Please Support My Race Night in aid of Stroke Association
- 21 January 2012 11:56148575Sorry to repeat myself from the topic on Roger's newsletter but I thought this was actually worthy of its own topic title so it doesn't get lost.
In case you have been in hiding for the last few weeks and did not know, I am running the London Marathon again, this time for The Stroke Association, as my grandmother suffered a serious stroke in July 2010 and is still learning to live with its consequences.
Rather than ask people to sponsor me I am putting on a few events to raise the £2000 that I have pledged, so that people can have a good time and get something back for their money, at the same time as raising money and awareness for such a great cause.
My main event is a Race Night which is taking place on 11th February. For those who aren't familiar it's a fun family evening which includes bingo and a raffle but the main attraction is simulated horse racing. It's all run like proper horse racing and people place their bets, then the lights go out and we watch the races on a big screen and sound system, with the lights turned down. It's all really exciting as we cheer on our horses. The winnings are split between the winners and the charity, and there are other prizes up for grabs too.
The Mayor of Dover is attending and will be opening the evening and judging the fancy dress competition, and will also start the raffle draw. I am hoping to get some good press coverage of the event too.
I am hoping to sell 100 tickets to the evening as that is the maximum number the hall can hold. I held a race night last year for a different charity and we had about 45 people and still managed to raise several hundred pounds. It was also fantastic fun. We have beaten last year's number so far with 3 weeks to go. If we can reach the magic 100 we will raise LOADS!!!
Please please think about buying a ticket or a table, or if you can't come, could you support the event in other ways such as donating raffle prizes or sponsoring a race? All and any support received is wonderful.
For catering purposes it would be really helpful to have final numbers by the end of January if possible. The ticket price is to cover the costs of the event so that everything we make on the night goes to the Stroke Association. If people buy their tickets in advance and then bring along a few of those pound coins in a jar that we often tend to keep at home, it doesn't feel like you're spending much, especially as a meal is included in the price.
Everyone has a good chance of winning something so no one should go away empty handed and everyone should have a really good time. We have some lovely raffle prizes too.
There is a press release from the Stroke Association in development at the moment and should come out next week, and in the last 2 weeks before the event I will be doing a publicity drive. In the meantime I have attached the flyer. It hasn't come out all that clear on here but I can email it to anyone who wants a better look, or alternatively you can go to my website www.clairejjones.co.uk and download it from the Race Night page. You can also buy your tickets there.
I must also thank Paul for letting me use the forum to publicise the event, I really appreciate it.
Please please spread the word everyone, and please come if you can!!
Stroke is really nasty and in many cases fatal or completely devastating and life changing. It can also happen to any one of us, at any age, or anyone in our family. Let's do what we can to help the Stroke Association support the survivors and their families, those who have lost loved ones, and also help to prevent them happening in the first place.
If you can't come but still want to support the cause you can find details of how to do that on my website. www.clairejjones.co.uk
Thanks for reading, and for your support!
- 21 January 2012 12:01148578Claire - you know I will support this, gladly. Thank you for deciding to do this. Stroke affects so many people, not only the people experiencing the stroke themselves, and it is still not sufficiently understood by most of us. Your energy and commitment are awesome!
- 21 January 2012 12:23148584Thank you Bern, for your support and encouragement. These events are a success because people bother to come to them. I am amazed that in the hard times we are in at the moment, the charity events are still able to succeed, and that we haven't lost our compassion as a society. It's good to have something fun to look forward to as well, when times are so bleak.
- 21 January 2012 12:42148589Clair.
Well done and good luck for the Marathon.
Sorry that I can't make the race night, I do love them and hope it is a big success. I have added your appeal to our website, hope this helps and I will have a think about how else we can help.
http://www.movetheminer.org/"My New Year's Resolution, is to try and emulate Marek's level of chilled out, thoughtfulness and humour towards other forumites and not lose my decorum" - 21 January 2012 13:09148594Gary that's wonderful, thank you so much!!
- 22 January 2012 11:17148694Juts wanted to bring this up to the top again!!!!
- 22 January 2012 15:07148732Myself and Mark are planning to attend just have to see what flump is up to after a scare last night .
- 22 January 2012 15:21148735Well done yet again Claire! Its wonderful, the energy and commitment you have and all for such a deserving cause too. Strokes are all too familar to most of us as almost all families have been affected either with friends or family members.
Sadly, unfortunately I can't be there but I will be in touch to help and I have some raffle prizes to donate. - 23 January 2012 20:11148986Sorry for the delay in my response, have been laid up with a nasty cold and laryngitis, stopped me from getting to the Celebration of the Sea event at the town hall.
Will be great to see you there Melissa, and thanks Colette for your support in the wings. Please don't phone me just yet, I have absolutely no voice at all!! Communicating only by text and email at the moment!
I will try to post something a bit more exciting and inspiring when I am feeling better.
- 24 January 2012 10:36149086Hi Claire.
Have you contacted Dover Community Radio to advertise your Marathon run and race night? If not then contact Barry barryatob@aol.com"My New Year's Resolution, is to try and emulate Marek's level of chilled out, thoughtfulness and humour towards other forumites and not lose my decorum" - 26 January 2012 20:12149595Hi Gary,
No I haven't, I will definitely follow that up, thank you.
Now that I am feeling better, I thought I would share why I am doing what I am doing.
I have chosen to fundraise for the Stroke Association this year because my grandmother suffered a severe stroke in 2010 and I have now seen first hand what a cruel and devastating affliction it is. She went from being an elderly but spritely and independent woman with a fierce love of music (she was a composer and concert pianist in her prime) to completely helpless and unable to do anything for herself. And it was sudden.
In time she has regained some of her old self and can manage some simple things, but she will remain permanently disabled, paralysed down her left side, needing round the clock care in a nursing home, and worst of all for her, will never play the piano again.
Before this happened I knew nothing about stroke, it was just something that happened to the elderly, and they died from it. Quickly, without suffering. How wrong was I, to discover that actually up to a third of its victims are left imprisoned in their own bodies, and some of those who do die, do so slowly over a matter of days or weeks, goodness knows what they must be thinking and feeling during that time, unable to communicate. I also learned that it's not something that just happens to the elderly, it can happen at any age, and to any one of us.
Please come to my Race Night to support a hugely worthy cause. With 150,000 people having a stroke in the UK every year, who knows when any of us might need them one day. - 26 January 2012 21:56149644claire i wil be there i know what it is like to have a stroke as i have had one in 2009 down my left side i still have problams now if you can let me know where i can get a ticket fromYorkshire Born And Yorkshire Bred
- 26 January 2012 22:35149651Hi Ted,
I'm so sorry to hear about your stroke.
It will be great to have your company on the night!
You can buy a ticket on my website www.clairejjones.co.uk or you can email me at clairejjb@me.com with your phone number and I can give you a ring to arrange for you to buy one in person.
Sorry I am having terrible trouble making the hyper links live so you will need to copy and paste them. - 26 January 2012 23:36149660Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
- 27 January 2012 10:11149681thank you Tom for that linkYorkshire Born And Yorkshire Bred
- 27 January 2012 10:12149682Claire i will give you a callYorkshire Born And Yorkshire Bred
- 27 January 2012 10:26149683Claire.
If you are still fundraising in August, please come along to our Kent Miners Festival.
Perhaps you could get some volunteers and do a Tag Marathon on a treadmill or something like that, I am sure you will get many donations for the Stroke Association."My New Year's Resolution, is to try and emulate Marek's level of chilled out, thoughtfulness and humour towards other forumites and not lose my decorum" - 27 January 2012 19:08149763Thank you Tom. I just don't know why i can't get the hang of it, I am usually pretty good with these things. I have decided the URL tool just doesn't like me. Sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn't!
Thank you Gary for the tip about Dover Community Radio. I am meeting Barry on Sunday. Thank you also for the suggestion about the Miners Festival, I will definitely bear that in mind.
Thank you for your call Ted, I look forward to meeting you properly! - 29 January 2012 23:01150221Had my interview with Dover Community Radio this afternoon, thanks for the tip Gary.
Barry will let me know when it's going to be broadcast. I've never done a radio interview before so I hope it's not too embarrassing.
Barry was a very good interviewer. - 29 January 2012 23:20150224"Barry was a very good interviewer."
Barry is undoubtedly an absolute godsend when it comes to doing the right thing to help local causes prosper, I am sure too that he was entirely charmed by your enthusiasm and drive.
Radio coverage could indeed prove a great boost to your utterly worthwhile campaign Claire. Rock-on Barry.Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
