newsletter autumn 2008

FUNDRAISING NEWS and EVENTS

Page 8

4-6 Tower Street Leicester LE1 6WS

Telephone 0116 254 4341Fund-raising 0116 255 6676Fax 0116 254 5981Email [email protected]

Web www.thelauracentre.org.uk

Please get in touch if you would like us to include any of your stories in the next edition, contact us on:0116 255 6676

Put the Fun into n Fundraising!nn

It is amazing what has happened since we last told you about our increased presence on the web. We nowoperate through two separate search engine sites leaving it to you to choose which one you prefer. Whether you use Easysearch or Everyclick you can not only search the web you can also shop on-line whilst raising money for the Centre. Surprisingly if only 10% of the web searches were made using a search engine that supports charitiesthey would raise £211,000 per day. Amazing eh! You can also donate directly through our own site now thanksto Google Checkout. Just go to our web site and click on DONATE. Lastly watch out for our on-line shop which should be opening for business in the next week or so.

Update on the World Wide Web

We would like to invite all fundraisers to use this page to promote and advertise your events. This will give you theopportunity to reach a wider audience and make your events even more successful .We can also put details onthe TLC web site. All you need do is send the information about your event to Tony Whitmore (you can e-mail it [email protected]) . Don’t worry about any graphics we will add an appropriate image to give your event more impact.

Thursday 27th November 2008 - THE UP BEATLES (Supported by The Roosters)

The Up Beatles will be strutting their stuff at West End WMC Braunstone Avenue

Leicester on the 27th in order to raise money for The Laura Centre. This will be a great

night for all 60’s lovers and for those yet to discover the magic. Admission is £5 and there

will also be a raffl e and a chance to win £50 with every penny going to the Centre. Make

sure it’s not A Hard Day’s Night and that you have your Ticket To Ride so that you can

enjoy this Magical Mystery Tour through the fantastic music that redefi ned pop. To make

sure that you don’t miss out give us a call and book your tickets NOW!

2009We are currently formulating our plans for 2009 and would welcome any suggestions from you, our supporters. We already know that there is an adrenalin junkie out there who has tasked us with fi nding him something “different” (we presume he means scary) so we’ll let you all know when we have come up with the goods. In the meantime please make sure that you visit the Fundraising/Events page on the web to avoid missing any new events.

Thursday 12th February 2009 - LADIES LUNCHEONFollowing the success of this year Ladies Luncheon we are pleased to announcethat the event is to repeated next year. This was a very popular event and werecommend that you book your tickets as soon as they become available. Thecost will be £15 which includes a three course lunch, a glass of wine and a keyspeaker (to be announced). You can reserve your tickets now by calling Annabelon 0116 255 6676 or e-mailing her at [email protected]

YOUTH CLUBA Page for our younger readersHi and welcome to the latest Youth Club. We have a few more fun games for you and we want to remind you that the Christmas Card design competition is still open. We have already had some really good entries but we want MORE so getout your pencils or your computer and get designing.

GUYACOHALReayou

AUTaut

agePage 7

ers to the

FUN

Y SOASTE

T U D E N TSE

N

XTX I N C T

AE

E

A RYOTCA

E A R E SNOUB F A L

W

Y

IG

RA

A

L R Y F R A C S P B

L E R U D C D P U O

A B A N G O A A M N

F C I V H R R R P F

S W N I E N K K K I

T A F R O S T L I R

H A L L O W E E N E

S R E K N O C R M S

he two t his

In August of this year The Laura Centre played host to its new patron Lady Gretton, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Lady Gretton agreed to become the centre latest patron after speakingwith the Chief Executive Tina Williams. Once Tina had explained the work that is done at the Centre Lady Gretton was keen to lend her support.

As Lord Lieutenant she has a full daily workload so it was gratifying to the staff that she found a space in her diary for thevisit. Tina greeted the new patron and showed her around thecombined buildings introducing her to various members of staff. Lady Gretton also

took the opportunity to learn more about the work the Centre does and the services it provides such as The Quiet Room. Following this brief tour Lady Gretton met with Sacha Richardson, Director of Therapeutic Services, who in turn introduced her to some of the Centre’s counsellors for some“hands-on” information.

As the monarchs personal representative in the county LadyGretton is a key fi gure in the community and by supporting the charity she is showing how important she considers the work to be. The Laura Centre now has two patrons with Lady Gretton joining long standing patron Rosemary Conley. TLC would like to take this opportunity to thank both for their time and dedication.

Page 6

New Patron For The Laura CentreLady Gretton visits the Centre

Tina Williams greeting Lady Gretton

Lady Gretton meets members of fundraising

Tina Williams with Rosemary Conley

Football Tournaments Raise MoneyTwo annual football tournaments have yet again raised much needed funds for The Laura Centre. Kev’s Cup and Pob’s Trophy were both held during the same weekend in August and, as usual, were very successful.Both tournaments, held in memory of a loved one, use football to generate interest in the Charity as well as giving people a great day out. With Kev’sCup this year raising over £600 and Pob’s Trophy around £2000, the Centre will have extra funding for some of the new and different

strategies and treatments that have recently proved to be very successful.Days such as these really take some organising so we would like to say a massive THANK YOU to the organisers of both events.

..Summer of Adventures!!

FLYING & CLIMBING

If heights scare you then neither of our adrenaline tripswould have suited you. In the fi rst of them we simply asked people to go a few thousand feet up in a plane andthen jump out whilst tied to someone they had never met before. Did they do it? You betcha! Our team of volunteers was led by counsellor Ranjit Phul (Ranj) andbetween them they raised an amazing amount of money in sponsorship. This is no easy thing to do and the fear factor must be high but it seemed to be unanimous that, if they had the chance to do it again, the answer would be YES. We will be arranging another Tandem Skydive during 2009 so, if you areinterested, give us a call and get your name down early as places are limited.

The fi nal part of our summer of adventures required stamina, nerve and resilience. Climbing Ben Nevis(Britain’s highest peak) may seem easy to those who have not done it but, believe us when we tell you that it is extremely diffi cult. The terrain is unfriendly and, on the day our climbers set foot on themountain, the weather was foul even though in the rest of the UK it was bright and sunny. As if the climbwasn’t enough they had to endure the long journey there and back by mini-bus. 11 hours going and10 hours coming back is an endurance test in itself. 10 volunteers set off to make the climb with 7 of them reaching the summit. Mark, one of our intrepid gang, had a special reason for reaching the top as he was carrying a heart shaped stone with his late daughters initials engraved on it. This serves as areminder to all of us why TLC is so important.

What can we say to all our volunteers but THANK YOU.You did an amazing job this summer and helped us raise over £10,000.

anjit and the team etting ready for take-ff and in the air.

Welcome to The Laura Centre...Last issue we told you about our summer of adventures which included walking, running and climbing. Well, they were all incredibly successful with people having a fantastic time and raising lots of money at the same time. Here are a few photo’s from each event.

DIGGING & WALKING

The summer started with abang when we were invitedto attend the opening day of Abbey Park’s Love Parks Week. As part of the day they had organised a sponsored walk around the park and we had a bunch of volunteers who pulled on their comfy shoes and stayed the distance raising lots of money through sponsorship. The day was also mfi nal planting of The Laura Centre Garden. This is in a quiet area of the park near to Pet’s Corner and our team of volunteers helped park’s staff plant up the fi nal section. The money for some of the roses was donated by the Friends of Abbey Park and the plaque which now adorns the site was supplied by AbbeyPark. We would like to thank all involved in this for giving us this outside area in which visitors can sit and refl ect.

Walking around Abbey Park may seem a little daunting to some but one of our counsellors, Alison Beck, went a whole lot further by walking coast to coast across England. Some of us did rib her a little in thefact that she took the narrowest part of the country (sorry Alison) but make no mistake this was no small feat. The total distance walked was over 200 miles and it took her 17 days. Not only did she make sure that she had convinced her friends and colleagues to sponsor her before she left, she also carried afl ag on her back pack inviting people along the way to do the same and it worked. Alison’s walk took insome of the most beautiful parts of England and we would do well to remember just what an amazing place we live in. You don’t have to travel great distances to see some of the fi nest scenery in the world.

Alison & friend reachtheir fi nal destination.

My StoryJames tells us his story

My name is James and I come to The Laura Centre because my Mum died in2005.

My Mum had cancer and when I fi rst found out I was distraught. I can rememberus walking out of the hospital and my Dad telling me that my Mum had cancer.I just started crying.

In the two years my Mum had cancer she was in hospital a lot and when she wasn’t show would be mardy and moody and it did not feel like she was myMum. She was completely different. She had 3 operations in two years andit was really hard to understand why my Mum had cancer. Why couldn’t it be

someone else? Why her?

My Mum died on 2nd November 2005 at Northampton hospital. I can remember I was sleeping at myAunty’s house at the time. My Dad came round the next morning and told me that my Mum had died and Icouldn’t stop crying. I knew she was going to die but I didn’t realise that it would be so soon. For the nextmonth life was really hard with the funeral and it was also hard going back to school because everyonewas quiet around me.

The fi rst Christmas was pretty hard seeing as it was only a month after but we got through it.

A year after my Mum died I started coming to The Laura Centre as I felt that I needed to talk to somebody.I came every Monday and it really helped me.

After a couple of months of coming to the Centre I was invited to come to a young persons group. It wasevery other Tuesday and was real fun and it helped a lot. Being with people my age who had lost someone close to them well, made me feel better, as they were in the same boat as me.

After counselling and group sessions my life is much better.

...my Mum died in 2005

BOOK REVIEW Finding Hope Again by Peter MillarPublished by Canterbury PressIBSN - 9781853114380 Comment by Anonymous

The following description is taken from the Canterbury Press web site: A book of comfort and encouragement forall who are facing diffi culty or distress by the former Warden of Iona Abbey, a place where many come looking forhealing and help. Peter suffered tragedy when his wife, Dorothy, collapsed suddenly and died at home one wintermorning. Their shared ministry in Scotland, India, Australia and on Iona brought a fl ood of letters and calls. In hispain, Peter found strength in innumerable stories of sorrow transformed by love and he weaves many of them herewith his own prayers and refl ections, tracking the slow but sure journey through grief to healing.

The following review was given anonymously: Thoughts, prayers and poems by a minister grieving thesudden death of his wife. Although a different situation to mine, as I lost my son, I have found it very helpfuland thought provoking”.

A Review of Some Helpful Books

Alternative TherapiesRelaxation and Stress Relief

The Laura Centre now offers alternative therapies to suitableclients. The service, offered by, Jackie and Margaret, bringsnew techniques that many will not have heard of such asReiki and Indian Head Massage together with more wellknown treatments such as Neck and Shoulder Massage,Refl exology and Back Massage.

This type of therapy has been proven to improve relaxationand relieve stress and so is a welcome addition to the Centre where counsellors are always looking for new and differenttechniques that will help clients. Apart from client referrals individuals can also book private appointments (details below).

DID YOU KNOW.....75% of human physical pain iscreated by muscle tightness

If you would like to sample one of the therapies you can talk to yourcounsellor or call Margaret on 0116 2782078 or Jackie on 01162418577 or 0789 6765706.

Neck & Shoulder MassageReflexologyReikiBack MassageIndian Head Massage

RELAXATION therapyAlison Beck, one of the counsellors here at The Laura Centre will be starting Relaxation Therapy in the near future. This style of therapy isnot new as such but it is a fi rst for the Centre and will help many clientsand in fact has already done so with the development of small groups that ran over the spring and summer.

All clients suffer stress and many different techniques can be usedto ease this feeling. In theory we should all be able to relax but attimes of emotional trauma that natural resource is sometimes lost inthe despair that we feel. The idea of introducing these sessions is tohelp clients access this natural ability that is somewhere within all of usand learn to truly relax.

“The time to relax is when youdon’t have time for it.”

Sidney J. Harris

If you would like to be considered for Relaxation Therapy, current clients should speak with their counsellor.

23568

INSIDE...NEW THERAPIESNew alternative Therapies at TLC

MY STORYJames tells his story

SUMMER ADVENTURESSee how our adventurers did

NEW PATRONThe Centre gets a new patron

FUNDRAISINGCheck on up coming events

Autumn 2008

THE LAURA

CENTRENEWS

You may remember the report in the last Newsletter that the Centre was on the verge of a crisis wherefunding was concerned. You can imagine then the relief when fi rst Children in Need and then TheBig Lottery Fund confi rmed that The Laura Centre had been successful in bidding for much neededcash.

Welcome news it is but as supporters and users of the Centre we all still need to be aware that fundsstill need to be raised. Although well supported by BIG, Children in Need, other grants, the PCT andboth City and County councils, there is still a substantial amount of money that needs to be raised.Tina Williams, Chief Executive at the Centre, said “The awarding of these grants brings some relief but we must be realistic. The factis that we still need to raise around £100,000 a year to keep theCentre going.”

The grant awarded from Children in Need is for one year but thatfrom The Big Lottery Fund covers a three year period giving TLC alittle more breathing space to plan the future. In the current world-wide economic crisis many charities,including The Laura Centre, are fi nding it more diffi cult to convince individuals and companies tosupport their work. For The Laura Centre though the immediate future looks better than it did just afew weeks ago. Clients, Trustees, supporters and staff all welcome these announcements knowingthat the good work carried out at the Centre can continue.

FUNDING FROM LOTTERY & CHILDREN IN NEED

WHAT A SUMMER!!Oh Boy!! What a summer for events. Summer 2008 was certainly an active time for staff and volunteerswith a number of successful fund raising activities with the emphasis on active. Whilst some walkedaround Abbey Park others jumped out of a plane and whilst one chose to hike from coast to coast,others decided to climb Ben Nevis. Then there were the football events and garden parties, the listgoes on and on. You can see more details about these events inside but the fund raising team wantedspace on the front page to say a BIG THANK YOU to all involved in these events. The amount of money raised matches the spirit shown by our intrepid action heroes. WELL DONE!!For information about future fundraising events please turn to the back page.