Because Our Community Matters...

Part Two of How to Fundraise for Free

How our Supermarkets are lending a helping hand in the community and letting you have your say.

 

Nominate the Child Brain Injury Trust Today 

Most of us have been shopping in Asda or Waitrose and received a green token to place in the box of our choice at the check out. If you are anything like me you spend quite a lot of time choosing which box to place your token in. 

This is a great way to have your say in the community; however, you can have even more of a say than that. Each month both Waitrose and Asda support 3 local charities per branch by allocating a percentage of £1000 per charity according to the number of tokens each receives. So keep putting them in! 

Wouldn't it be great if the next time you went shopping you saw the Child Brain Injury Trust as one of the causes being supported? You can make this possible. Another great way to fundraise at no cost to yourself! 

All you need to do is go into your local store and fill out an application form and hand it over at the customer services desk. It really is that simple and it only takes five minutes! 

Alternatively you can nominate a cause with your local Asda store online - all you need to do is go to http://storelocator.asda.com/#!/  and search for your local store. Once you are on your store home page you will see a box on the right hand side labelled 'You choose... nominate a cause'. All you need to do is click on this box to nominate the Child Brain Injury Trust. 

So far we have received money from Waitrose stores in Hexham in the North East and Headington in Oxford. So all you need to do the next time you are shopping in Asda or Waitrose is fill out a form to nominate the Child Brain Injury Trust's local work in your area. 

Thank you to all who nominated us and we will keep looking for other ways to fundraise for free. 

Posted by Emily Honey, Fundraising Assistant, emilyhoney@cbituk.org 

A Mind Boggling Challenge

Our fundraiser Anne-Marie turned her hand to teaching this week at the Manor Preparatory School to deliver a session about understanding Acquired Brain Injury during Year 5 and 6's PSHCE lessons. 

Pupils at the Manor Preparatory 

During this academic year we have been privileged to be chosen as the Manor Preparatory School's charity of the year. As part of this partnership our community fundraiser Anne-Marie Macmillan went into their school this week to work with year 5 and 6's during their PSHCE lessons to help them understand the difficulties of an acquired brain injury.

The pupils were challenged to some different tasks to simulate what it would be like to live with an acquired brain injury. Firstly the pupils wore special glasses that created the effect of sideways vision and wore rubber gloves to create a lack of feeling and had to try retrieve items from a pencil case (pictured left).

The pupils were also tasked with completing a jigsaw puzzle - seemingly an easy task - but they had to wear a mask with pin prick eye holes to simulate tunnel vision (pictured below). However, the most popular challenge of all was the 'seeing stars' game. This challenged the pupils to trace around a star with the opposite hand to which they normally write with and only look at the mirror reflection. Definitely the most difficult!

Wayne Rooney even made an appearance!

Rowan Knowles, Chairman of Friends of the Manor, contacted Anne-Marie after the event to say: "I enjoyed being present at the workshops very much, it was clear that the girls enjoyed them enormously too, and the safety message was so important."

These workshops came with a serious message as Mrs Knowles acknowledges; a lot of childhood acquired brain injuries are the result of cycling accidents. So remember to wear your helmet next time you are on your bicycle or scooter.

We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the Manor Preparatory School for welcoming our charity into their school and fundraising for us.

If you think you would like to fundraise for the Child Brain Injury Trust at your school then please email annemariemacmillan@cbituk.org.

Congratulations Zip Sliders

Congratulations to everyone who braved the 250m zip slide across the Manchester Canal on Sunday 14th October. 

Don't Look Down!

The sun was shining for our 33 participants on Sunday 14th October. They each zip wired across the Manchester Canal starting 30m up the Air Shard at the Manchester War Museum North (pictured left) and ending on the other side of the canal at the Lowry. 

We would like to thank all of you who took the leap of faith from such a height! 

Well done Rachel

In total we have managed to raise over £4,500 and the money is still coming in. So a big thank you to everyone who supported our zip sliders. 

Among the 33 participants was our very own Rachel Ritter from the fundraising team (pictured left) who managed to face her fear of heights and stepped out 30m up in the air, gaining speeds of up to 25 miles per hour as she traveled 250m across.

Well done to everyone who took part and we hope you had a great time - we all enjoyed seeing the photos and cannot wait to see the footage from the headcam one of our participants, Gaynor Exley, wore as she traveled across. We will make sure we share the footage, so check our Facebook page regularly for updates - www.facebook.com/childbraininjurytrust. 

In the meantime here are some photos of our brave participants! 

If you think you or your friends may be interested in a zip slide event in aid of the Child Brain Injury Trust then please contact emilyhoney@cbituk.org and we will help you find one local to you.

 By Emily Honey - Fundraising Assistant for the Child Brain Injury Trust

Have You Booked Your Tandem Skydive Yet?

Part One of fundraising for FREE

Firstly, I would like to say a huge well done to our two skydivers this weekend - Kerry Black and Peter Tucker (pictured below). Both of them have been working hard to reach their fundraising targets and would appreciate any donations however small it may be -
http://www.justgiving.com/kerrenceb or http://www.justgiving.com/petertuckerskydive. 

Pictured: Peter Tucker's Tandem Skydive

Come rain or shine we are eternally grateful to everyone who has undertaken a Tandem Skydive in aid of the Child Brain Injury Trust this year. As we may have mentioned, this year is particularly special to us, it is our 21st Birthday! In 2012 we pledged to raise £210,000 to help us celebrate our birthday. This cannot be achieved without your help. 

Pictured: Kerry Black parachuting

We understand times are hard and raising money for charity may not be the first thing on people's minds, this is why we wanted to let you know you could be doing your Skydive for FREE. All you need to do is raise £395 and your jump will be paid for.

If you are interested, all you need to do is book your jump today with Skyline - www.skylineevents.co.uk, or contact emilyhoney@cbituk.org to help get you started. It is that simple!

Now it's your turn to Skydive 

Once again thank you to Kerry Black and Peter Tucker who thoroughly enjoyed their Tandem Skydive; although Peter did let me know he might not be rushing to do another again. Well done! I look forward to hearing from some more daring skydivers soon. 

Hibs icon Pat Stanton launches drive after charity helps grandson

          

Pat Stanton with Graeme and grandson Oliver. Picture: Ian Georgeson

FOOTBALL legend Pat Stanton has launched a fundraising drive ahead of a charity abseil for his brain-damaged grandson.

The Hibs icon and his wife, Margaret, were left distraught when Oliver Porter, now three, suffered a brain haemorrhage within hours of being born with his twin brother, Luca.

 

A build-up of cerebral fluid meant Oliver then had to undergo emergency surgery aged just two weeks – the first of a series of operations which saw him go under general anaesthetic 30 times and spend the first seven months of his life at the Sick Kids.

 

His parents, Graeme, 41, and Kirsty, 42, who live with Oliver and his four brothers in Tranent, East Lothian, initially struggled under the emotional and financial impact of taking care of their son.

But thanks to support provided by the Child Brain Injury Trust (CBIT), the family has bounced back, with the couple now preparing to send Oliver to nursery.

 

To show their thanks, Graeme plans to abseil from the Forth Bridge to raise thousands of pounds for the charity.

 

Former Scotland captain Pat, 68, who played 398 times for Hibs in the 1960s and 70s, said he hoped as many people as possible would donate.

 

He said: “You hear about brain injury in the papers but suddenly it was happening on our doorstep. It was a different thing altogether. “But CBIT were amazing. They were there to help the family in any way they could.”

 

Mr Porter, branch manager at the Plumb Centre in Hawkhill, said: “There’s a whole lot of pressure there that you just won’t experience until something like a brain injury actually happens. You try to keep your marriage and your kids’ lives as normal as possible, but things very nearly fell apart. “It was a battle to get anything at first – advice on benefits and other kinds of support – but the charity were great. They’ve taken the kids out and about to places like the climbing arena at Ratho where we got to meet other families living with brain injury. “We realised we weren’t alone and it’s important that we give something back to them.”

 

Mrs Porter, a part-time human resources worker for RBS, said: “I think there has to be a lot more support for families like ours and the profile of brain injury needs to be boosted in Scotland.”

 

Claire Murray, CBIT regional fundraising officer for Scotland, said: “These donations mean we can keep supporting local families.”

 

Donations can be made at virginmoneygiving.com

 

Copy c/o Edinburgh Evening News

54 Miles to Glory!

Team 70 2e2 Toes complete the Caledonian Challenge

A team of intrepid adventurers from IT service providers 2e2's Edinburgh office completed the gruelling Caledonian Challenge this summer to raise funds for our Scottish project.  The Challenge means walking 54 miles in 24 hours - difficult but most definitely achievable!

Here, team leader Carol Sharkey tells us why you should think about taking on this Challenge!

Stunning scenerey on the West Highland Way

"Have you been inspired by the Grand slam triumph of Andy Murray? the sideburns of Wiggo reaching down to his yellow jersey? or the achievements of our Olympians and paralympians? Have you sat on the sofa looking for a challenge that gives you the opportunity to shine?

If so, you might be interested in setting up a crack team to undertake the Caledonian Challenge (54 miles in 24 hours) or the Caledonian Hike (24 miles in 12 hours) on 15th-16th June 2013.

Team ready to take on the Challenge!

This will test you mentally, physically and emotionally but the sense of achievement and the money you will raise for so many good causes together with the promise of some very spectacular scenery along the route will make it all worthwhile."

Interested? Contact Claire Murray at clairemurray@cbituk.org

Read more about the Caledonian Challenge here: www.caledonianchallenge.com and about 2e2 here: www.2e2.com.

A Year in a Hammock

A big well done to Robert Challinor who spent a whole year sleeping in a hammock to raise money for the Child Brain Injury Trust. 

Robert with his sister, Kelly, and his mum, Carol.

In August 2011 Robert Challinor set out to spend a whole year sleeping in a hammock in his back garden to raise money for the Child Brain Injury Trust; on Thursday 30th August 2012 that year came to an end. Robert had made it through the extreme weather, and even had his trusty companion Duke by his side under the stars.

 Duke - not looking as proud as Robert!

Robert chose to fundraise for both the Child Brain Injury Trust and Magpas after his sister sustained a brain injury in a riding accident. Magpas paramedics provided inital treatment for his sister and the Child Brain Injury Trust have since supported the family.

Robert initially set himself a target of £1 per night; however, he has managed to raise over £3000 and still counting. If you are inspired by Robert's challenge there is still time to make a donation. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=TeamMac&faId=142253&isTeam=false .

Robert's inventive form of fundraising has attracted quite the crowd; Rob was even privileged to a night camping out with Ray Mears!

Robert's den where he slept for the year

We would like to thank Robert for his dedication over the year. This shows us how outrageous fundraising can be - so don't just think about doing a skydive, set yourself a personal challenge or showcase your talents. We look forward to hearing from you all - emilyhoney@cbituk.org.

A Night at the Opera

Hodge Jones and Allen LLP to hold a charity Gala Opera Evening in aid of the Child Brain Injury Trust.

For those of you who are opera fans this is an event not to be missed. On Thursday 27th September, Hodge Jones and Allen LLP will be presenting a Gala Opera Evening in aid of the Child Brain Injury Trust.

There will be a selection of operatic arias, duets and ensemble numbers sung by three of London's finest young artists. the highlights are set to be songs from Mozart's Don Giovanni, Verdi's La Traviata, Puccini's La Boheme and many more.

This event will be held in Hodge Jones and Allen LLP's London offices located in North Gower Street.

Admission is only £20 with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the Child Brain Injury Trust.

If you are interested in attending the event then please contact emilyhoney@cbituk.org. Tickets are selling fast, so be quick!

Myself and Lisa Turan will be attending on behalf of the charity and look forward to seeing you there.

21 Hours Later...

Congratulations to Stuart Bichard, John Askew and Guy Clarkson who bravely set out to walk for 21 hours along the Ridgeway to help us celebrate our  21st Birthday this year!

Stuart, John and Guy at the finish.

In support of the Child Brain Injury Trust, Stuart, John  and Guy set off at 3am yesterday morning and walked for 21 hours travelling from Avebury in Wiltshire and arriving safe and sound at the pub in Goring on Thames later that evening - ready for some well deserved drinks!

As you may know the Child Brain Injury Trust decided to accept the challenge of turning 21 this year by pledging to raise £210,000 in celebration of all our, and your, hard work over the years. Thanks to Stuart, John and Guy we are one step closer.

We would like to congratulate the boys for their hard work and determination; they have managed to raise an amazing £2303.75 so far, and if you haven't pledged your support yet then visit their virgin money page now.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=stuartandjohn&isTeam=true

If you have any fundraising ideas to help us celebrate our 21st Birthday, then we would love to hear from you, simply email emilyhoney@cbituk.org. We look forward to hearing from you! And one last cheer for the boys!

Scottish Family Day and BBQ 2012

Fun in the sun at Blair Drummond Safari Park
 

Cheese! Families, CBIT staff and Digby Brown volunteers.

This year's summer BBQ was one of our best attended events ever - perhaps due to the appearance of the notoriously shy Scottish sunshine!

We were delighted to welcome some new families along, and to catch up with more familiar faces.  Digby Brown solicitors sponsored this year's event, meaning that entry to the park and all the food was free to all our families. They also provided some extremely popular animal-shaped balloons for everyone to take home! And fab new light reflecting 'slap wraps' too. Their volunteers on the day were a huge help to Mary, Beth and Claire who were able to speak to a great many people throughout the day. 

Once again, we are grateful to the staff of Blair Drummond Safari Park as well - a great location for this family day (the meerkats proving to be the most popular attraction, second to the burgers!). 

If you would like to join our mailing list to hear about future events, or are interested in sponsoring any of our family days, please email claire@cbituk.org.


Beth (right) dishing out the veggie burgers