Dear Alec’s Angels Supporter’s:

We have been lucky enough to be selected for Lloyds Community Fund 2013 but we need your VOTE!!   We want to deliver as many presents to the Kamran Jabble Children’s Cancer Ward at Oxford Radcliffe with the funding.

Votes can be cast online, in our Lloyds branches and by SMS text message from 23 September to 1 November 2013.

ONLINE VOTING

Click the link www.lloydsbank.com/communityfund

In the search bar either type Alec’s Angels or Buckingham for our profile on the Community Fund website then follow the simple instructions.

IN YOUR LOCAL LLOYDS BRANCH:

Alec’s Angels is being promoted in these local Lloyd’s branches, pop in and VOTE:

* Aylesbury Gatehouse
* Aylesbury Market Square
* Buckingham
* Wendover

SMS TEXT MESSAGE VOTING

Voters please text the word VOTE and “PZLA” to 61119.
This will be charged at your local rate

Oliver Smith

Oliver Smith is a 5 year old boy who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in 2009 at the very young age of 1.   We started fundraising on his actual 5th birthday.

Natalie who is Oliver’s mum, noticed that he was holding things very near to his face so he could see them. She made several GP visits and was told there was nothing wrong with him. Like any mother would, she changed her GP and went for a second opinion where they sent him for many tests and found 5 Tumours.

He has endured lots of Chemotherapy, which has now left him with one tumour, but unfortunately that last tumour is pushing on his optical nerve and has left him registered blind. He is totally blind in his left eye and only has 10% vision in his right, he does walk with a white cane. But Natalie has told us that Oliver copes with this amazingly well for someone so young.

We here at Alec’s Angels are going to do as much as possible to make some special request come true i.e: Decorating Oliver’s play room to adjust to his needs now (super heros style) and to make some adjustments to his garden to make it safe and more enjoyable for him to play out there.

If there is any way that you may be able to help in fundraising for Oliver, could you please contact the Harold Wood Office on: 01708 345268 or email; lisa@alecsangels.co.uk

Update…

Thanking everybody who has taken part in the teddy bear raffle or 50/50 game to raise funds for Oliver’s Appeal. This is what you helped to achieve. All the presents of Oliver’s Christmas list

A really special thank you to ADS for decorating Oliver’s playroom in the Superhero fashion he wanted ‘Superman’  and also supplied three extra special gifts from Olivers Christmas list.

A special thanks to Barry, Paul, Brian, Terry, Alan and all at BPC Interiors for the dishwasher so that mum can know sterilise all of Oliver’s equipment easily.

Special thanks to Squibbs Pamper Hamper for the beautiful hamper they send to Oliver’s mum.

The garden will be completed after christmas when the weather is better.

Thank you x

Our Event on Saturday night at The Sun Public House, was a first for the Romford Office, and was very successful, and that was because of the kind generosity by the staff and customers, and the people who purchased the raffle tickets prior to the event. A very very big thank you has to go to Sue and Esther from The Sun for laying on 2 fantastic singers, and a great d.j.

What made the night complete was the young boy P.J. from Dagenham who we have been fund raising for the last 6 weeks, was able to leave the UCH hospital, Euston, London, where he is receiving treatment to collect his presents. Alec’s Angels raised funds to buy him a top of the range I Pad, and all the accessories needed. (photos attached).

As a small charity we think it’s very important that normal working class people who are so kind and generous should see where their money is being used, our website is www.alecsangels.co.uk [1]. Our address is Alec’s Angels, 63 Athelstan Road, Romford, Essex, RM3 0QD, Tel no: 01708 345268

Lisa Sherrin

A special thanks to Karlson Workplace Technology for their generous support.

Dear all,

I just thought I’d update you on the Home Volunteer Project, which helps families with practical & friendly support in their homes, enabling them to concentrate on the important things.

We currently have 6 specially trained volunteers who are helping families in their homes. 10 more are either being currently matched with a family or receiving training. 2 specifically take care of gardens and a building company has donated 12 days a year to help with repairs & maintenance etc.

 We just wouldn’t be able to help as many families as we do without your wonderful support in Alec’s memory.  It really means so much to them.

Helen & Douglas House

THE THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE

Could you be fit enough to climb the highest point’s in Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike) and Wales (Snowdonia) all within 24 hours?.

The plan is to organise a team (or team’s) to meet this challenge in June/July 2014.

A quick overview

The most important requirement is that you are fit enough and able to manage with some sleep deprivation in order to make the attempt as ALL members of the same team have to complete within the 24 hour period for it to be validated. There is approximately 10 hours of “catch up sleep” in a minibus en route between each peak. Some of the climbing maybe in the dark. At this time there is no confirmed cost per individual but would suggest one Bed and Breakfast overnight stay on arrival at Fort William, a share of any vehicle and fuel costs a further one night Bed and Breakfast at Snowdonia ( this may be optional) at completion and of course any personal items you may need. Just to confirm there is no mountaineering (No grappling hooks or crampons required!!) it is walking uphill and back downhill.

All proceeds raised, as ever go to Alec’s Angels.

If you thing this is for you I am happy to forward any further information    Andy  07711560849 or andy@alecsangels.co.uk

Charity Rounders match at Winslow Combined School

Organised by Atlanta McCauley & Jade Soricelli

Atlanta & Jade are two students at Winslow Combined School who were preparing to leave at the end of July. They decided that they wanted to raise money for Alec’s Angels after being involved at the annual ‘It’s a knockout’ event in Winslow.

They approached their head teacher, Mr Simon Rose, of the idea of having a rounders match with the year 6 children who will be leaving and the staff of the school. This was given the go ahead, as it would also be a lovely memory of their time at the School.

It happened to be on the hottest day of the year, as temperatures soared to over 30 C. But everyone coped remarkably well, with the children playing their socks off and some fine individual performances. The teachers however put up a brave fight & gave great team spirit, even though the final score was 19 rounders to 23.5 to the children.

Lovely orange cakes which were made and donated by a parent of one of the year 6 children & drinks of squash were sold and helped to raise £76.44.

A massive well done to Atlanta & Jade as the Head announced that there will now be a cup to play for every year to make this an annual event for the School.  I think the staff may well be practising at every opportunity!

Peter, or PJ as he prefers to be called, is a sixteen year old youngster from Dagenham, who is a great West Ham supporter. He lives with his mum, Kathleen, and has a sister Charlotte, and two brothers, Antony, and Ashley.  Although since March of this year, PJ has been in the University College Hospital (UCH), Euston, after he was diagnosed with having Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).

After intense chemotherapy, PJ unfortunately contracted septicaemia and was on a life support machine for a week. This left him with muscle wastage and in a wheelchair. He is currently on a plan to rebuild his strength and it is hoped that, in time, PJ will make a full recovery from this.

However, quite understandably, at this moment in time, the youngster is very down. This was an important year for him at school, but he missed his exams and the end-of-year prom. Alec’s Angels set out to see what they could do to cheer up PJ and make him ‘smile’. His sister, Charlotte, contacted the charity and said that her brother would love an iPad, so this is what Alec’s Angels is currently raising funds for. PJ loves party music, and his favourite groups are One Direction and JLS. He also likes action films, such as Spiderman and the X Men, so this new kind of ‘tablet computer’ is just the thing for him to use whilst he is recovering. Not only does Alec’s Angels plan to give PJ an iPad, but they want to provide him with all the accessories that go with it.

The Local Borough of Barking and Dagenham have been very helpful towards this family and are currently installing a new kitchen and wet-room to accommodate PJ when he returns home. There is other work needed in the house and Alec’s Angels is looking to see what it can do in this regard.

This is a wonderful help for mum Kathleen and she is very grateful, but Alec’s Angels want to do something for her personally. She has gone through the mill these last four months with watching her young lad being so poorly and it was felt that it would be nice to do something for her as well.

We give PJ, Kathleen, and the rest of the family our very best wishes for their future.

When Brian first told us about Alec’s Angels last summer, he said that he’d like the donations from Alec’s fund to go towards supporting families with the practical things when they go home after their child’s stay at Helen & Douglas House. This was perfect timing because by amazing coincidence we were just setting up our new Home Volunteering Project.

In January, we launched a pilot scheme with the aim of supporting families on a purely practical level within their own home. Families using the hospice houses were contacted and we asked them what type of support that would be useful to them.  What they told us formed the basis of the new project.

Volunteers have been specially trained to offer families practical support with things like everyday chores, doing the grocery shopping, picking up siblings from schools and transporting and picking up from after school activities, ironing, some cooking, helping siblings with homework and gardening.  One family told us that coming home after a lengthy stay, and coping with everything else, the fact that the grass was overgrown was really upsetting and the ‘final straw’. Parents also talked about the value of having someone to help with chores, so that they could be parents to their vulnerable child and spend quality time with them, or their other children.

More volunteers are now being trained so that we can hopefully offer the scheme to more families in the future.

This is a wonderful tribute to Alec.  A huge thank you to Alec’s Angels for their generous support and good luck for the It’s a Knock Out! event this summer!

Lennox – What’s the News – January 2012

Alec’s Angels – Giving Back
Reflecting back over 2011, one of the most emotional memories for us is the sad loss of Alec Jarvis, whose fight of  a brain tumour ended at only nine years old.

Six months later Alec’s family made the decision to set up a trust in his memory so that they could give back to the charities who helped them through Alec’s tough fight.

The trust was appropriately named ‘Alec’s Angels’ and his parents Sara and Brian chose three charities to support; The Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund, Clic Sargent and Helen & Douglas House.

Last year, Alec’s 16 year old cousin put the trust foward to the John Colet School in Aylesbury and asked them to raise funds through their annual ‘Help Week’. They raised lots of money and as a result, we’d like to say a huge thank you to Sara and Brian for presenting the Lennox with a cheque for £700 on behalf of Alec’s Angels. These finds were used to provide special grants for four families last Christmas.

The website set up for Alec’s Angels says: ” We want his love and laughter to be shared amongst the people who helped him most. It’s our time to give back!”

Charlie and Alfie from Alec’s Judo Club, Renrukan in Aylesbury completed a sponsored walk (alongside their school annual sponsored walk) on Friday 9th September. They decided before the walk took place that they would like to walk for Alec.  Charlie & Alfie got permission from school to walk with them and give their money to Alec’s Angels.  The school were more than happy for them to do this and with weather finally obliging, they set off for a three mile walk after school. We are really pleased to say that the boys managed to raise around £100.