Archive of Fundraising Events
Immediate Past President Janet presents a cheque for £2,000 to Parkinson’s UK
Alison Pegrum, Chair of the Cambridge branch of Parkinson’s UK was a guest at the recent Summer outing of SI Cambridge, a visit to the gardens of Madingley Hall. The branch had been the chosen charity of Immediate Past President Janet, and, following an excellent guided tour of the gardens and tea, current President Jenny and club members looked on as she presented Alison with a cheque for £2,000, the amount raised by the club during her year of office.
Alison has expressed her thanks to the club for choosing Parkinson’s UK as our charity and for the way in which their branch members have been able to join in fundraising events such as the quiz and fashion show. She has said ” I greatly appreciated your kindness and friendly welcome. I have learned a lot about Soroptimism this year, and wish you every success for your future endeavours”
Oxfam attracts Cambridge walkers
Almost 1,000 people stepped out against poverty on 16 May at Milton Country Park, to help Oxfam raise their aim of £50,000 in support of the emergency work they undertake around the world.
It was a lovely spring day and several members of our club had volunteered to be marshals and administrators at the walk.
The sponsorship money raised will go to support Oxfam’s Emergencies Fund, a life saving tool in helping people recover from natural disaster and conflict. Oxfam works in over 30 countries to provide clean water and sanitation, health and hygiene care and security for some of the 30 million people affected by conflict or natural disaster every year.
Funding such work is essential to reduce death and disease and to help communities recover from floods, famine, persecution and conflict.
Exciting New Fashions for Spring!
A fulll house of 100 watched our Fashion Show in aid of the President’s charity, Parkinson’s UK Cambridge, at Comberton Village Hall on Friday 23 April.
A glass of wine added to their enjoyment of the show at which branches of Ann Harvey, Dash, Eastex and Alex & Co based in Cambridge’s Grafton Centre provided an interesting and colourful variety of outfits in a range of sizes which were modelled by members and friends.
Shopping vouchers for £25 among the prizes encouraged a brisk sale of raffle tickets and all attendees were offered a 20% discount on clothes purchased within two weeks of the show.
Thanks to much hard work on the part of club members, and the generosity of the retailers this very successful evening raised £1,000 for the President’s charity.
Collecting for Marie Curie amongst the daffodils!
As the part of helping with the Marie Curie Cancer Care Daffodil Collections – on the 19th and 20th February we were responsible for organising the collection at Tesco’s at Milton. With some assistance from non-soroptimists, a total of £1476.25 was collected. Well done everyone!
Other members are involved with collections at other venues/on other dates so I expect the final total will be nearer £2,000.
Fun at our Quiz Night!
Everyone was invited to join in the fun at our fundraising Quiz Night on the 20th November and, thanks to the hard work of Gill and her team of organizers, the evening was a great success, with a good mixture of club members, friends and Parkinson’s Disease Society teams.
It resulted in the amazing amount of £641 being raised towards the President’s charity, and we have had many favourable comments about what an enjoyable evening it was.
Cam-mind’s biggest fundraising event ever!
Volunteering to act as marshals at a prestigious event is always done with the hopes that the weather will be kind – and it was. Under gloriously sunny skies, on 20 September, members of our club marshalled and handed out bottles of water to runners as they battled it out in the Chariots of Fire charity relay race, held this year in aid of local mental health charity Cam-mind, which was our Past President Jane Pearson’s chosen charity.
Chariots of Fire is the region’s largest charity relay race. It attracts teams from hundreds of businesses and organisations across the area – each with six team members who run the 1.7 mile course around Cambridge, starting at Queens’ Green, following in the footsteps of the famous Chariots of Fire film.
Each year, different charities are selected to receive the sponsorship money raised by the event and over the last 17 years £713,568 has been raised in total for a wide variety of worthy causes. For 2009, Cam-mind was chosen to benefit from the funds raised and sponsorship money is currently being raised by the teams who ran in the race. The charity will be presented with a cheque for the total amount raised in January 2010.
Cam-mind is the longest established mental health charity in Cambridge – having supported local people experiencing mental health problems since 1908. Our service users are among the 1 in 4 people in this region who will experience mental health problems at some point in their lives. This includes conditions such as depression and anxiety – now among the biggest causes of absence from work – together with bipolar disorder, eating disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia, among others.
Mental health problems can happen to anyone, and most people can and do recover. Cam-mind’s services are designed to support mental health service users on their road to recovery. These services include supported housing, one-to-one befriending, and skills-building/social activities such as football, gardening, pottery and cookery. These projects are about re-building confidence, providing social support, promoting recovery and preventing isolation.
Bridge the Gap
We supported the ‘Bridge the Gap’ charity walk around the colleges – the eighth year and in the University’s eight hundredth year. It was the best way to see Cambridge City’s beautiful heritage strolling on a Sunday morning.
The weather was perfect and the company was great. President Janet and four members met at the Shire Hall car park at 9.30am and walked to Jesus Green where they met Immediate Past President, Joye. They had finished the walk by 1pm and then had the opportunity to visit some private gardens at Clare College and other colleges. They had a bonus of science and history at the Zoology musuem.
On the way they met two more members who were stewarding – trying to keep the walkers and the traffic apart – but they did not find another two members who were ‘on duty’ elsewhere.
The Bridge the Gap was started in 2001 by the Press Relief News Community Fund and the Arthur Rank Hospice. In some years a third charity has also been involved, these being Teenage Cancer Trust, East Anglian Air Ambulance, Papworth Trust and the Cambridge branch of the Samaritans.
Members of our club have long been involved with Arthur Rank, giving service by running a tea bar rota on Saturday and Sunday evenings and joining in a variety of fund raising events.
Arthur Rank House serves the population living in and around Cambridgeshire, The staff and volunteers work together to provide a friendly and relaxed environment to patients, families and friends.
Coffee for Project Sierra
The Club was able to do some public relations and publicity when our commitment to raise £1000 for Project Sierra received a boost of £305 from the Programme Action Committee’s coffee morning at Dry Drayton in August, thanks to the support of the local community, and the sterling efforts of our members.
Project Sierra is a four year partnership between Soroptimist International and Hope and Homes for Children, which aims to raise over £1 million to transform the lives of some of the most deprived women and children in Sierra Leone
Shaking Tins for Parkinson’s
When organising some tin shaking for Parkinson’s Disease Society in August, President Janet thought it would be a good opportunity for some club ‘service’ and was delighted that members collected a total of £604 at Tesco in Fulbourn and Ely, a brilliant result.
The local branch will be using the money to provide therapy at their monthly meeting at the David Rayner Centre in Cambridge, and to support the work of the Ely Group.
On the wettest Sunday in May!
Oxfam said “A big thank-you’ to everyone for taking part in the annual fundraising walk this year. The event, which took place at Chilford Hall in Cambridgeshie, raised a fantastic £33,652.26.
Several members of our club volunteered to be marshals and administrators at the walk in May, on what was probably the wettest Sunday in the month. Runners and marshals alike finished the day mud splattered and rather damp.
The money raised will go to support Oxfam’s Emergencies Fund, a life saving tool in helping people recover from natural disaster and conflict. Oxfam works in over 30 countries to provide clean water and sanitation, health and hygiene care and security for some of the 30 million people affected by conflict or natural disaster every year.