Summer 2008 issue

Heartwarming and Wonderful

One may grow cynical at the hundreds of thousands of pounds spent by major charities on TV adverts or irritating, wasteful mailshots; one may be inured to constant approaches by those who want your money; but charities that begin close to home are thriving. This is a splendid community when it comes to active, resourceful and enjoyable ways of raising money for outstanding causes near or far without the questionable overhead of professional management and advertising.

The annual fairs, fetes and plant sales regularly produce the few thousands that are sorely needed by Scouts and Guides to continue their worthy activities. And they are great fun, as well as aesthetically pleasing on this greensward or that. They rely on the enthusiasm and drive of many individuals, as do the periodic funding campaigns run by Friends groups. By classical means such as quiz and entertainment nights the Junior School Friends have raised over £18,000 in two years, with the help of a sizeable grant from Surrey CC organised by Peter Hickman, to install a fine new play area at the school this May.

The Hospital Friends are also very successful, raising several thousand pounds a year which has seen Chairman Karen Randoph on behalf of the friends presenting our local GPs with Ultrasound, ENT and now ECG equipment so that local NHS patients will have local treatment and a shorter waiting time. This equipment, worth around £80,000 in all, is 'on loan' with ownership remaining with the Friends so that the NHS cannot whisk it off somewhere else!

Many of these charitable fund-raising organisations make very good use of the Vera Fletcher Hall, where Ruth Lyon and Joan Leifer are well-practised in securing both class acts and some local sponsorship for good causes; or, like the Infants School Parents last year, some top-class comedy or other act can be organised by the protagonists themselves. Typically, a good 'do' at the Hall will raise £2,000 upwards for charity, and perhaps more if sponsored by the likes of Dairy Crest or Lodge Brothers. 'Cinderella' this year raised £3,400 for the Hospital Friends ECG equipment; other charities that have held successful fund-raising events there include Home Start Elmbridge, Shooting Star Children's Hospice and Great Ormond Street Hospital, Momentum - the Children's Ward at Kingston Hospital, and Karen Randolph's chosen charity Born too Soon. Resident Vivienne Harris annually raises about £2,000 at a quiz-night at the Hall for Cancer Research. Indeed the Thames Ditton branch of Cancer Research, whose nucleus numbers a dozen people, has been active in organising a wide range of activities for 35 years, in which they've raised something over £350,000. The local Esher branch is also active, and regular 'Good As New' sales held twice yearly in Esher College have raised about £70,000 for that charity over some eighteen years. We must also mention that of many local business connections, Lodge Brothers is very active in suggesting and channelling donations to Cancer Research.

Moving outdoors, we have some very enjoyable summer events such as the Harry Hawkes 8, held this year on 7 September, which has raised about £70,00 for local charities over 24 years and is organised by TD Cricket Club. It attracts a wide entry of runners both fast and slow. Slow runners and slower head for the Towpath Trundle, originally organised by Margaret Godwin, a Weston Green resident, that since 1992 has raised well over a hundred thousand pounds for the Princess Alice Hospice - £17,000 this year alone.

We like these steady annual efforts that may not seem huge in any one year, but which cheeringly accumulate very significant sums over the years. And you find many admirable individuals who have a go at something for charity, too. David Matthews, a keen cyclist, has entered the London-to-Brighton cycle race annually since 1989, his first year as a GP in Thames Ditton, raising over £500 each year for the British Heart Foundation from sponsors among his patients. That's approaching £10,000 in all now. "They are always on Father's Day so I never get my breakfast in bed," he notes. "I aim to complete the 56 miles in under three hours but I've never got it below 2h 45 min - I'm getting older! " He has never finished among the top leaders, but was once greeted by the commentator at the finish line with "..here comes the first cyclist across the line with facial hair" - an accolade of sorts?

This Spring, Thames Ditton resident Shaun Wolfe ran back-to-back marathons, raising £2000 for children' hospital causes. He writes: "I finished the Paris Marathon in 4 hours 45 minutes and the following week I finished London in a slightly worse time of 5 hours. Then I had a few pints of Guinness at the George and Dragon to replenish my iron deficiency! No aches and pains but I think I'm going to have a bit of time off now." Neil Ridsdale also ran the London marathon, raising over £6,000 for Whizz-kidz. In March, Steve Evans from Thames Ditton, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease late last year, raised over £6,000 for the MND Association in a towpath cycle ride from Wimbledon to Godalming.

Occasionally we have larger events. Cyclists will flood the village on 13 July, when the annual Capital to Coast challenge sets off from Esher College in Weston Green for Hove on the South Coast. The event is organised by Norwood, a charity for children and family services, and benefits other charities like Sparks (Elmbridge Mayor Nigel Cooper's chosen charity) and the Down's Syndrome Association. Then on 31 August we host the Great British Duck Race from Molesey Lock downstream, where you can sponsor a plastic duck for the charity of your choice. Last year, this raised some £100,000 for over 400 charities.

Street Child Africa, our local based charity on Portsmouth Road has been going very successfully for ten years: last year they raised over £1m for indigent children in Africa. Despite their increasing size they don't omit to thank local sponsors such as all the fun of the Scout Fair on Giggs Hill Green - here, the Lucky Dip raised funds for the Guide HutBradley and Brown, Five Rivers Deli, Stitchery and Knight James.

Local sponsors have also been making a fine contribution to the Thames Ditton Guide Hut Appeal (see separate article). Meanwhile, don't leave out the must-see performances at the Vera Fletcher Hall by Studio 7 Productions "Tell Me on Sunday, and Rainy Days and Mondays," a musical on Fri-Sun 25-27 July (Tickets £12 from Box Office 8942 6867) - the proceeds of this event go to the Hut Appeal - Raising The Roof!.

There are countless other groups and individuals we could mention. Contributions large and small, and a good time enjoyed on the way. Well done, one and all. Isn't this a wonderful community?