When we last spoke to you all we had just launched our #weARElistening campaign, this letter is a message of thanks. Firstly, we need to thank Jules Howe from Wellbeing for Life, through the PCP she secured us a small grant to enable us to deliver our self-care sessions (previously named pamper sessions), without that injection of funds, the sessions would have come to an end once our donated supplies ran out, so a huge thank you from us and the members.
Following a conversation about our new campaign, with Carrie Howarth, Cllr Eddy Adam was able to also offer us a small grant to help cover the costs of the things we needed to keep moving forward as an organisation. With his help, we have been able to replace the gazebo that the wind claimed last year at Ayclive, a table and chairs for events and much more. This help has meant we can continue to reach out in the community, spreading the message that we are listening, we are here to help, and we care. Organisations like ours could not survive without small grants and the board of trustees, along with the members, would just like to say an enormous thank you to Cllr Adam.
Much like buses, we struggled for three years to secure any funding then, once we had the right status, three ‘buses’ came along at once, because our third thank you is for The Rotary Club of Newton Aycliffe, following a talk that Carrie delivered to them, they kindly made a donation towards our campaign, the funds we receive are vital to keep us going and reach as many women as we can. We are blown away by the help we have received in these last few months, and we don’t quite have the words to express just how thankful we are. The next time you hear from us we will be able to tell you about an exciting new avenue the campaign has taken us down and how the above grants and donation have helped to facilitate it. Our first campaign is proving to be as important as we thought it may be, as we are going to be able to reach and support many more women between Aycliffe and Shildon.
While we are saying thank you, we must mention that, on Saturday 13th July, we attended the Petting Zoo in the town centre that was organised by A.C.O.R.N, Tina Hynes, Tina Beal (joined by her daughter Lorelai who is our little mascot), Vikki Forrest and Carrie Howarth attended and ran a stall to raise funds for the campaign and raised almost £100 which is fantastic, these women gave up their Saturday for us and we cannot thank them enough. Tina B, who is one of our new Newton Aycliffe facilitators, said “it was definitely different being on the other side of the table for the first time, but my daughter and I loved it, thank you so very much for the opportunity, I am so appreciative of this group.” Funny, she is thanking us when, without people volunteering to run our stalls at events, we would not be able to do so. So, THANK YOU, thank you to our volunteers and to the people who have ensured we have the money we need to continue to offer our service.