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| 2011 Events |
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Firewalk
13 fearless Martha Trust supporters took part in our recent Firewalk
at the Deal and Betteshanger Lions RFC Firework Spectacular on
Friday November 4. |
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| Each participant underwent a two hour motivational training session ahead of the Firewalk that taught them how to overcome their fears and face life’s challenges. They were also shown a range of techniques that can be used in all areas of life to calm their nerves, boost their confidence, and help them achieve their goals. |
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| Every one of the 13 who signed up for the Firewalk successfully completed it, raising a grand total of £2,500 in sponsorship for Martha. |
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We’d like to thank the Deal and Betteshanger Lions RFC for hosting the event, T W Services for donating a free skip to dispose of the hot ashes, to Alan Langley for photographing the Firewalk and Blaze for running such a fantastic fundraiser.
And, of course, we’d like to say a special thank you to the 13 people who overcame their fear and walked over hot coals for us! |
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Photographs of the event are available from Photoboxgallery >
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Geraint Jones Golf Day
This year’s Geraint Jones Golf Day at Prince’s Club, Sandwich was a spectacular success raising over £8,000. |
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| Despite being the tail-end of October the weather was great and the course was spectacular, with our 16 teams treated to 18 holes of some of the best championship links Golf in the country. |
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| The auction was brilliantly hosted by Nick Bushell of Lorica and included some incredible prizes like a 4 ball at Wentworth donated by Strokesport and tickets to see Manchester United play courtesy of Prince’s Golf Club. Alan Langley photographed the whole event and our main sponsors for the day were Sota Solutions, with Crawford Insurance Specialists and MTS Cleaning Services sponsoring our tees. |
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| Geraint Jones presents the winners cup to Gary Denham. |
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| Taking first place in the golf was the Strokesport team lead by Gary Denham which scored an impressive 92 points. In close second place was the Paul Burton team scoring 91 points and in third place the Nathan Lamb team scoring 90 points. The Nearest the Pin played from 3rd tee on Shore was won by Graham Stiles and the longest drive played from 9th tee on Dunes was won by James Snell. |
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| Congratulations to all the winning teams and a huge thank you to everyone who took part, not least the Prince’s Golf Club for the amazing venue and Geraint Jones for hosting such a great event. |
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Harvest gifts
We’d like to say a huge thank you to the staff, pupils and their families at Eastry Church of England Primary School and the parishioners of St Mary’s Church, Eastry. |
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| They have generously donated the proceeds of their Harvest Festival and Harvest Supper to Martha including gifts of fruit, vegetables, plants and seeds. Alongside the fresh produce we received £175 in donations so thank you to everyone involved. |
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Robertsbridge Wheelers go the distance for local charity
A group of cyclists from British Gypsum, Robertsbridge – known as the Robertsbridge Wheelers – recently cycled 84 miles from Hastings Pier to Brighton Pier and back again to raise money for Martha Trust. |
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| Martha is Charity of the Year at British Gypsum, Robertsbridge and, having raised nearly £1,300 towards our work, the entire Robertsbridge Wheelers’ team cycled to Mary House, Hastings to hand deliver their cheque. |
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| Greeted by Julie Gayler, Director of Marketing and Gill Burnham, Director of Care Services at Martha Trust, the team included; Mike Emson, Steve Mabbott, Neil Hutton, David Catt, George Clements, Chris Tyhurst, Guy Hirst-Amos, Dan Burke and Graham Peace. |
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And they're back!
It’s home sweet home for the teams and their cars in this year’s Monte Carlo Madness car challenge. |
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In just four days our intrepid teams have made the journey from Dover to Monte Carlo in cars worth no more than £100. They enjoyed a great send-off including a motorcycle escort through Dover from the local arm of the Harley-Davidson Riders Club.
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| Photographer Alan Langley was on hand to capture events and we’ll be posting a film of our Monte Carlo Madness adventure as soon as it’s available. |
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| Each team has raised thousands of pounds towards our work so a massive well done and thank you to everyone who took part. |
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They've done it!
Sophie Southwick, Natasha Smart, Lauren Goodban and Jess Jones threw themselves from a plane and hurtled towards earth on 5 August - and all to raise funds for Martha. |
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| The skydive at Headcorn airfield in Kent, Sophie’s first, was an ‘absolutely amazing experience’ and one that she’d not only recommend to others, but actually wants to do again herself! |
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| The team at Headcorn were incredibly helpful and funny, which soothed their nerves and gave the trio a truly remarkable experience. Sponsorship money is still coming in and we’ll keep you posted on the final total. |
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Walk the Walk
Paul Craven, a support worker who’s been with Martha for a ‘very long time’ set himself an amazing personal challenge recently. |
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| Paul decided to walk the 51 miles between our homes in Hastings and Deal, returning just in time to celebrate his first wedding anniversary, to raise money for Martha. |
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| "I did some fundraising for Martha a while back now and wanted to do something more. But jumping out of planes isn’t really for me and I can’t drive, so Monte Carlo Madness was out! |
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| “I set on the idea of this particular sponsored walk as I knew it would be a monster challenge physically and mentally. I thought this would make it a worthwhile thing to sponsor.” |
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| And it was. It took Paul 16 hours to complete the walk and in all he raised £325 through his Virgin Money Giving site with additional funds raised on his sponsorship form. |
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| Fortunately for Paul he did get back in time for his anniversary because, as he put it, “If I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been the walk that killed me!” |
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Animal Mania
| Dover Town Council ran it’s hugely popular Animal Mania at Pencester Gardens, Kent. Around 4,000 people visited with proceeds from the main events - the dog and pet shows - donated to Martha Trust. |
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| Visitors enjoyed obedience training displays run by Capel Dog Trainers, a mini zoo, mobile farm, climbing wall, balloon modelling, a paper boat race and raffle. The local dog rescue team and dog warden were on hand to talk to visitors and the whole event was opened by Dover Mayor, Councillor Ronnie Philpott. |
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| In all over £200 was raised for Martha Trust so thank you to everyone who took part, and to Dover Town Council for staging the event. |
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| A toast to wine tasting, secret gardens and good company |
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| The first Martha Trust Wine Tasting at the remarkable Secret Gardens in Sandwich has been a stunning success. |
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| Just over 130 people joined us in the walled grounds of Salutation House to sample a wonderful collection of 9 wines courtesy of Hercules Wine Warehouse. Along with the wine and canapés was a chance to enter our wine tasting quiz by linking the wine to its name and region, as well as a raffle with prizes including a meal for two at the George and Dragon in Sandwich, complimentary tickets for a family of five to Leeds Castle and 9 holes of Golf at the Stoneless Golf Centre. |
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| The Clarinet Quartet entertained guests with their beautiful melodies. |
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| Guests could enjoy the wines as they wandered through the three and a half acres of beautifully restored landscaped gardens including a footbridge and lake, before coming together on the steps of Salutation House for a brief presentation and auction. |
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| Among the lots on offer was a Brewery Tour generously donated by Shepherd Neame, a professional recording session with Independent Music Productions and Total Experiences, a Sandwich River Bus Tour and an Aveda cut and finish with head and shoulder massage and Shellac manicure from Pure Indulgence, Folkestone. |
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In all the evening raised a magnificent £3712.42 for Martha Trust and our sincere thanks go to everyone who either donated something towards the evening, or joined us on the night and supported our raffle and auction.
We’d particularly like to thank Dominic D H Parker, owner of The Secret Gardens, David Tingey of Hercules Wine Warehouse, the Barclays Corporate Team from Ashford which supported the raffle and auction, Nick Cunningham Plumbing, Heating and Electrical Engineers for the canapés and the Clarinet Quartet whose beautiful melodies accompanied the event. |
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| Trails of 3 Cities - They've done it! |
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| Our intrepid Trail of 3 Cities teams have all made it back from their epic European adventure. |
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| All the money is now in and we raised a staggering £16,170. |
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| Each team drove from Dover to Frankfurt, Geneva, Paris and back to Dover in just four days in cars worth no more than £100. And unbelievably, when the cars were finally sold at the Hobbs Parker auction in Ashford, they actually made a profit which is also being passed on to Martha. |
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We want to thank everyone who took part in the Trail of 3 Cities and all the people who so generously supported their efforts.
Well done to everyone. And now for next year’s challenge... |
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| Martha received a tremendous amount of support and sponsorship from a number of local companies. Please click here to see them > |
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| 80s Exercise Extravaganza |
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| In a frenzy of leg warmers and leotards, around thirty plucky participants joined a morning of body combat, body conditioning, bootcamp, pilates and yogo to raise funds for Martha. |
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| Everything on the day was generously donated including a mountain of fruit from A C Wellard & Partners Ltd, much-needed refreshments from Kent Office Supplies, and a PA system from Mark 1 Music. There was even a representative from Phoenix Trading who offered Martha 10% of everything made on the day. |
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| Not only did we manage to raise over £350 but for many of the people there, it was the first time they’d ever heard of our work at Martha Trust. So thank you to everyone who contributed to this event, not least of all our fantastic volunteers who helped to make the morning such a success. |
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| The exercise sessions were run by leading Kent fitness instructor Abi Reynaert, who kindly gave up her time for free. To a classic 80s’ soundtrack, Abi led high and low impact sessions with regular, 10 minute breaks, ensuring that everyone could join in. |
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Fundraising on the fairway
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| This year’s Golf Day at the Prince’s Club in Sandwich raised an incredible £14,000 including £6,000 from long-term Martha supporter Basepoint. |
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| Among the items up for bidding in the charity auction was a signed Ronaldo shirt, Joe Cole’s football boots and a chance to play golf on the spectacular Valderrama course in Spain. |
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| Plans are already underway for two further golf days, so keep an eye on this site for further details. |
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| A Fashionable Event! |
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| An appreciative audience including Sandra Howard, 1960’s supermodel and wife of the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, Michael Howard, enjoyed our first Ladies Lunch & Fashion Show at the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone on 17 November. |
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| Volunteers, including staff from Basepoint and Martha, modelled glamourous day and evening wear supplied by Ella Boutique and Debenhams , and an auction and cash raffle boosted the funds raised to £2,500. |
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| The organisers and co- hosts were Serita Boxall and Loraine Grover and business sponsors and supporters of the event were Basepoint, Ella Boutique, Debenhams, The Art of Design, Leas Cliff Hall, Sure Slim and JC Office Supplies. |
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| For further information about Martha Trust or how you can help fundraise for us, please contact Martha on 01304 610448 or email our fundraising team. |
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| Firewalk - A Blazing Success! |
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| Adam Dowling, KMFM Breakfast show presenter, and Lorraine Grover, Centre Manager at Basepoint, Folkestone, joined Martha fundraisers, Julie Gayler and Serita Boxall, and 19 volunteers to walk over hot coals and broken glass at Folkestone’s Enterprise Centre on the, 28th October. The event, sponsored by JC Office Supplies, Basepoint and The Art of Design Ltd, raised over £3,000 for residents at Martha Trust homes in Kent. |
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| Speaking after the event Lorraine said: “It was a great experience, I was very nervous but I’d do it again, especially for such a good cause!” |
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| Community fundraiser, Serita (pictured right), who completed the fire walk, added: “It was a really good night, everyone really enjoyed themselves, when it came to the Firewalk training I decided it probably wasn’t such a good idea, but just did it! |
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| Thanks to Lorraine Grover and Basepoint for their continued support and help in raising funds for Martha. |
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| If you would like to take part in our next Firewalk please please contact Martha on 01304 610448 or email our fundraising team. |
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| Golf Day Raises £9,000 |
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| Our third charity golf day was hosted by Derek Underwood MBE, former England Test cricketer and president of the MCC, and was held in aid of Martha Trust, which provides lifelong, residential and respite care for people with profound physical and multiple learning disabilities, and The Stars Foundation for Cerebral Palsy, a charity that raises funds to buy mobility, communication and educational aids for people with cerebral palsy. |
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| The day, held at Chart Hills Golf Club near Biddenden, attracted 66 golfers, including past and present Kent County cricket stars, Geraint Jones MBE, Darren Stevens and John Shepherd, and comedian, Adger Brown, all of whom enjoyed a sunny day’s golf on the Nick Faldo-designed course set in 200 acres of gently undulating Kentish countryside |
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| At the end of the day Adger Brown used his skills as an auctioneer to help bring the total raised on the day to an amazing £9,000 for the two charities – a truly outstanding performance. Co-organiser, Serita Boxall, community fundraiser for Martha Trust, said ‘I am delighted the day ran so smoothly and was so well supported. |
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| The money will help the residents of Martha Trust homes and The Stars Foundation for Cerebral Palsy! We are really grateful for the kind support we receive for our golf days; a big 'thank-you' to everyone who took part on the course and behind the scenes. |
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| The 2009 Martha Trust Charity Golf Day was sponsored by JC Office Supplies, Geoffrey Birch and The Art of Design Ltd. |
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| Martha Trust will be holding another Golf Day on 19th March 2010 at Prince’s Golf Club in Sandwich. If you wish to reserve a team place or would like more information about Martha Trust and events that we are holding throughout this year and in 2010. |
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| For further information please contact Martha on 01304 610448 or email our fundraising team. |
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Our newly extended Frances House opened in July creating homes for three young people
The recent building work means that Frances House can now accommodate eight young people with profound disabilities. As well as the new bedrooms and bathrooms the rest of the house has been given a makeover, inside and out. The paths and patio have been re-laid thanks to a grant from Kent Handicapped Caring Association, and a large sunroom will be added later this year.
The new extension at Frances House, Deal, (shown on the left in the picture above) blends in with the existing building.
Read about our latest developments in our Autumn 2009 newsletter >>
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Local group donates to Martha
Serita Boxall gratefully accepts a cheque from Business Networking International's Nigel Stevenson for £100. The Deal & Sandwich chapter of BNI have been fundraising for Martha by 'fining' staff during meetings. Having a mobile phone switched on, or talking during presentations were two of the things that warranted a small fine. |
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| Many thanks go to all BNI staff who participated in this event. |
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Mad for Madrid
24 intrepid motorists drove 1,000 miles to Madrid and raised over £20,000 for Martha Trust. The first drama occurred within half an hour of the teams arriving in France when a fan belt broke; after that all went well until Madrid. After scrapping the cars there was time for a celebratory meal and sightseeing before flying home. |
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Special thanks to everyone who took part, and sponsors Basepoint, Systems Technology, Arjo, Sandwich Rotary Club, Sandwich Toll Bridge Fund, The Art of Design Ltd. and JC Office Supplies Ltd
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Click here to see the video >>
Click here to see the teams >>
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South Coast Sponsored Cycle
Congratulations to Amy and Cath who raised £976.64 for Martha Trust. 16 year-old Amy Kempshall is a regular with the Bettshanger Brass Band but on July 27 she used all her puff to cycle from Deal in Kent to the New Forest in Hampshire – a journey of 180 miles. Joining Amy on the three-day adventure was her nan, Cath. |
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Community fundraiser, Serita Boxall, said ‘We are really grateful for their support for Martha Trust’. You can still sponsor Amy by making a donation at www.justgiving.com/Amy-Kempshall or contact Martha on 01304 610448 or email our fundraising team.
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A Blazing Success
Staff at Folkestone-based business Basepoint raised over £3,500 when 21 brave volunteers walked over hot coals in November. Organiser Lorraine Grover, Centre Manager at Basepoint, said: “It was a great experience, I was nervous until I found out there was training before hand, but I’d do it again, especially for a good cause such as Martha Trust!” |
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Community Fundraiser Serita Boxall said: “It was a really fun night, everyone enjoyed themselves and we will be holding another Firewalk, and a Glass Walk, this July. Thanks to all at Basepoint and Lorraine Grover for their help and support”. |
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For information about our forthcoming Fire Walking and Glass Walking event please contact Serita Boxall on 01304 610448 The follow up Fire Walking and Glass Walking event is planned for October 28th and is open to all. For further information please contact Martha on 01304 610448 or email our fundraising team. |
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Rome or Bust a Great Success
In May 2008 we held our first banger rally with 11 cars and 23 passengers driving to Rome in just three days later. The event raised £20,000 to pay for therapies and activities for residents at Martha Trust homes. |
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