Make Someone's Christmas with Noel's Christmas Presents

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without NOEL’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS and Sky 1 HD and Twofour Productions are looking for people who have been selfless or have faced adversity and truly deserve the Christmas present of a lifetime. Maybe you would like to reward someone who has remained positive despite suffering a serious illness and without this present may not have such a happy Christmas. Maybe you know someone who has done exceptional things for others, given their life to help a charity, or ill and underprivileged people; or maybe you just know someone who dreams of spending Christmas with a lost love or family member they haven’t seen for a long time or someone they have never actually met.

This Christmas starts with the TV institution NOEL’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS on Sky 1 HD and Sky 1 as some of the nation’s most deserving, hard-working and selfless people are rewarded with a Christmas Present they will never forget. Noel Edmonds travels the length and breadth of the county surprising those people who go further than anyone else to make a positive difference to their individual communities and the people living within them. Each person selected is surprised with a once in a lifetime present or trip which they have dreamed of but never been able to have. Once they have received their present Noel then follows them as their dreams come true, making sure each person has the experience they truly deserve.

Produced by Twofour productions, NOEL’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS has firmly established its place as must-see Christmas TV on Sky1 HD and Sky 1, with last year’s show attracting a cumulative audience in excess of 3.5 million.

To nominate someone for one of NOEL’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS and make their wildest dreams come true or to tell them more about your story visit www.sky.com/noel or email noelschristmaspresents@twofour.co.uk or write to Noel’s Christmas Presents, Twofour Broadcast, 6 - 7 St Cross Street, London , EC1N 8UA. Or you can call 07728 268 089.

70's Nightclub Reunion Raises £500

Many of St Mary's supporters may remember dancing the nights away when the old Barrow Public Hall was home to Maxims and Scorpio. Memories of those times in the 1970s and 1980s were revived in a reunion held on Friday 10th September at the Royal British Legion on Holker Sreet, Barrow. Organisers Kim Sergant and Jane Wicks wished for all proceeds from the night to be given to local charities. They kindly donated £500 to St Mary's Hospice.

Organiser Kim Sargant commented: "We wanted to fill the place just like it was at Maxims and Scorpio." Maxims was opened by Peter Miller in the old Barrow Public Hall, facing Cornwallis Street, in 1974. It cost £25,000 to fit out the building as the town's first specialist discotheque and the only late-night club for the 19-to-30 age group. It closed as Scorpio One in the summer of 1989 as the lease on the 1850s building ran out. The hall was eventually demolished but the Scorpio name survived in a former chapel on nearby Lawson Street. For part of 1980, Barrow Public Hall had been run by Walter Floyd as Rafters before Colin Lavery opened Scorpio One in January 1981. Many famous names had played the venue through the decades from the Syd Lawrence Orchestra to The Drifters, Billy Idol and The Stranglers.

With thanks to North West Evening Mail for article information.

Pictured: Reunion organisers Jane Wicks & Kim Sargent hand £500 to Dora Greenway of the St Mary's Fundraising Team.

Cycling Coast to Coast for St Mary's

Pictures:
1. The 'Lock, Stock & Broomwagon' team begin the Coast to Coast route from Whitehaven to Sunderland.
2. Coast to Coast route end. Ready for the return route the next day!
3. The team begin the return route home from Wear to Walney.
4. Finishing the challenge at Sandy gap, Walney. Time for a well deserved rest!

We would like to congratulate the ‘Lock, Stock and Broomwagon’ cycle team for completing a Coast to Coast cycle challenge to raise much needed funds for St Mary’s Hospice. The 6 riders from Ulverston making up the team included: Wendy and Anthony English, Claire and Dave Watson, Mike Jewell and Keith Denison. The interesting team name was derived from the term ‘Broomwagon’ – traditionally the van which sweeps up the exhausted stragglers at the end of each stage of the Tour de France.

The team completed the Sustrans Coast to Coast (C2C) route from Whitehaven to Sunderland in 2 days, returning by the Wear to Walney (W2W) route over the following 2 days.

Riding for up to 8 hours a day, the first leg of the route took the team to Alston, a distance of 78 miles of very hilly Lake District cycling, including the 580 metre summit of Hartside. The second leg of 61 miles took them to Sunderland, which included the highest point of the route, Black Hill at 609 metres. When the team arrived in Sunderland they had just enough time to dip their toes into the North Sea, eat (a lot) and sleep, before turning around and aiming the bikes back towards the Furness Peninsula. The return route took them a bit further South past the famous Tan Hill pub, the highest point on the W2W route at 527 metres. The team commented that this was the hardest part of the journey – in which they battled 50 mile per hour winds. After 78 miles, they enjoyed a welcome rest at Kirkby Stephen. The final day in the saddle took them 75 miles through the Howgill Fells and the beautiful South Lakes to arrive on the West Shore of Walney at Sandy Gap.

Support for the journey was provided by Claire Watson of Gill Cycles, Ulverston, who kindly offered to transport everyone’s luggage to each destination. Claire then rode back to meet the team en route. The team made sure that she didn’t miss any of the hill climbs! Additional help came from DC Cycles, Ulverston, who offered to donate sports nutrition products to help keep the pedals turning.

St Mary’s Hospice and the cycle team would like to thank of all of those who sponsored the team for each stage of the ride.

Snooker Competition Raises Funds for St Mary's

We would like to thank the members of The Cemetery Cottages Club in Barrow for raising £100 for St Mary's Hospice. The money was raised through snooker competitions held on Monday nights by Ken Irving of Plymouth Street, Barrow.

Pictured: Mike Anderson of St Mary's Hospice Fundraising receiving a cheque from The Mayor, Ken Irving and the two snooker finalists.

Florence kindly donates £300 from her 90th Birthday Party

We would like to thank Mrs Florence Chelton for kindly donating £300 to St Mary's Hospice. The money was raised at her 90th birthday party when she asked her guests to donate what they could instead of purchasing gifts. Mrs Chelton was delighted at how much was raised and commented that she had a thoroughly wonderful day.

Pictured: Florence Chelton presenting the £300 to Dora Greenway of the St Mary's Fundraising Team.

Forge Europa - Raising Money for Hospice Care Home & Away

Forge Europa, Ulverston is assembling a team of cyclists to undertake the gruelling 100km route from Carlisle to Ulverston on 3rd October 2010. The ride across the beautiful English Lake District includes a number of ‘leg burning’ climbs and is being attempted to raise money for two very worthwhile charities:

St Mary’s Hospice – Local palliative care
St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston (Charity Number 517738) provides specialised supportive and palliative care for people throughout South Cumbria with life-limiting conditions. All St Mary’s care is provided free of charge, but it is not cost free and relies on the support, generosity and goodwill of the community.

CAFOD – Bikes for carers in Africa
Forge Europa wants to also support hospice care for those living in the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged communities. By raising funds for bicycles (each bicycle costs £50) organised through CAFOD (Charity Number 285776) health care workers who are often volunteers, can administer medicines, support, food and nursing care to many more people in their own homes in rural Rwanda, Nigeria and Mozambique.

50% of all donations matched
Forge Europa is committed to giving 50% matched fund raising which means for every £1,000 raised through sponsorship, Forge Europa will donate a further £500. Please help them reach their target of £20,000 for charity by sponsoring the cycle team.

JustGiving sends your donation straight to CAFOD and/or St Mary's Hospice respectively and automatically reclaims Gift Aid on all eligible donations, so what you give is worth even more. Added to this Forge Europa is committed to giving 50% matched fund raising which means for every £1,000 we raise through sponsorship, Forge Europa will donate a further £500 so your donation can help us raise so much more money! The fundraising target to is £20,000!

It's easy to donate online with a credit or debit card - just go to the following JustGiving pages. The first link is to make donations to CAFOD and the second link is to make donations to St Mary's Hospice. You can of course divide your donation between both causes by using both links below to make donations:

To make a donation to CAFOD: http://www.justgiving.com/CumbriaWayCycleRideCAFOD

To make a donation to St Mary's Hospice: http://www.justgiving.com/CumbriaWayCycleRide

St Mary's Santa Dash 2010

Sporting stars the Barrow Raiders swapped their rugby outfits for Santa Suits when they launched the St Mary’s Hospice Santa dash on Tuesday August 23rd.

As they launched the event at Craven Park the Raiders were full of festive cheer.

“We are delighted to be launching this year's Santa Dash, which will raise vital funds for St Mary’s. We are proud to wear our red Santa suits and hope others will support the Hospice by signing up to take part,” said Brett McDermott.

St Mary’s hopes that hundreds of bearded Santa’s, will be taking part in their first ever Santa Dash, on Sunday 28 November. The festive event starts at 1.30pm and after travelling a mile the Santa’s will finish at Victoria Gardens in time to join the Dickensian Grand Parade, which proceeds through the town centre at 2.30pm.

Everyone who enters the 1 mile run/walk will get a free Santa Claus costume, which they get to keep, and there will also be a medal for all who complete the run.

Zoe Guest, Funding & Operations Manager said “We hope our Santa Dash will be a really fun event for all the family and we hope to see hundreds of Santa’s running through the streets of Ulverston. The Hospice provides supportive and palliative care for life-limiting illnesses and to their families, both at the Hospice itself and at home. The Santa Dash will helps us to raise the funds we need to continue to offer these vital services.”

“Even though it is summer and the sun is shining, it is a great time to sign up for the challenge so you have plenty of time to get fit” said Zoe.

People wanting to take part in the St Mary’s Santa Dash can enter individually or as a family. Entrants must be 4 and over, and all those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Entry is £12.50 per adult and £7.50 per child with a special offer of £30 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children.

To enter please call the Santa Dash Hotline on 01229 580305.A registration form will also soon be available to download from our website.