Youth Movement – £550 towards events that encourage young people to come together and unite against crime and disorder, particularly gun and knife crime.
St Andrews Friendship Club – £485 to cover the cost of rent for an alternative venue where this club for older people can meet in a friendly environment while the church is being redeveloped.
Alan Quirk, Committee Chairman, said: “The aim of our Community Initiative Funding is to benefit the local community by ‘pump priming’ new initiatives or supporting one-off applications for specific projects.
“On this occasion we were able to bridge the generation gap. Young people cooking up healthy meals, vulnerable people getting dug into gardening and older residents able to enjoy a chat and a cuppa – they’ve all benefited from our current round of funding.”
