An impressive turnout (must have been the pie and peas!) saw the Committee cover several topics.
We had a very interesting presentation by Kelly and Mark from Safe Families for Children. This charity works hand-in-hand with Children’s Services to link families in need with local volunteers who can offer them help and support. From simple child-minding for a few hours, to temporarily housing people with children for a night or longer. You can register to be a Host Home, who take children into their loving homes, giving the parents much needed space to deal with pressing issues or even just be a family friend, who befriend, mentor and support parents through their crisis, helping them get back on their feet and making the home stable for them and their children.
Barry asked how the Chapter could help them and Mark mentioned fundraising and the collection of food and toys for distribution at Xmas when some families have literally nothing. Just buying one extra non-perishable item with your weekly shopping will yield a significant haul come Xmas. Watch this space closer to Xmas for how we can help.
The Charity does so much to help across the country and has 1,200 volunteers in the North East alone. If you are interested in knowing more about what they do and how you can help please visit https://www.safefamiliesforchildren.com/
Fundraising: Paul and Kay have helped to raise an unbelievable £23,000 for the Children’s Cancer Ward with their Benidorm or Bust fundraiser. Such a massive achievement, very well done!
A Halloween abseil has been organised for the Teenage Cancer Trust (31 October) in fancy dress down the Sandman Signature building in Newcastle. Any volunteers, please see Paul.
The ABC Ride raised almost £300 with the Marie Curie Daffodil fundraiser raising £164. The stall at Bents Park Armed Forces Day raised £330. Very well done to all involved.
Heart ‘n’ Soul Rally: tickets have sold really well, there are now only basic tickets left, so best get your skates on! The ride-out on the Saturday is to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool. Tickets for entry on the day are £10, but you can book in advance online for £6. The Road Crew have ridden thousands of miles between them planning this route so as many bikes as possible on the day would be fantastic.
Xmas Party tickets will be available next month. Again, this will be held at the Nissan SLC. Last year was a blast so don’t miss out on this one.
GeordieHOG Editor