Tag Archives: fundraising

Sparkling Variety Show raises over £3000 for THHN

Saturday 28 February saw the Rainbow Hotel in Torquay packed with over 200 people enjoying a fabulous Variety Show all in aid of Torbay Holiday Helpers Network (THHN). The event was organised by Bob Vaughan, a THHN volunteer and there was an incredible line-up of talent for the audience to enjoy and enjoy it they most certainly did.

Organiser Bob Vaughan and host and compere Tank Sherman – picture taken by Ree de Lacey

Acts included Keedie, fresh from her appearance on “The Voice”, Shaun Perry, Carolyn May, Mike Samuels, Abba tribute band “Take a Chance on Us”, Yours in Harmony, Supreme Dream, Becky Bennett, Stewart Masters and Tank Sherman. Bob said “I was so thrilled with the line-up that we had to entertain the masses. We had some fantastic acts from all around the country and I just knew it was going to be a great night. Particular thanks must go to the fabulous Tank Sherman who helped me organise the event and then hosted and compered the whole thing. With ticket sales and our amazing raffle and auction we raised £3275 which I am absolutely delighted about.” The evening was sponsored by the Rainbow Hotel who gave Bob the Club Rainbow Room free of change for the evening and Jamie Sinclair of What’s On Magazine. Bob said “Jamie was fantastic. Not only did he give the event free advertising in What’s On Magazine but he also supplied the flyers and posters and gave a brilliant prize for us to use on the evening. Thanks must also go to Mike Kozciban who provided the light and sound free of charge.”

“Take a Chance on Us” – picture taken by Ree de Lacey

Other local businesses that supplied prizes included the Babbacombe Inn, Becky Bettesworth, Dot’s Pantry, Haddon Galleries and Hanbury’s Famous Fish & Chips. Bob said “I’ve had so much support from friends, the local community and businesses it’s been overwhelming. I’m a huge supporter of THHN and the vital work that it does giving holidays to families having a truly difficult time and the way that others have stepped up to help our Variety Show raise such a great sum of money has been fantastic. Being part of Team THHN is a real honour. It is made up of a terrific group of people, many of whom gave up their time yet again to help out on Saturday.”

Fun at the Auction – picture taken by Ree de Lacey

Also at the Show on Saturday was Luke Tillen, founder and Chairman of THHN. Luke said “Bob is a real star. He’s a tireless volunteer, always ready to help out and do whatever he can. He started planning this back in August last year and put so much work into making it the success that it was. He’s pure gold and we are very lucky to have him on our team.”

For more information about THHN, its work, how to volunteer or help please visit the website www.thhn.co.uk or find them on Facebook.

Festival Fundraising Total Tops £10,000

The annual Hanbury’s Fish and Chips on the Downs Music Festival event in the Babbacombe Festival Marquee this June raised a staggering £10,480.81. David Hanbury, who organises the event said “I am absolutely delighted with the amount of money that was raised this year. As always, this is a team effort and we’ve had enormous support from sponsors, groups and individuals without whom we couldn’t hope to reach such an amazing total.”

All the money raised has gone to David’s chosen charity, the Torbay Holiday Helpers Network (THHN) which is a Babbacombe based charity. The THHN gives free holidays to families who have seriously ill and bereaved children, recently bereaved families, couples who have lost a child and to families who have a terminally ill parent and it is a charity that David is particularly keen to support. He said “The work that Luke Tillen and his team do is so important and I’m only too pleased to help provide holidays for more wonderful families here in South Devon. The team at THHN are lovely to work with and their Fundraising Manager, Brian Lewis, deserves special mention for his tireless work helping make the day a success co-ordinating all the volunteers, attending planning meetings and generally helping out wherever required.”

Hundreds of people attended this year’s event and were treated to a line-up that included the Stone Angels, Land of the Giants, Shamrock, Ollie Stephens, a special appearance by the Krankies and headline act, Mama Stones House Band, featuring Phoebe Ions.

Sponsors of this year’s event included Boyce Hatton Solicitors, Babbacombe Garage, Riviera Mortgages, The Babbacombe Inn, The Buccaneer Inn, Angels Tea Rooms, The Rotary Club of Babbacombe and St Marychurch and Child Friendly Matters. The event itself consisted of ten hours of fantastic live music. David said “I thought the line-up we had this year was really fantastic and I have to thank Anais Hay who handled all of the bookings and finer details behind the scenes. I’m also incredibly grateful, of course, to all the Hanbury’s staff who worked so hard serving over one thousand portions of fish and chips on the day. I’m very lucky to have such a great team here at Hanbury’s.”

Hanbury’s Fish and Chips on the Downs was the finale of this year’s five days of Babbacombe Festival Marquee activities which, as well as supporting the THHN, also had events which raised money for Rowcroft Hospice, CLIC Sargent, the Poppy Appeal and End Polio Now. David added “Particular thanks must go to Martyn Strange who, for many years now, has provided the spectacular Babbacombe Festival Marquee as well as co-ordinating a selection of events that have been enjoyed by hundreds of people and raised such a lot of money for the various charities supported by the Festival.”

The 2014 Festival was blessed with fantastic summer sun throughout and Babbacombe Downs was full of people enjoying both the weather and the atmosphere at all of the events which also included the Torbay Armed Forces Day which saw crowds lining the street to celebrate with Armed Forces past and present.

David said “Overall this year was definitely the best year we’ve ever had. There was a lovely atmosphere throughout and it was really wonderful to see so many people enjoying what was on offer. Babbacombe Downs is a superb location and what happens up there during Festival week introduces lots of new people to this spectacular location.”

The Festival website www.babbacombefestival.com now has a gallery of pictures so you can re-live all the goings-on from June 2014.

Haddon Galleries Help the Torbay Holiday Helpers Network

It may have been wet and blustery outside on the evening of Saturday 2 November but inside Haddon Galleries on Torquay harbourside there was lots of warm spirit and generosity at a special event which raised over £4,200 for the THHN (Torbay Holiday Helpers Network).  Haddon Galleries was recently named as this year’s Fine Art Retailer of the Year and the event doubled up as a celebration as well as a wonderful evening of fundraising.  The THHN gives free holidays to families who have seriously ill and bereaved children, recently bereaved families, couples who have lost a child and to families who have a terminally ill parent.

Fiona Haddon, owner of the gallery, said “We had a really lovely time on Saturday and the support we received from so many of our artists and suppliers was overwhelming.  It would not have been possible without some amazing donations and we are extremely grateful to everyone who pitched in.”  She added “Obviously we wanted to celebrate our recent award but it was especially nice to tie up with the THHN and be in a position to raise such a lot of money for this fantastic charity.”

The gallery was open all day with artists Laura Wall and Mike Jackson painting and signing prints.  Raffle tickets were on sale with some fantastic prizes up for grabs and in the evening the gallery became a party venue with some delicious nibbles and refreshments very kindly donated by Waitrose Torquay and music from great duo, Noteable.  Then it was time for the auction which featured over 20 amazing lots all of which had been donated.

Luke Tillen, founder and Chairman of the THHN, said “A huge thank you to our good friends at Haddon Galleries in Torquay.  We really cannot thank Fiona and Paul Haddon and all their staff enough for hosting such a wonderful event and for donating 5% of their gallery sales throughout the day on top of everything else.  I must also thank our fantastic volunteers who helped and the brilliant Brian Lewis, our Fundraising Manager, who co-ordinated everything along with our photographer Dougie Worthington of Peacock Dreams Photography who was busy taking a lovely selection of photos of the event.”

Brian said “I’m delighted with how well the event went.  There was a great turnout of people and the lots in the auction were really impressive.  Such donations are so vital to enable us to raise funds for the extremely special project we now have underway to build a bungalow for families with very high level care needs.  So, my thanks to everyone who helped out with this event, including our wonderful auctioneer for the evening, Gerald Arnold.”

For more information on the THHN visit www.thhn.co.uk and to catch up with all the goings on at Haddon Galleries visit www.haddongalleries.co.uk.

Bringing Home the Bacon for Charity

Guests at the Brampton Court Hotel’s Irish Cabbage and Bacon Night last month were left reeling as they enjoyed the spectacular food and entertainment at an event which raised over £3000 for the Torbay Holiday Helpers Network (THHN).

The event was organised by Gerry Gilraine of Galliford Try along with the staff of the Brampton Court Hotel and revellers were treated to an incredible evening which included delicious food, a live ceilidh band and a raffle packed with some amazing prizes including a trip for 2 to Dublin, a weekend for two at the Royal Exeter Hotel in Bournemouth, a piece of Waterford Crystal, Donegal crystal wine goblets, a meal for two and a handmade Irish clock.

Guests paid just £5 for a ticket and the hotel was packed with people having a fantastic evening and helping raise money for the THHN. Founder and Chairman of the charity, Luke Tillen, said “It was a truly incredible evening.  I have never witnessed an atmosphere like it.  The generosity of people had to be seen to be believed.  I really can’t thank all those involved enough.”  He added “As a charity we are getting quite well known now for the holidays we provide to families who are having a tremendously difficult time. This year we announced our plans to build a bungalow specifically to cater for those families with very high level care needs so that we are able to offer holidays to a whole host of fantastic families that we simply cannot cater for at the moment.  The money raised at the Brampton Court will all go towards that vital project.”

He added “So many people helped make this event the success that it was and we received incredibly generous sponsorship from lots of people including John Clements Building and Civil Engineering, JP Construction and Civil Engineering, Zone Civil Engineering, Galliford Try Civil Engineering, Mulleadys Civil Engineering, Ballycommon Labour Supplies, Paul Murphy Civil Engineering, Mick Cunningham Civil Engineering, Barn Owl Pub and Restaurant, The Royal Exeter Hotel, Rock Garden.  Thank you so much to all of them.”

Phil and Sarah Watson, who own the Brampton Court Hotel, were delighted with how the event went.  Phil said “It really was a great, fun event.  To be able to give everyone an evening to remember, as well as raising money for this fantastic charity, was an absolute pleasure.  We had heard all about Luke’s plans to build a bungalow and wanted to do something to help towards the project.”

The Brampton Court Hotel has been part of the Torbay Holiday Helpers Network for some time and is one of the businesses that generously gives free holidays to THHN families.  To see how you could get involved or for more about the THHN and the bungalow project visit www.thhn.co.uk .

Fun and Fundraising at Hanbury’s Famous Fish and Chips

Hanbury’s Famous Fish and Chips of Babbacombe raised over £800 for Rowcroft on Wednesday 16 October with a special event in aid of the charity as part of Rowcroft’s Dine at Mine campaign.

The famous fish and chip takeaway and restaurant had medium cod and chips on offer all day and then gave over 25% of the proceeds to Rowcroft Hospice.  At the same time there was a silly hat competition and the best 25 silly hats were awarded a £25 Hanbury’s restaurant voucher each.

David Hanbury said “As always we had great support from our customers.  Everyone seems to be very happy to support our charity days and I am extremely grateful for that.  I have a fantastic team here and everyone really pulls out all the stops when we do this kind of event.  It’s a lovely, friendly atmosphere and our customers seem to appreciate that.”  He added “People really got into our silly hat competition too and we had all sorts of amazing creations through the doors.”  David and his team all joined in the silly hat wearing and, once the frying was over, sat down to look through all the pictures of people in silly hats and pick their 25 winners. 

David said “Rowcroft is an amazing place and I’m only to happy to be able to support it in this way. Local people really appreciate having such a wonderful organisation in the area and we had Rowcroft buckets for donations which will be given straight to Rowcroft and will hopefully contain lots more money.”

For the latest on the fundraising day and to see a selection of the silly hats on display have a look at the Hanbury’s Facebook page.