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NEWS IN BRIEF We, just like to like to say a big 'thank you' to every-one who has supported our events throughout 2004. Thanks to your support we raised over £3000 at our Summer Fete. The weather was fine and hundreds of people turned out for the afternoon. The entertainment was wonderful and a special thanks must go to the children of Stathern School who danced around the maypole for us with much enthusiasm. Also ,many thanks to the Valley Christian Fellowship in Harby for providing our very own ' Songs of Praise'- a great day end to a special day. Several people kindly hosted a ' Tea at 3 ' on our behalf, inviting friends into their homes for tea and raising money at the same time. This will be repeated every year in June, so if you would like to participate in future, please let us know. Our September Auction was the usual success raising over £1,100. You name it, we sold it, anything from fancy goods to furniture. Many thanks to our auctioneer, Paul Steward, for making it such a fun afternoon. We were again blessed with good weather at our annual barbeque in August. Over 100 turned up to sample our delicious fayre and be entertained by Michael Simpson on the keyboard. Many thanks to all our volunteers who put on this event, it really was worth all the hard work. SORRY TO SEE YOU GO It is one of the saddest things to have to say goodbye to loyal volunteers when they move away. However, it is an even greater privilege to say a huge 'thank you' to them for everything they have done during their time with Dove Cottage. It is therefore a delight to record our enormous appreciation to some wonderful people. Firstly, it is thanks to Anne Allen who together with husband Norman, recently moved to France. Anne has been cooking Thursday lunches-and our 'once a year Sunday lunches' ever since we opened in 1996. Indeed, she also supported many of our fundraising events over the years, and we all have happy memories of her running the refreshments stall at so many of our summer fetes. This summer also saw the departure of Michael Simpson who, with his family, has moved to Grange-over-Sands. Michael was our daily 'washer up'; however and even more memorably, he was for the last four years a fixture in Dove Cottage's Christmas pantomime. Whether it was Cinderella, Snow White or Aladdin, there was always a role for 'Marigold', the most menacing ugly sister imaginable. Finally, it was 'au revoir' to Jenny and Les Letts as they moved to Skegness after so many years of unstinting support. Their contributions, especially to the home sitting and bereavement support services, have been enormous. These people have been, and I am sure will remain, true friends to Dove Cottage. We wish them every happiness in the future. If you would like to find out what it is like to be a volunteer at Dove Cottage, please give Chris a ring on 01949 860303 for a chat. Certainly, we would appreciate help on Tuesday afternoons, Wednesdays and Thursdays. WELCOME ABOARD Despite some of our stalwarts having left over the last few months, we are delighted to welcome on board several new volunteers, especially Hetti, Hillary,Shirley, Jean & June. As we often say, volunteers are the backbone of Dove Cottage and we really couldn't operate without them. So many thanks to everyone who helps, in whatever capacity, you really are very much appreciated. FAREWELL TO KATE Kate Williams so much enjoyed her role as care assistant at Dove Cottage over the last year or so that she has decided to train formally as a nurse. Whilst she was with us , Kate worked closely with our nurses in caring for our guests. She was also a keen supporter of the arts and crafts activities and she took special delight in helping to organise our away days. We wish her all the very best! THANK YOU's Giving Campaign Very many thanks to everyone who has signed up for our giving campaign. This really does help us with our finances when we know what we are likely to receive each month. If you could spare just £5 a month it would really help us meet our annual running costs which now exceed £100,000. A very big thank you to the Lloyds TSB foundation for kindly providing us with enough funds to completely re-carpet Dove Cottage. It looks great!
Dove Cottage Day Hospice. |