Friends_News_March_2009

Friends of Dream-A-Way

Newsletter

March 2009

www.dream-a-way.co.uk

DREAM-A-WAY Newsletter March 2009 www.Dream-A-Way.co.uk 1

Newsletter March 2009

Making Dreams Come True Dream-A-Way is a local registered Charity dedicated to providing holidays and outings to local people of all ages with disabilities and special needs. Set up in 1993 with volunteers who receive no payment of any kind, we are very proud of the fact that 99p in every pound raised is used directly to help our special guests. We have raised almost a million pounds and helped thousands of local people. Visit our web site www.Dream-A-Way.co.uk to see what our new event plans are and come along to join in the fun, knowing that your participation is helping others less fortunate.

A Message From The Chairman

Welcome to our first Friends newsletter of 2009 As the chairman of Dream-A-Way I am proud of our achievements so far and we are looking forward to another outstanding year. Our program is fuller than ever and all the events

are listed within this newsletter. I would however like to draw your attention to the second DRAGON BOAT CHALLENGE on Exeter Quay on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August ...following last year's inaugural event we are hoping for even more success this year. It’s only £10 per person (plus £50 in sponsorship) to enter and we are looking for a few individuals/small groups to make up full crews ... so just contact myself or Gill. Our seven caravans have now been de-winterised and we are already providing even more special people with holidays at glorious Sandy Bay in Exmouth. So enjoy our newsletter and please keep in touch ...thank you for your support Keep smiling :) Jeff Merrett MBE

Friends News We announced in the last newsletter that we would have an annual membership renewal for all our Friends, to ensure that we have current details and closer links with people who wish to be involved with the charity. I am delighted to say that since introducing this in January, we already have over 100 Friends. Many of you have indicated that you would like to be involved in our fundraising events in a variety of ways and have many individual talents to offer! Please check our list of coming events and contact the relevant person or myself if you feel that you would like to help in any way. We may also get in touch with you if we need extra help. We will be holding our annual Friends get together after the AGM on 22

nd July at Timepiece, Little

Castle Street in Exeter. I look forward to meeting those of you who are able to make it. One of our next big events is the Grand Midsummer Night's Dream-A-Way ball at Sandy Park on Saturday 20th June 2009 and I hope that many of you will be able to attend this. If you do, please come and say hello! We appreciate all the contributions that you make to the charity and hope that you enjoy reading about the events in this newsletter and especially about the holidays that people have been able to have due to Dream-A-Way. Please keep sending me pictures/stories that you would like to share with our Friends and I’ll include them in future editions of the newsletter. For further information or to talk about Friends, please contact me on 01392 677585 or [email protected]

Denise Fardon

Grand Midsummer Nights Dream-

A-Way Ball

Sat 20th June 2009

Sandy Park, Exeter


Trip Of A Lifetime Dream-A-Way joined forces with the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Express and Echo newspaper’s We Care campaign to send Amanda Martin and her husband on a trip of a lifetime to Japan.

Amanda wanted to send her husband Nigel to Japan, so he could train with one of the world's foremost authorities in the martial art Ninjutsu, as a thank-you, for over two decades of unwavering support. Instead of just sending Nigel, the local charities

raised over £4,000 for them both to go. Nigel kindly wrote a few words for our newsletter on his return, so over to him …

Well who would have thought September 2008 would have been the month to change our lives so much? My wife and daughter put together a letter to ask for funding and that started the ball rolling. Thanks to Dream-A-Way, the Express & Echo and the Multiple Sclerosis Society we found out our dreams had come true and we were off to Japan! Within two weeks we were stepping off a plane at Narita Airport Tokyo. We had never experienced this amount of help and kindness - well, apart from the kindness from our friends at Dream-A-Way of course. We had people coming out of shops to give my wife a hug and hold her hand. School children would practise their English and ask how we are. On two occasions, people stopped and gave my wife an umbrella when a rainstorm hit us as we walked down the street.

In Japan, disability seems to be more accepted than in Britain. I trained with the 34

th Grand Master, Masaaki Hatsumi, and passed the all-important Godan test. Japan is the only place that you can take the test now, and passing it has enabled me to become a 5

th

Dan.

I even received a gold medal from the Grand Master for just being there with my wife. In Japan this was a sign of great respect - for me being a carer. This was a great honour and something very unexpected.

People were so kind and we have been invited to return to Japan to spend time with families we met. We had a wonderful time and this is just a small amount of what happened to us on our Japanese adventure. We could write a book on our trip, but without the help of the Dream-A-Way team this would have never happened. We can never thank them enough. We have now set new goals to return to Japan and start our own business for disabled travellers, allowing them to experience the ‘Land Of The Rising Sun’, (if we can get funding from the Japanese Government). So for us this is not the end of our story but just the beginning. Thank You All So Much

Nigel & Amanda Martin

A New Arrival At Sandy Bay

Dream-A-Way is proud to announce the purchase of our seventh Luxury Holiday Caravan at Haven Holidays, Devon Cliffs, Sandy Bay, Exmouth. Following another successful year of fundraising and generous support this will allow even more of our special clients to have a Dream-A-Way Holiday!

The 2008 Willerby Solstice is located on a fabulous site on the newly developed Terraces. It features a substantial glass balcony and ramped access for ease of entry.


As is now traditional the new holiday home has been named after a person who has been a great supporter of the charity for many years and this time we are honoured to name the new caravan ‘Charlie Thomas’

Charlie, (82) who is well known to many people locally, is one of three of the founder members of Dream-A-Way who still serve on the committee, the others being Chairman, Jeff Merrett MBE and Vice-Chairman, Bob Beer. Since we started in 1993 Charlie has attended almost every monthly committee meeting which is a great achievement in itself. Charlie is one of the great Dream-A-Way volunteers who give up their time free of charge and claim no expenses to run the successful local charity. Over the years Charlie has helped with many coach trips including one in the early days of Dream-A-Way when we went to Blackpool. He will remember that as one of the hardest times he has ever had to work! Charlie always helps at ‘front of house’ for the pantomimes and supports the coach trips that we run. In recognition of his fantastic support to Dream-A-Way we are delighted to name the newest holiday home after Charlie.

Events Roundup Spring 2009

We have had an extremely successful few months with events like the Holly Ball and the Police and Hospital Players Panto, but we have many more events planned for this year. Annual General Meeting The AGM will be held on Wednesday 22nd July at 5.30pm in the grounds of Timepiece in Little Castle Street, Exeter. This will be followed by a complimentary BBQ kindly provided by Timepiece ! Please come along if you can.

Ladies Golf Day We will be holding our 7th annual ladies’ day on 2

nd July at Stover Golf Club and we expect another full field of nearly 50 teams with amazing prizes and sponsorship from the Andalucian tourist board.

Karting We continue to have ongoing Karting evenings at Raceworld, Woodbury at £120 per team with a maximum of 6 drivers. Please contact Jeff to book this. We currently having the following dates booked: Wed 1

st April Fri 8th May (yes Friday!) Wed 3 Jun Wed 1 July Wed 5 Aug

Wed 2 Sept Wed 7 Oct Wed 4

th Nov Wed 2nd Dec

Grand Midsummer Night’s Ball Due to the fantastic success of the Holly Ball we will be holding our Grand Midsummer Night's Dream-A-Way Ball at Sandy Park on Saturday 20th June 2009. The price of tickets has been held at £45 or £450 per table of 10. This price includes a complimentary drink on arrival and a superb 3 course meal with coffee. There will be a full evening’s entertainment to include dancing to Soul Agents, the MITIE casino, Irish Bingo, auctions and pre dinner Activities. Tickets are selling fast already so book soon!

Dragon Boat Racing

We will be holding our second annual Dragon Boat Race on Exeter Quay on 31st August 2009. This will build on the enormous success of last year’s event when over £5,000 was raised and all had a lot of fun! Entry is just £10 per person plus a minimum of £50 sponsorship. The 200m course will run from near The Port Royal, up to the Boat Shed in line with the Prospect Inn on Exeter Quay. Teams of up to 17 (16 plus a drummer) are invited to apply now. Following the success of last year's event, places will be filled quickly!


Don't worry if you can't make a full team of 17, as we will make up full boats on the day. To enter your team either: Email [email protected] or phone the events hotline on 07796 442 144.

Dream-A-Way/Mitie Golf There will be more golf available in the shape of the 14th annual Dream-A-Way/MITIE golf classic to be held at Woodbury Park on Fri Sept 11th. This will be one of the biggest events in the West Country Golfing calendar. Teams of 4 will compete in an individual and team stableford competition and for the chance to win some amazing prizes including Spanish holidays. The cost will be £360 per team entry to include full English breakfast, dinner and entertainment with special offers on accommodation for those wishing to stay.

We Care Campaign Our link with the Express & Echo’s ‘We care’ campaign has meant that we have now helped over 500 carers to enjoy special treats including 3 visits to Bicton Park,a special Christmas lunch with Father Christmas, trips to see Snow White at the Princess theatre Torquay and to the Barnfield for the Police and Hospital panto which of course starred our very own Jeff Merrett. As always, we appreciate any offers of support and sponsorship with any of our events and of course for people to take part in them. Please contact me if you are able to help in any way. We do hope you will be able to join us at some of these events and know that you are helping to make a difference. For more details, see our website or email me at [email protected] Gill Freeman

Future Events 2008/2009: 20

th June Dream-A-Way Grand

Mid-Summer Ball 2009 - Sandy Park Exeter

2nd July Lady’s golf day at Stover

22nd

July Dream-A-Way Annual General Meeting 5.30pm Timepiece – Little Castle Street ,Exeter.

31st

August Dragon Boat Racing Exeter Quay

11th

September MITIE/Dream-A-Way Golf Classic at Woodbury Park

Lucky Number 13 Exeter City Football Club legend Jimmy Giles presented Dream-A-Way with a special football shirt which the Club had auctioned to raise funds.

Tony Badcock kindly donated a special Exeter City Football Club shirt won in an auction and it was presented on the pitch at St James Park during half-time at the match against Bury.

As well as receiving the Exeter shirt with the charity's name on the back, Dream-A-Way will also see its name printed in the official city programme until the end of the season.

Thousands raised and great night had by all at charity Holly Ball THOUSANDS of pounds were raised for carers and the cared for at a glittering charity ball.

Dream-A-Way, along with the Express & Echo newspaper, organised the We Care, Holly Ball which was hailed a success by the hundreds attended.

More than £12,000 was raised, and proceeds will be split equally between Dream-A-Way and the Echo's We Care fund, set up to send carers on treats.

Music for the evening was provided by the Fab Beatles. Playing a number of Beatles classics, they thoroughly entertained into the small hours. Claude, the Comedy Waiter was on hand once again to entertain the guests with his very own style of table service. There really is nothing better than the look on an unsuspecting diner's face as he buffs their head, or wanders off just as they are about to order from him! Magician Anthony Laye was also on hand to entertain throughout the night. Anthony has supported Dream-A-Way at our previous Balls, but unfortunately for us is leaving shortly for pastures new. We wish Anthony the best of luck in all his endeavours in Australia.


After dinner, guests enjoyed a fabulous auction including Money-Can't-Buy lots, and running alongside the main auction was the ever-popular silent auction.

Over 20 lots were generously donated, ranging from a signed Girls Aloud photograph to a hand-made Christmas cake, to an autographed Exeter City football, to an LCD Television. There really was something for everyone!

We're still collecting money from the auction but due to everybody's generosity we've exceeded our target of £12,000, which will be split equally between the two charities. It was a pleasure for Dream-A-Way to work in partnership with the Express & Echo to provide such a fabulous evening of fun and entertainment for our guests. A huge amount of support was given to the We Care manifesto and campaign.

Marc Astley, editor of the Express & Echo, said: "It was a fantastic evening which was well supported and wouldn't have been possible without the help of our friends Dream-A-Way and the people who generously gave their money on the night."

Arrival drinks for the evening were supplied by Foodeaze, the Fab Beatles were sponsored by George Sloan and Rob Skinner of Timepiece, while the casino was sponsored by Westexe Forklifts. Female guests were given an engraved picture frame sponsored by Ivor Doble.

The Echo's We Care campaign was launched in March to secure a better deal for those who provide daily support and care for relatives and loved ones The manifesto also petitions for the Carer's Allowance to be increased to at least the minimum wage, and better transition from children's to adult services.

Trips already funded by the campaign include group events to Bicton Park, ice skating and swimming for young carers and a day at the Exeter Chiefs for young carers. Individual trips include meals at Woodbury Park, massages at Lefroy, and theatre trips to the Northcott.

To add your support to the We Care campaign, visit www.thisisexeter.co.uk/wecare or http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/wecare

Dream-A-Weigh! Dream-A-Way in partnership with Fresha Café at Sowton, Exeter have been taking part in the Dream-A-Weigh weight loss challenge.

Festive weight-gainers have been urged to help make dreams come true by fighting back against the flab.

Backed by the new Fresha Cafe on the Sowton Industrial Estate, the challenge has already been taken up by the long arm of the law — namely Devon and Cornwall Police Deputy Chief Constable Tony Melville, who agreed to be the first volunteer.

The hunt is on for more challengers to lose pounds and gain cash for Dream-A-Way.

Each volunteer is asked to lose 10 per cent of their start weight and raise at least £100 for the charity.

Dream-A-Way Chairman, Jeff Merrett, 15st 8lb said: "Last year we tempted 111 volunteers through the Express and Echo appeal which resulted in over 60 finishing the challenge and raising over £10,000.

We are looking for quality and quantity, because although we had well over 100 entries in 2008 only about 60 were able to see it through.


The former Chief Constable, Sir John Evans, lost over a stone, Jeff lost three stones and Exeter bank manager Darren Galliford lost his 10 per cent and also raised a magnificent £1,500. Those are just examples, but everyone who took part agreed it was a great way to lose a bit of weight after Christmas feasting and help a very worthy cause.

We are lucky to have Fresha backing us and they have prepared a special weight-loss menu to help those taking part eat well and still lose weight.

Anyone can download the registration form from our Dream-A- Way website.

The final weigh-out will be held on Friday 8th May at

Fresha Café, Sowton.

It will mean so much to so many people and it will make for a healthier year for those taking part. It's just win-win."

The Lion, The Witch And The Bedside Table?? Through February, Exeter Police and Hospital Players performed the pantomime “The Lion, The Witch and The Bedside Table”, starring our very own Jeff Merrett as the dame, all 6ft of him. He looked quite impressive in a dress!

Loosely based on CS Lewis’ literary classic ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’, director Andy Smith reworked the story with his own slant.

This version saw four children, on holiday at Sandy Bay Holiday Park in Exmouth, disappearing into the magical kingdom of ‘Barmier’ through a bedside table instead of a wardrobe (after all, there is a credit crunch!). They encountered animal inhabitants living in constant fear of the evil Snow Queen, her attention-seeking sister the Show Queen and their rat-like adviser. Their only hope of salvation and freedom was through the animals’ leader, Asbo the Lion.

Everyone, both watching and taking part in the panto, had a lot of fun. As well as starring in the show, volunteers from Dream-A-Way helped with front of house activities at the theatre, and proceeds were shared between several local charities.

How To Contact Dream-A-Way Write To Us (including donations) The Secretary, Dream-A-Way 2 Lisa Close, Heavitree, Exeter EX2 5JB

Phone Us

Chairman: Jeff Merrett MBE

01392 823998 / 07796 442144

Fundraising : Gill Freeman

07979 854203

Friends Coordinator: Denise Fardon

01392 677585

Email Us

General enquiries: [email protected] General enquiries / Donations:

[email protected]

Contact our Chairman, Jeff Merrett MBE:

[email protected]

For fundraising enquiries - Gill: For events: Gill or Jeff

[email protected]

[email protected]

For Friends enquiries - Denise:

[email protected]

Holiday enquiries: Please ensure you have read the information in the holidays section of our website

[email protected]

Press stories: [email protected] Website feedback: [email protected]

Dream-A-Way Needs Your Stories! Have you had a Dream-A-Way holiday? Have you organised a fundraising event? We’d like to update our website with stories of success, so please send your pictures and brief details to [email protected] or post them to our secretary (details above).

Documents

Friends_News_March_2009