Cheque Presentations to Tree of Light 2018 Beneficiaries

With thanks to this year's sponsors:

MAJORS, DRE & CO, PAPERWRITE, MORRIS COOK, DAIRI-PAK LTD, CELT ROWLANDS, LANYON BOWDLER, EC HOLLYWELL LTD, STANS SUPERSTORE, SCOTT & NEWMAN LTD, DAVID DAVIES & SONS, ERIC ROBERTS & SONS, ROYCE (LANDSCAPING), J P ARTHUR & SONS LTD, MORGANS of OSWESTRY, HIGHLINE ELECTRICAL LTD, BOWEN SONS & WATSON, KATE WOODHEAD ESTATES, OSWESTRY TOWN COUNCIL, STARBUCK on MANAGEMENT, JOHN OSMAN (GROUND CARE), CG PALETTA (PROPERTY RENTALS), OSWESTRY SHOWGROUND COMMITTEE, SAINSBURY'S, OSWESTRY LIFE, GHP LEGAL, JR PICKSTOCK, ANDREW JONES (METALWORLD) and MIKE WILLIAMS (TREE)

June 20th 2019 : The Movement Centre

June 20th 2019 : Connect for Life

June 7th 2019 : The Midlands Air Ambulance

With massed rain clouds gathering  to the North East and the first spots of rain, driven on an unseasonably cold wind, which threatened to drench us all, members of Oswestry Rotary Club Tree of Light committee accompanied by President Ian Glenister took shelter  under the rear doors of Midland Air Ambulance's new £7m Type 145 helicopter to present this year’s donation to Maria Jones, Shropshire Fund-raising Manager for the service.
 
The rain (nearly) held off long enough for the photo including today's crew, Doctor Mark Nash, Pilot Tim Jones (on the left) and Critical Care Paramedic Rob Davies (on the right).  Then it was a dash back to comfort of  the office building for an hour's fascinating question and answer session with Mark and Rob about the work they do.
 
Thank you to Maria and the Air Ambulance crew for their hospitality and to the people of Oswestry for their generosity to our appeal which has helped eleven local charities this year.

May 20th 2019 : The Cricket Federation for People with Disabilities

April 15th 2019 : Lingen Davies

April 15th 2019 : Severn Hospice

April 12th 2019 : Nearly half way through!

Half of the dozen local charities to benefit from the £6,000 raised by the Rotary Club of Oswestry's Tree of Light Appeal 2018 have now received their cheques. So far, The Marches Riding Association for the Disabled, Oswestry & District Stroke Club, Hope House, North Shropshire Special Olympics, Connect for Life and The Harry Johnson Trust have all benefited.

The Tree of Light organiser Mike Jones said: "We have seen again this year the value of the many volunteers who give so generously of their own time and expertise as well as by raising funds for these local charities.  All the Appeal's donations have been gratefully received." 

Mike Garratt the Chair of Oswestry & District Stroke Club, a self-help and social group for people who have suffered a stroke and their carers, said: "Unfortunately we have lost quite a few members this year but will be able to use this donation to spread the word about our club and gain new members.  We are here to support sufferers and their families."

More helpers were also needed by The Marches Riding Association for the Disabled who provide horse riding sessions at Penycoed Stables, Pant on a Thursday morning from 10.30 am.  "The Tree of Light donation is invaluable in helping us to meet the costs of insurance and hire of the horses but we also really need more volunteers to assist us with delivering our sessions." said Gail Bradley from the group.

The North Shropshire Special Olympics group offer sporting activities for children and adults with learning disabilities and will be using their donation to support their members' fundraising to compete at the Special Olympics National Games in Liverpool in 2021.

The number of projects run by The Harry Johnson Trust to offer help and support to children and teenagers receiving care from the Oncology Team at The Princess Royal Hospital expands each year so the Tree of Light Donation was gratefully received by Sally Johnson and her husband Steven at the Rotary Club's recent Charter Night when Sally was the guest speaker.  "Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to the Tree of Light - your support and generosity are very much appreciated." said Sally.

Mike went on to thank individual donors to the appeal and its sponsors from the local business community.  "It is pleasing to see that at Christmastime we can all remember others who are less fortunate than ourselves and do something to help them."

If you want to get in touch with any of these groups please contact rotarycluboswestry@gmail.com and they will be happy to put you in touch with them.

April 8th 2019 : The Marches Riding Association for the Disabled

April 8th 2019 : Hope House

April 8th 2019 : Oswestry Stroke Club

March 25th 2019 : North Shropshire Special Olympics Group

March 25th 2019 : The Harry Johnson Trust

One of the beneficiaries of this year's appeal has purchased the equipment requested without using their allocation so the Club voted today to award the underspent £100 to the Harry Johnson Trust in addition to Sally's speaker donation for Charter Night.

The distribution will be:

£630 each to Air Ambulance, Hope House, The Cricket Federation for People with Disabilities, North Shropshire Special Olympics, Lingen Davies and Severn Hospice.

£350 each to Marches Riding for the Disabled, Oswestry Stroke Club, the Movement Centre (for specific equipment) and Dementia Support Connect for Life (again for specific equipment) and £100 to the Harry Johnson Trust.

The remaining £564.91 will go to the Club Charity Account.