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Fantastic
fundraisers |
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| EMYR RUNS RACE
OF HIS LIFE |
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Emyr
Roberts, a Dental Practitioner
from Llanrumney in Cardiff, beat
his last year’s time for
completing the London Marathon
by over 20 minutes. “ My aim was
to complete the course in under
3 hours” said the delighted Emyr
who finished the race in 2 hours
59 minutes and 1 second.
As well as the personal
challenge, Emyr wanted to raise
funds to support “Leaves of
Hope”, and we were delighted to
receive £470 from him when we
returned from our Spring Convoy. |
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MARK RUNS FOR
BELARUS |
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Bristol
Police Sergeant, Mark Runacres,
had been involved in the
preparations of girlfriend
Carley Woods’ humanitarian aid
trip last spring. Carley was
travelling out with the Bristol
Youth Inclusion Project joining
us in Minsk in April. Whilst she
was due to be travelling the
1,500 miles by road, Mark was
pounding the beat in training
for the London Marathon.
He decided to use the
opportunity as a fundraiser for
“Leaves of Hope” and, having
completed the course in an
amazing 3 hours 46 minutes and
49 seconds, brought in £700 with
him. |
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BRO EIRWG PUPILS
“KEEP MUM” FOR ORPHANS. |
Nearly 60 pupils from
Ysgol Bro Eirwg in Llanrumney, Cardiff
decided to hold a sponsored silence
after hearing a talk from the mum of one
their classmates, JJ Mikinzi. JJ’s mum,
Jackie Liburd, had just returned from
the first of our spring convoys and had
gone into the school with photographs to
tell the children all about her
experiences.
The pupils were so moved by the plight
of the Belarusian children they felt
that they wanted to do something to help
– but it had to be something difficult
and worthwhile, something to challenge
them. |
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They
decided that a 20 minute
sponsored silence would be an
effective way for them to raise
funds and awareness. If you
relate to how long the 2 minutes
silence feels like on
Remembrance Sunday, you will
realise that this was certainly
not going to be an easy task for
60 9 year olds! |
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But they did it!
Wriggling and fidgeting in frustration
throughout, yet determined not to make a
sound. For a full 20 minutes nobody
spoke and as a result the children
raised £750. |
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| CHRIS’
PILGRIMAGE WALK IN SPAIN. |
| Chris Dade from
Worthing came up with an unusual way to
raise funds when he decided to walk the
famous Camino from Pamplona to Santiago
de Compostella. The 500km pilgrimage
took Chris and his friends 24days and,
despite various injuries, feels that it
was the experience of a lifetime. |
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“...Walking the Camino certainly
forces you to face your inner
demons and puts your faith to
the test. On the tough days when
I walked alone with nothing but
thoughts, a heavy backpack and
the sun beating down, fear was
often by my side. But as they
say, if you don’t learn to
conquer your fears then a life
of 100 years is a tragedy, if
you do then a single day is a
triumph.
On the easy days, nature filled
my senses with stunning
landscapes of every colour and
the sense of freedom filled my
soul…” |
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| “… Although
the experience wasn’t easy, I can truly
say that I had the time of my life. I
haven’t felt so alive in a long time.
From the beautiful old churches to the
old villages, from the flaming red poppy
fields to the mountain landscape, it is
a time I will never forget...” |
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Chris’s amazing feat raised a wonderful
£631.
For more information about The Santiago
de Compostella Pilgrimage
you can contact Chris at
chris_dade@yahoo.com |
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| TEENAGER DOES
TRI-ATHLON FOR CHILDREN |
| Fifteen year old
Karl Sprayson lives in a children’s home
in Cardiff. He was a member of the team
who travelled to Minsk in August, and
was so moved by what he saw, he was
determined to join us in taking
Christmas to the children in the
hospital and orphanage. |
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Karl knew
that part of the conditions for
his coming to Belarus was to
raise his own funds and decided
that a tri-athlon would be his
best bet. Karl did all the
organisation of his event alone,
including making contact with
the local newspaper, The South
Wales Echo.
He planned to swim fifteen
lengths of the local swimming
pool, walk the six or so miles
from the home to Castell Coch
(Cardiff’s famous “fairytale”
Red Castle) and finish off by
cycling back. |
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His
teacher, Paulette Hanscombe,
braved the swim and the walk
with him, and youth worker Chris
Gaucci accompanied Karl on the
bike ride.
Not all of
the money pledged has been
received yet, but to date we
have received a staggering
£1,665. |
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| “SLOW AND
STEADY” |
| You don’t have to
do bizarre or difficult things to be a
successful fundraiser, as has been
proved by Ann Lock and her team from The
Llanedeyrn Powerhouse in Cardiff. |
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The
Powerhouse is an Adult Education
and Community Centre and is used
by many. Ann has been to Belarus
three times now and, as well as
encouraging others to join us,
she ensures that everybody is
aware of the work of “Leaves of
Hope”.
By holding
raffles and coffee mornings,
selling things - from Matryoshka
(Russian dolls) to “help
yourself to some home-grown
grapes for a donation”, and
writing to friends asking for
monthly sponsorship,
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Ann has raised an absolutely amazing
£3,000 since June of this year. |
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