For anyone who was planning to go along to the Three Sister’s Race Track this Sunday to catch our stall, I am afraid that we won’t be there. The Chairman of Preston and District Motorcycle Club yesterday told me that we wouldn’t be welcome there. The reason? Firstly that we didn’t go through the appropriate channels to get in there (I had actually spoken to the Race Circuit Manager and gained his permission) and secondly because they already have 3 charities attending that day and they didn’t want us taking all the money from them. Still it is their loss and as far as I am concerned the race secretary and the chairman of this club have just shown themselves up to be rude and arrogant people. I am not tarring their members with the same brush as the two of them, because in my past experience the biking community are very nice folk, but the membership needs to seriously look at the calibre of people running their club.
The Wigan SOS team have just had quite a good weekend. On Friday a team of six were out and about with collecting buckets in Wigan town centre. The good folk of Wigan very kindly donated a total of £471.73p and should be very proud of themselves. Thank you to all who donated. The money will go towards making life a little more bearable for our lads and lasses out in Afghanistan.
Sunday and we were at the Pemberton Gala and Music Festival. Not a bad day until the heavy rain sent everyone off home! We still managed to sell quite a few raffle tickets, lots of our merchandise and raised £70 in cash as well.
Sunday 20th and we are at the Three Sisters Race Track where we will have a stall during the Preston Motorcycle Club race day. Lesley, Michelle and I are looking forward to this and would love it if you came along and said Hi.
Yesterday was good. I had to go to the DW stadium for the presentation of a cheque for £,7,793.63p. This was the sum total of the collection for St George’s Day on April 23rd. The money will be divided between Support Our Soldiers, The Army Benevolent Fund and Help for Heroes, all very good causes. And Wigan won too so it was a good day all round!
On Friday 11th we are in Wigan town centre with our collecting buckets and then on Sunday 13th we are doing a merchandising and awareness stall at Pemberton Gala. This is on the old Abraham Guest school field at the bottom of Bankes Avenue. There are live bands as well as lots of other attractions and it should be a really good day. Come along and support us and buy your SOS t-shirts, key rings, fridge magnets etc. (And don’t forget to say hello!)
It’s just a few more days before the madness of SOS kicks off again for the summer. I have today posted another 40 parcels to the boys and girls in Afghanistan.
Our summer kicks off with a street collection in Wigan Town Centre on Friday June 11th we will be out and about round the town with collecting buckets. All money collected will go to our “SOS Awareness Month” appeal with 10%of anything collected this month going to BLESMA (British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association) which is a very worthy cause.
On the 13th June we are at Pemberton Gala Day on the old Abraham Guest School Field behind Redwood Avenue at Orrell. We will have a stall selling t-shirts, badges, key rings etc.
2oth June and we are at the 3 sisters race track for Preston Motorcycle club’s race day. We will have a gazebo set up somewhere in the grounds and once again will be selling merchandise.
To finish of our June fundraisers we will be at the Armed Forces Day event at Leigh Sports Village on June 26th. If this is half as good as last year’s event it will be a wonderful day. Wigan Council are putting free buses on from both Wigan and Leigh town centres to get people out to the Sports Village although there is ample parking for anyone wishing to drive there.
Hope we see some of you there, please don’t be shy and come and say hello to us.
4 Serving Army Officers will undertake the 3 Peaks Challenge (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike & Snowdon in 24 hours) on August 7th/8th 2010 . All proceeds from sponsorship will be donated to Support Our Soldiers (registered charity no 1120684).
The aim of Support Our Soldiers is to provide support for our serving men and women, and their families at home.
This is done in every practical way possible including writing to deployed personnel, sending welfare packages (throughout the year as well as at Christmas), helping those recovering from injuries, raising welfare issues and providing support and guidance to family members.
Below is a quote from Major Dan Anders-Brown (from Wigan)in answer to the question “Why are you doing this challenge?”
“The reason for the run itself is quite simple. Having been a serving Officer whilst in Afghanistan, I have witnessed firsthand how much of a morale boost receiving a parcel from home can be. It's quite hard to explain to people whom have never served, but the austere living and working conditions can be briefly forgotten by very simple gestures, which is what the essence of this charity is. It takes very little for members of the public to pick up an extra tube of toothpaste or pack of noodles whilst going about their weekly shop, but it is received with exponential gratitude by the soldiers. I wanted to help make that happen, and so when approached by SOS to do this challenge I was only too pleased.
We are yet to start preparing for the 3 Peaks; as we are all serving Officers we hope that our good level of base fitness will allow us to complete a 3 month training schedule starting in earnest in May. It will include, 5+ hour walks on treadmills, carrying bergans (backpacks) with around 40lbs and the incline set to around 7-10%; long uphill runs to enhance endurance muscle groups, and finishing with completing Snowdon 3 times in 24 hours to simulate the actual climbing. We have good map reading and hill walking skills already, but 3 of us will 'lead' on a hill. I will be leading Ben Nevis, Maj Markis Duggan will lead Scafell Pike, and Maj Ed Osborne(from Leeds) will lead Snowdon; Maj Bayard Barron will be a check navigator for all three climbs. By conducting the challenge in this 'leader and led' manner, we don't all have to focus on map reading the whole time and so can enjoy the scenery!
On a personal note, I have been in the Army for 16 years, and have served in Bosnia (3 times!) and Afghanistan, spending a total of 2 years on operational deployments. I currently work in Procurement, buying explosives for the Army, including technologies to destroy improvised explosive devices (IEDs). “
Our aim is to get sponsorship for each man from main car dealerships in our area and run it as a car race, each of the soldiers wearing the logo of a dealership . The winning dealership will then receive a trophy which will be presented by a serving soldier and Page 3 model Sarah Longbottom.
I went over to the Army Recruitment Office in Wigan this morning for ameeting with Sgt Major Lochrane. This was to discuss the arrangements for the St George’s day event at the DW stadium.
We will be outside the stadium from 5pm before the match and will be situated right beside the army recruiting caravan. We will be selling merchandise, t-shirts, fridge magnets, key rings, badges etc and giving out information leaflets.
We are hoping to also do a collection inside the stadium at half time.
So glad that the warmer weather is now coming which means we can start to get out and about promoting SOS again this year. We are all cowards and don't like the cold weather so tend to stay in as much as we can during the winter months!
Up and coming events planned for the Spring and early summer include a St George's Day event at the DW stadium on Friday 23rd April. Not sure exactly what is happening with this yet as I have to meet up with the organisers early this week but I have been told that we can put up a gazebo somewhere and we will be able to sell merchandise etc and give out leaflets to the crowd (printer will be on overdrive!). We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at this event.
On June 13th we have been given kind permission to have a stall at the Pemberton Community Association Fun Day on Abraham Guest School Field (at the back of Redwood Avenue) from 1pm onwards. There will be live music, the army will be there with a paintball tent and there will be many stalls and refreshments.
27th June sees us in Leigh Sports Village for Wigan Council's celebrations of Armed Forces Day 2010
On July 4th we are once again out in the fresh air as we have been invited along to a Hog Roast and Fun Day organised by King’s Church Warrington, times will be posted later.
The aim of Support Our Soldiers is to provide support for our serving men and women, and their families at home.
This is done in every practical way possible including writing to deployed personnel, sending welfare packages (throughout the year as well as at Christmas), helping those recovering from injuries, raising welfare issues and providing support and guidance to family members.
My son Dan. served in Afghanistan in 2008, and it was then I became aware of Support Our Soldiers.
As part of our fund raising efforts for 2010 Dan has got together with 3 other serving army officers to do the “3 Peaks Challenge” on the weekend of August 7th & 8th 2010. This entails climbing the 3 highest peaks in Britain, Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and Snowdon in Wales in 24 hours or less, and the team will need to show extraordinary levels of fitness and commitment.
Please help by visiting our Just Giving page (click the link below.) Just giving is the easy way to sponsor online.
Alternatively if you would like a sponsor form to collect other sponsors then just drop me an email and I will get one to you.
We also have postcards to be put on the noticeboard at your place of work, local pub, shops etc, just send me your address and I will get one in the post to you.
The more we can raise for this challenge the more we can send to the brave boys and girls serving overseas.
Christmas is coming and l athough it aggravates the life out of me that they are actually advertising it already on TV I have to be early with Christmas because of the postal system out to Afghanistan. It is expected that over 20,000 parcels will be sent out to serving soldiers during December this year so I need to be ready early to make sure mine get delivered.
We have been having some really good results of late though. I posted some parcels out on Monday 12th October and they arrived in Camp Bastion on Sunday 18th which is pretty good going. I also had an ebluey (electronic forces letter) which was only written at 10.23 yesterday and arrived on my doorstep this morning. The BFPO are doing a grand job!
If anyone has any completed shoeboxes or parcel items to donate here are the drop-off points in the area:
1910 Cafe, Palace Arcade, Bryn Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield
YMCA, Hilton Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield
Abram Community Library, Vicarage Road Abram
Platt Bridge Community Zone, 81 Ribble Road Platt Bridge
Ince Community Centre, Manchester Road Ince
The Computer Store, Ormskirk Road Pemberton
Singers Outdoors, Market Street, Wigan
Saturn Nails and Beauty Salon, Unit B, Cross Street, Standish
Northwood.com Estae Agents on Market Street are also collecting parcels and are very kindly running a 'Design a Christmas Card ' Competition for local school children. All cards entered into the competition will be sent to serving soldiers, sailors and airmen in Afghanistan and as well as the winning child getting a prize Northwood are also kindly donating £150 to the winning entrant's school.
