16 minute read
Fundraising highlights: Celebrating our fundraisers’ achievements
FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS
Thank you to ALL our supporters
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With the help of our wonderful supporters, we have continued to adapt our fundraising to changing circumstances. Our virtual Carol Service in December was extremely well received, as was our new Fit4Feb challenge, which had over 400 sign-ups and raised £10,000. We’ve been told it provided some great motivation for people during lockdown. Early March saw the launch of an exciting new project, Master the Art of Painting, a series of online sessions taught by professional artists with the aim to inspire people to get creative and support mental health.
Fortunately, the updated roadmap out of lockdown is now giving us the chance to start planning in-person events, starting with our annual Texas Scramble golf tournament in May.
This is the first fundraising report since Rachel Waller’s retirement and our fundraising team and amazing supporters are committed to building on her tremendous success. Natalie Norris has joined the team as Trusts and Grants Fundraising Officer, a hugely important role – I’m sure you’ll all join me in welcoming her to Charlie Waller.
Thank you, as always, for your incredible support.
GEORGIE MILES FUNDRAISING MANAGER
SPORTS AND GAMES
Sporting fixtures have been harder to organise during the pandemic but our supporters haven’t let it hold them back.
Texas scramble
Ascot, Henley, Wimbledon, Glastonbury, The Great Dorset Steam Fair: one by one the sporting and cultural gatherings of the English summer were torpedoed by the plague year 2020. But it would take more to stop the Trust’s annual golf day, now in its 22nd year. Ever agile, the team rescheduled between resurgent spikes and we gathered once again at Badgemore Park, magnificently lent by John Connell whose support for the Trust has been steadfast over two decades and more.
Golf was one of the few activities still permitted. That is because it is essentially anti social. ‘A good walk spoiled’ doesn’t get near it. Hours carrying a heavy bag of implements, whose purpose you dimly recollect; tramping heather, wood and bog in search of the ball you just bought, while thinking bloody thoughts about the futility of everything. You spend most of the time alone, gathering briefly beside the cup, to pretend to enjoy your opponent’s prowess. But it’s all for a good cause.
So this year our team selected one Jason Bateman, new to this tournament and with a handicap of just two. The OED tells me that ‘ringer’ is a horse racing term — referring to the practice of fraudulently substituting in a faster horse. But this was all above board. And what a pleasure it was to see the game played properly. At the 22nd time of asking, our non-playing captain John Weatherby collected the trophy.
Another with a perfect attendance record at this event was Tim Billington, a stalwart supporter of the Trust, whose Wimbledon debentures featured as star prizes at so many auctions. Very sadly Tim died last year. His brother, Tony Billington, spoke movingly about Tim and his contribution to the work of the Trust.
Not all Covid work-arounds should be jettisoned if and when ‘normality’ returns. Lunch al fresco on the Club’s terrace is surely a keeper. Happily we don’t have to wait a full year for the 23rd renewal of this essential event. See you all back at Badgemore in May.
Bridge Tournament
We held an online tournament from October to the end of December for our many bridgeplaying supporters. Players were asked to set up a game of Chicago bridge or rubber bridge with friends, either online or, where permitted, face to face. There were prizes for those scoring the highest after either playing three Chicagos or up to three rubbers.
Penny Burgess won the Chicago competition, with Puff Bigland coming second. Juliet Nissen won the rubber bridge and Jeremy Irvin came second and the tournament raised over £4,000, for which we are hugely grateful.
Huntercombe golf day
The Captain and Lady Captain of Huntercombe Golf Club, Nick Jenkins and Lyndsey Mann respectively, very generously chose the Charlie Waller Trust as their charity for the annual Captains’ Charity Golf Day held on 8 October.
This was brilliantly organised by the club, with Deborah in the office managing the admin, lunch for all participants perfectly served at distanced tables by Neil and his team, and the course was in great condition thanks to Grant and his ground staff. Mark and Rachel Waller and the home team obviously worked hard to bring it all together – and even found time to play themselves. The sun didn’t exactly shine, but after early rain, most players managed to stay dry.
There was a raffle and an online auction and, together with some generous donations from members of Huntercombe who were unable to play (numbers had to be restricted), a total of over £16,000 was raised.
The winning team of Martin Southgate, Steve Kendall, John Leahy and Steven Bone got an amazing 93 points. I thought our team did pretty well – but came nowhere near! Despite the unusual restrictions, it was a hugely successful and enjoyable day.
CHRISTMAS
Charlie Waller Virtual Carol Service
In 2019, 900 people had attended our annual carol service at St Luke’s Church, London, but 2020 was always going to be different. We went ahead with the service, filming it and beaming it into the homes of supporters, who enjoyed a thoroughly uplifting start to their Christmas celebrations.
As well as the very talented Vox Cordis singers, the choirs of Bradfield College and Elstree School were able to record and add their own contributions remotely. Revd Brian Leathard introduced and led the prayers, Dick Moore spoke on behalf of the Trust and a host of stars gave their time to deliver the readings – actors Damian Lewis, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Jenna Coleman, model and actor Suki Waterhouse, radio and TV presenter Chris Tarrant and Bishop Michael Doe.
Paddy Burrowes was part of the ‘at home’ congregation and said: “The filming in the church was stunning, the singing was incredible, it was so great to see the Bradfield and Elstree Choirs in wonderful voice, the readers were off the charts, and the homily was brilliant. It really was a magical way to spend a cold Monday evening, and in this strange world we live in, its Covid constraints actually made it more special and emotional.”
Christmas Raffle
Our Christmas Raffle was a huge hit and we saw an incredible response from our individual and corporate supporters. Thank you to everyone who took part, either by donating a prize or buying raffle tickets. Prizes included a hamper from Selfridges worth £150, two cases of wine and a whole fresh lobster! The raffle raised a marvellous £19,500.
Best dressed Christmas tree
Thanks to all those who entered and supported our inaugural Christmas tree decorating competition. It was no easy task choosing a winner but first prize went to Emma Vincent for her beautifully stylish entry. Emma won a Christmas tree for 2022 kindly donated by Yattendon Estate.
Great Creations
There is clearly a huge amount of artistic talent amongst our supporters and we’re delighted they’re using it to help our work.
Master the art of painting
Doing anything creative can be hugely beneficial for our mental health as it gives us a complete break from our everyday lives, so on 9 March, we launched ‘Master the art of painting’ an online art course. Four acclaimed artists – Laura Wallace, Julie Cameron, Hermione Gibbs and Leonie Gibbs – take participants through the stages of creating an oil painting. We are extremely grateful to artist Laura Wallace and her mother and Trust patron Louise Black who came up with this marvellous idea. Laura brought the other artists on board, and Louise and her husband Gordon, also a patron of the Trust, very generously funded the initiative.
Art you want to eat!
Artist Alice Straker produced a series of paintings featuring the food she dreamed of during lockdown, including a chocolate éclair and a steaming pot of mussels. The works featured in an online exhibition presented by Kate Preston Art, with a percentage of sales donated to the Trust.
It was Alice’s own battle with anxiety, and a breakdown in 2015, which led to her to start painting full time. This proved to be a “ray of light”, which carried her through the darkness, developing into a passion that has become a career.
There are still some works available to buy at www.kateprestonart.com and the gallery will make a donation to Charlie Waller.
Ella’s Christmas originals
Also on the Christmas theme, Ella Brady designed and sold her own Christmas cards, donating part of the proceeds to Charlie Waller and to the Sam West Foundation (set up in memory of a young man at Ella’s school who took his own life). Ella’s mum has attended Charlie Waller workshops, Zoom talks and support groups that have helped Ella’s family understand Ella’s own mental health issues and how best to support her.
Support by design
Lucy Marsh is an established interior designer who sells her cushions for charity every six months. In last November’s sale, she chose to support the Trust because: “Never more than today has mental health been such a poignant issue, particularly as we embrace the global crisis of Covid-19.”
Shining lights
Professional ceramicist Emma Louise Payne produced and sold candleholders, donating a percentage of the proceeds to the Trust. The candleholders hold three candles that represent her three brothers; one of whom, Adam, took his own life in 2018. The candleholders were available in 10 different colours, including ‘pickle green’, as ‘Pickle’ was Adam’s nickname for Emma. Emma also very generously donated three of her candleholders to our Christmas Raffle.
Getting Physical
We know exercise can help with low mood and anxiety and it also seems to inspire our supporters to go the extra mile, as all these wonderful people so ably demonstrate.
Walkies for Wellbeing
Our first Walkies for Wellbeing was a real success, thanks to the great enthusiasm of our supporters, especially those with cold, wet noses!
Hundreds of people and dogs took part, raising a fabulous total of over £8,000. As you can see from our cover, they were joined by sports commentator and internet sensation Andrew Cotter who is supporting the event again this year.
We’re hugely grateful to Andrew and everyone who took part for raising funds whilst getting active and boosting their own mental health.
We’ll be launching this year’s Walkies for Wellbeing to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September. Please visit charliewaller.org/events/walkies-forwellbeing.org to register your interest and find out more.
Fitathon
Personal trainer Anya Roberts organised a day of online exercise classes, with all the personal trainers donating their time for free and participants being asked for a small donation.
Fit4Feb
This year we launched Fit4Feb, a fitness challenge to encourage everyone – especially young people – to get out and get active.
The challenge was to get a virtual team together and to walk or run 28 miles or cycle 280km during the 28 days of February, giving a donation to sign up, keeping in touch with team mates on social media.
Berkshire mum, Lucy Bromage, thought it would be just the thing for her children during lockdown and the challenge also grabbed the attention of her son’s Year 8 group at Moulsford School as Lucy explained: “We approached the school sports master suggesting that rather than pupils logging on to their virtual sports session, they meet up with one other pupil and walk or cycle. The school was on board straight away and most of the year group signed up. It gave them the connection with their friends they were so missing."
Fit4Feb raised a fantastic £9,500.
What people said about Fit4Feb:
Swimming
Gavin Mansfield swam an incredible 36km in one day. At the end of the swim, he happened to come across TV and radio presenter Chris Evans and persuaded him to record a short video message of support that we were able to put on our Facebook page. Gavin raised over £2,000.
As it wasn’t possible to use their swimming pool during lockdown, Sevenoaks Swimming Club set their members, families and carers the challenge of virtually cycling, rowing, walking or running more than 5,000 miles – starting from Sevenoaks and visiting as many swimming clubs as possible along the way. It was a way to help support their members’ wellbeing as well as raise funds for both Charlie Waller and Young Minds.
Cycling
Year 9 student Tilly Buckland is cycling 192 miles, the length of the Coast to Coast route, in her own words “a bit at a time” as part of her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. She says: “I want to raise money for the Charlie Waller Trust because they train young people and the adults that look after them all about mental health and wellbeing, which is so important.”
Will Young cycled 970 miles last summer from Land’s End to John O’Groats and raised over £2,000. Will lost a good friend to suicide and says: “His family have been incredible advocates for Charlie Waller. Having seen the wonderful work they do, it’s evident that many lives have been saved and transformed by this organisation. With the additional strain that Coronavirus has placed on our lives, this cause has never been more relevant.”
Riding 25 miles in memory of Chris Hardie (1973-2018)
The weather on the morning of 25 September looked decidedly unpromising for a bike ride, as a group of 10 of Chris’s friends and family gathered by the Wimbledon Common windmill ready for the start. We were joined by a crowd of stalwart supporters who cheered us on as we set off across the Common, heading for Kingston and Bushy Park.
Happily, the clouds soon lifted and we were able to enjoy a very welcome cup of coffee at the Pheasantry, before leaving the park and cycling through Teddington towards the lock, and thence on to the Thames Path. By this time the sun had come out, so we could all appreciate that scenic stretch of the river, passing Twickenham, Richmond, Kew, Barnes and Hammersmith before reaching Putney. From there we headed up the hill back to Wimbledon Common, with a well-deserved stop for a hearty lunch at The Green Man on Putney Heath.
Thanks to the huge generosity of friends, we raised over £8,000 for the Charlie Waller Trust.
WALKING
Becci McEvoy decided to walk one million steps in 100 days to fundraise for CWT, a challenge which she knew would be good for her own mental health as well as a challenge physically. She was encouraged by the talks and workshops that were delivered by a Charlie Waller trainer to her son’s school and says: “The training was absolutely fantastic – I was really inspired by it and wanted to do something that would make a difference.”
Running
Friends Alice Allen and Tilly Hunt have committed to running 1,000 miles over this year, which they started on 1 February. The 16-year-olds thought it would be a great way to keep them both connected during lockdown and chose to raise funds for the Trust “because what you do is incredible and important.”
Sales
Whether it’s cake or wine, there’s no better way to support us than by buying something you know you’ll enjoy!
Wine sale
Piers German, managing director of Burns & German Vintners Ltd, was a good friend of Charlie Waller’s at school and says: “CWT holds a special place in my heart due to Charlie and Beetle, my brother. Barely a day goes by when they don’t crop up in my thoughts and I thought I should try and raise a bit of money to help the Trust.” Piers held a wine sale last October and raised £2,000.
Cake Sale
Mowden Hall School held a Christmas charity cake sale with donations going to CWT. Due to Covid restrictions, all the cakes had to be made by the school and, judging by the photos, they were much enjoyed by the children! The sale raised a brilliant £161.
In training
Here’s a preview of some of the amazing challenges for which our intrepid supporters are training. There’ll be news on their adventures in the next edition!
The Grimsby Water Rats Junior English Channel Relay Team are training hard to achieve their channel-swimming dream.
Another team hoping to swim the English Channel are the Thames Marvels. Marika, Alaine, Rebecca, Vicky, Liz and Lee will swim in rotation for an hour at a time.
Senior Master at Elstree School Luke Owens is taking on the mammoth challenge of running seven marathons in seven days.
CHARITY PARTNERSHIPS
We are very grateful to all the organisations who choose Charlie Waller as their charity partner.
Companies
We’re thrilled that ACRE Capital Real Estate LLP have made us their charity of the year for 2021. Some of their staff are also running the Cambridge Half Marathon for Charlie Waller – we wish them all the very best of luck!
Private equity group ECI partnered with us last year and are busy organising fundraising events for us at the moment – we’ll bring you news of their activities in the next edition.
We very much appreciate the support of Fidelity who have kindly made us their charity of the year for both 2021 and 2022. They have donated a wonderful £10,000 towards our work with parents and with further education colleges, both key areas of activity for us at the moment, and are passionate about having a two-way partnership with the Trust.
Charlie Waller trustee Charlie Lytle and a team of his senior colleagues at Goldman Sachs are fundraising for the Trust, and the company, with great generosity, has undertaken to match-fund what they raise.
Mercers Solicitors in Henley-on-Thames – so quite local to our base in Thatcham, Berkshire – have made us their charity partner of the year and we are very grateful for their support.
Michelmores chose Charlie Waller as their charity of the year for 2020. As it was such an unusual year, they are very kindly also supporting us in 2021. They have made donations, organised fundraisers and sponsored a raffle prize, amongst other activities, and are about to launch Michelmores Marathon for Mental Wellbeing in aid of the Trust.
We look forward to continuing to work with London restaurant, Sam’s Riverside, especially as the weather becomes warmer and life returns a little more to normal.
We would like to thank Panda Christie at Grapevine for her brilliant ongoing support, promoting our fundraising events.
Schools
We are hugely grateful to all the schools who have made us their charity of the year or supported us in other ways.
Students and staff of Bradfield College help us immensely throughout the year, hosting an annual carol service and our cricket tournament, amongst other things. We would also like to thank Elstree, Cranleigh, Benenden, St Mary’s Calne, Magdalen College School Oxford, Forefield Community Infant School and Queen Mary’s High School, along with Mowden Hall School, Shiplake College (see page 15) and Keble Prep School, who did the most wonderful take on Peter Kay’s Road to Amarillo!
