Fantasy Charity Fund makes dreams come true
Our company charity, The Fantasy Charity Fund, takes children with life threatening illnesses and their families on the holiday of a lifetime.
The Spicerhaart group has had a record fund-raising year, with more than £50,000 being raised to take children with life-limiting illnesses from the country’s children’s hospices to Disneyland Paris.
Half of the money was raised in one night alone – thanks to the help of Colchester Colne Round Table, of which Spicerhaart Chief Executive Paul Smith is a member.
Paul said: “The auction raised over £20,000, with the star prize being a trip to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, complete with penthouse suite views of the track and the harbour. Thanks to the kind generosity of so many people, we can take many more children than ever before to Disneyland Paris.”
More than 45 youngsters and their families enjoyed three days at the French resort, travelling via Eurostar, accompanied by two helpers from Spicerhaart, which is comprised of the haart, Spicer McColl, Felicity J Lord and Darlows estate agencies.
Throughout the year, staff raise money for the Fantasy Charity Fund, which was set up nearly a decade ago by Paul’s parents, Alick and Val, along with sister Alison Ager. Since its launch, the charity has now raised £270,000 for this worthwhile cause.
Val added: “We have a lot of fun raising the money, from cake sales and raffles, to sponsored events and dress down days, and we are always grateful for any added support from external organisations, like Round Table.”
Other money in the fund is also being evenly distributed among a number of hospices for vital equipment.
Date: March 2007.
Estate agency shows it has a ‘haart’
haart of Colchester, along with other branches in and around Essex, showed we definitely have our ‘haarts’ in the right place, when we donated £6,000 to Little Havens Children’s Hospice in Thundersley.
haart which is part of Spicerhaart, Europe’s largest independent estate agency group, has been a long-term supporter of Little Havens and Paul Wigmore, Regional Sales Director for haart Essex, said: “Little Havens is definitely a cause close to our ‘hearts’ and we were absolutely delighted to present this latest donation which will hopefully help the hospice continue its wonderful work.”
Little Havens offers respite and end of life care and bereavement support to children and their families who are affected by life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses. It is the only children’s hospice in Essex and will need £2.1 million this year to continue caring for patients.
Natalie Cohen, Corporate Fundraising Manager of Little Havens, said: “As a charity, we rely heavily on the kind support of the local public and businesses. This fantastic donation will really make a difference to the children and families we are currently supporting from across the county.”
The money donated was raised by our very own company charity, the Fantasy Charity Fund, whose main aim is to take children from hospices with life-limiting illnesses to Disneyland Paris.
Date: July 2007.
Spicerhaart becomes first Platinum Plus member
haart of Colchester, which is part of Spicerhaart, the UK’s largest independent estate agency group, have become the first company to join Essex Wildlife Trust’s corporate membership scheme under their new Platinum Plus category.
Spicerhaart has also given a significant donation to the Trust, in recognition of its excellent conservation work.
Lucian Pollington, Corporate Development Director, said: “We learned about the Trust’s exceptional work when we came to judge them for a business award and were so impressed by what they do that we wanted to show our support.”
Michele Farrant, the Trust’s Corporate Manager, said: “We are extremely grateful for Spicerhaart’s support. Communities like to see local businesses working to enhance the lives of local people and becoming a Corporate Member of Essex Wildlife Trust is probably the best way for companies to demonstrate that they care for the environment, whilst enjoying the benefits that membership brings, and at the same time helping to deliver against commercial, community and environmental objectives.”
Essex Wildlife Trust has various levels of corporate membership to suit all budgets and partnership with the Trust can provide businesses with a diverse range of opportunities; from expert advice on how to improve premises for biodiversity, to involvement with conservation projects and improving staff motivation through Corporate Team Days – a genuine point of difference for businesses to operate on a local or countywide level.
For further information about corporate membership, please contact Michele Farrant on (01621) 862984 michelef@essexwt.org.uk
Date: June 2007.
Golfers tee off for hospice
Over two hundred golfers swung into action at this year’s annual PGA Pro-Am charity golf tournament to raise vital funds for St Helena Hospice. The tournament was sponsored once again by haart estate agents and Birkett Long Solicitors.
St Helena Hospice, which provides palliative care services for terminally ill patients in North Essex, has been the main beneficiary of the tournament, which has taken place at Colchester Golf Club in Braiswick since it first began over 20 years ago.
Birkett Long Solicitors and haart estate agents have been main sponsors for the past four years and Russell Jervis, haart managing director, said: “We are delighted to once again be supporting the hospice’s exceptionally important work. We hope to raise even more money than last year’s record contribution.”
Martin Hopkins, partner at Birkett Long Solicitors, added: “St Helena has always been important to us as a firm, not least because of the involvement of our recently retired senior partner, Chris Holmes, who was the Hospice’s chairman from 1980 to 1996 and oversaw its opening during that time.”
52 teams of four golfers, each including a professional from the Eastern Region PGA, played 18 holes at the golf club, competing for £12,000 worth of prizes.
Rosy Stamp, Director at St Helena Hospice said: “We’ve received in excess of £25,000 in the last three years from this event alone. We would like to say a very warm thank you to the organisers and sponsors and of course to those who take part for their valuable contribution to the services we provide.”
She added: “It costs a staggering £9,000 per day to run the hospice. People think of St Helena as the inpatient unit at Myland Hall in Colchester, but we also provide two day centres, community teams who support people at home across North Essex and bereavement services, as well as training and education in palliative care. Although we have a grant from the NHS this only covers about a third of the costs of patient services and we rely heavily on public support.”
Andrew Davis who has organised the tournament since 2004, said: “The tournament serves a dual purpose – not only is it a great golfing event , but also a much needed fundraiser for an extremely worthwhile cause. We all know somebody that has needed the services of St Helena Hospice. We are hoping to beat the £10,050 that we raised last year and sales of raffle tickets, available from the golf club, are a major contribution to our target.”
Date: June 2007.