Many, many, thanks to everyone who volunteered in the shop, donated goods and purchased them, your support was greatly appreciated.
On the opening Saturday, we even had a small queue to get in! and we had a constant stream of buyers throughout the two weeks of the shop being open, which resulted in the marvellous amount of £3,500 being raised.
We were very fortunate in that a local farmer kindly allowed us the use of one of her barns to be able to sort, and store stock, which was a huge help.
A massive thank you to all the volunteers who helped to sort the stock – an arduous task but not without its humorous moments! - and also to those volunteers who helped man the shop throughout the two weeks. Without this marvellous help from our great volunteers, events like this could not happen, so we are very grateful to everyone involved.
Many thanks to everyone involved with the shop, as by doing this, you have also supported the work of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, which is why your continued help is so important to us.
June
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance are holding their annual Bag A Bra Day on Thursday 23rd May this year and on the day there will be vehicles travelling around Hampshire to pick up donated bras from a range of collection points;
The recycling of bras is slightly different from other textiles, as most of the donated bras are shipped to West Africa for resale at affordable prices by street traders. Being able to wear a bra gives women status and helps to improve their self esteem, which are certainly very emotive reasons to dig into the bra drawer to find an unwanted bra or two!
The collection points and times are:
Basingstoke Sainsbury’s, 3 Wallop Drive 10am – 11am
Andover Sainsbury’s, Spring Lane 12 pm – 1pm
Basingstoke Football Club 2pm – 3pm
Garthowen Garden Centre, Four Marks 4pm – 5pm
Asda, The Bridge Shopping Centre, Fratton, Portsmouth 10am – 11am
Sainsbury’s, Hedge End Retail Park (near the petrol station) 11.30am – 12.30pm
Winchester, there will be a collection point here, which will be confirmed later 1pm – 2pm
Paulton’s Park, car park 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Beaulieu Motor Museum, car park 4pm – 5pm
There will be a special collection route around Southampton with Eco Ernie, the recycling milk float, loaned to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance by Southampton Solent University. Here are Ernie’s collection points:
Eco Ernie:
West Quay Retail Park 11am – 12pm
Central Baptist Church, Devonshire Road 12.30pm – 1.30pm
Southampton Solent University 2pm – 3pm
Isle of Wight
On the Isle of Wight there will be a collection point open from 9am until 4pm at the Isobel Centre, Newport. “Swap a ‘D’ cup for a tea cup” is asking for ladies to bring along a bra in exchange for a cup of tea.
If you would like a ‘Bag-a-Bra’ collecting bag, want to know where your nearest ‘Bag It Up’ recycling bank is situated, or just require further information about this campaign, then please call 023 8033 3377.
I am not the Marathon type person and I never will be (I would be in a heap on the floor two feet after the start line!) but I have always wanted to raise money for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Not only might it save my life, or the life of someone I love one day, but I want to thank all those people who have worked so hard to help keep it flying... and apparently this is it.
I have worked for HIOWAA for four years now and every day I hear amazing stories of the work we do. These range from young to old, bikers to horse riders, male and female and each story is outstanding.
It currently costs in excess of £125,000 per month to operate the service including the lease of the aircraft, pilots, fuel, maintenance, and yet the charity receives no government funding. That is OVER £4,000 A DAY! The Charity also puts funds towards the cost of running a SID (Special Incident Desk) Desk and enabling Doctors to fly on board. The only help the charity receives is through secondment of the paramedics from South Central Ambulance Service. Therefore we must raise all of our costs ourselves.
It is a simple fact that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is a life saving service and needs your support.
I know times are tight, but please can I ask you to sponsor me as much as you can to help keep this wonderful service flying... http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KirstyWattsSkydive
THANK YOU
With our existing large Transit van gereously supplied by Hendy Hire, the three Ford Transit Connect Community Fundraiser vans and, of course The POD, we are delighted to announce a further addition to our vehicle base.
South Central Ambulance Service has most kindly allowed us the long term loan of a two axle box trailer to use at events and shows. During the very busy summer period this will allow us to deliver event equipment to event sites prior to the show, and to collect it after the event.
We are extremely grateful to South Central Ambulance Service for this hugely welcome addition to our vehicles, which will greatly increase our event capacity.
Rookery Farm Studio (Woolton Hill, Near Newbury, RG20 9XP) will be opening to the public on selected dates to showcase: Jewellery by Beverly Bartlett, Textile Art by Katie Pennington, Paintings by Sharon Perris and Haute Couture Embroidery by Valentina Tikhovonova
The Studio will be open on the following dates:
Saturdays and Sundays – May 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th
Bank Holiday Monday – May 27th
Wednesdays – May 8th, 15th
11am – 5pm
There will be free teas and a plant sale in aid of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
For further information visit: www.open-studios.org.uk or phone Sharon Perris on 01635 254902
