Hello all, if you are new to this Blog then please read my first posting dated 'April' to find out why I am climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for MacMillan Cancer.
As you can see from my lovely photo, I recently had a stall at Melton Day to raise money for my Kilimanjaro challenge. It was a fantastic day and we managed to raise £710.00.
I decided to have the stall in Melton and not London because that is where the majority of my friends live. However, unfortunately for them, I lumbered them with the burden of collecting donations for me!! I was panicking like mad, thinking I would only have a small number of prizes for my Tombola, but ended up with just fewer than 200!! I had a fantastic response and everybody was really munificent, too generous in fact, as it meant I had to spend 8 hrs on the Sunday folding Raffles tickets…….was I stressed? Slightly. Ask my sister Claire, as she was unfortunate enough to be at the brunt of my frustration. I was the only one to blame though, as I spent Saturday night partying until 3.30 am, so as you can imagine, I was slightly tired and feeling a little tender.
So, with the prizes numbered and tickets FINALLY folded, we packed the van and got a good nights sleep in preparation for the long day ahead of us. My sister Julie, her husband Kevin and their son Harry picked me up at 7.30am Monday morning and we headed to the park to set up stall. It was a bit of a tight squeeze fitting all the prizes on, but as you can see it looked fab! We had the best stall down there which attracted a big crowd. I could not believe people were actually queuing for the Tombola. I also had a Lucky Dip which proved popular and a few other games which sadly generated little interest.
People were just fanatical towards the Tombola and my stall, for what I believe to be two reasons; One being the excitement of peeling back the Raffle ticket and realizing you have a winning number and two because it was for MacMillan Cancer. I have started to acknowledge that the most charitable of people are those who have been affected by cancer. I have donated £110 to Cancer Charities in the last 2 months through sponsorship. Would I have donated this much before my Mum was taken ill? No. Would I donate this much to other charitable organizations? No. I, like others, feel it is my duty to support those charities that are going to prolong the life of our loved ones. I feel the need to reiterate that 1 in 3 people are affected with Cancer sometime during their lifetime. Taking this into account, maybe we ALL can make a difference to those affected by this illness. Sponsor a friend, organize an event, have a go on that Tombola that you casually walk past at fetes, do the Race for Life or just use your imagination and do something different. Go on have a go, it gives you a wicked sense of achievement, a warm fuzzy feeling of doing something "good", something "worthwhile" and something to be proud of. Like Billy Elliot once said:
As you can see from my lovely photo, I recently had a stall at Melton Day to raise money for my Kilimanjaro challenge. It was a fantastic day and we managed to raise £710.00.
I decided to have the stall in Melton and not London because that is where the majority of my friends live. However, unfortunately for them, I lumbered them with the burden of collecting donations for me!! I was panicking like mad, thinking I would only have a small number of prizes for my Tombola, but ended up with just fewer than 200!! I had a fantastic response and everybody was really munificent, too generous in fact, as it meant I had to spend 8 hrs on the Sunday folding Raffles tickets…….was I stressed? Slightly. Ask my sister Claire, as she was unfortunate enough to be at the brunt of my frustration. I was the only one to blame though, as I spent Saturday night partying until 3.30 am, so as you can imagine, I was slightly tired and feeling a little tender.
So, with the prizes numbered and tickets FINALLY folded, we packed the van and got a good nights sleep in preparation for the long day ahead of us. My sister Julie, her husband Kevin and their son Harry picked me up at 7.30am Monday morning and we headed to the park to set up stall. It was a bit of a tight squeeze fitting all the prizes on, but as you can see it looked fab! We had the best stall down there which attracted a big crowd. I could not believe people were actually queuing for the Tombola. I also had a Lucky Dip which proved popular and a few other games which sadly generated little interest.
People were just fanatical towards the Tombola and my stall, for what I believe to be two reasons; One being the excitement of peeling back the Raffle ticket and realizing you have a winning number and two because it was for MacMillan Cancer. I have started to acknowledge that the most charitable of people are those who have been affected by cancer. I have donated £110 to Cancer Charities in the last 2 months through sponsorship. Would I have donated this much before my Mum was taken ill? No. Would I donate this much to other charitable organizations? No. I, like others, feel it is my duty to support those charities that are going to prolong the life of our loved ones. I feel the need to reiterate that 1 in 3 people are affected with Cancer sometime during their lifetime. Taking this into account, maybe we ALL can make a difference to those affected by this illness. Sponsor a friend, organize an event, have a go on that Tombola that you casually walk past at fetes, do the Race for Life or just use your imagination and do something different. Go on have a go, it gives you a wicked sense of achievement, a warm fuzzy feeling of doing something "good", something "worthwhile" and something to be proud of. Like Billy Elliot once said:
"Sorta feels good. Sorta stiff and that, but once I get going... then I like, forget everything. And... sorta disappear. Sorta disappear. Like I feel a change in my whole body. And I've got this fire in my body. I'm just there. Flyin' like a bird. Like electricity. Yeah, like electricity."
We all have a passion in life and don't get me wrong, I have many, but for me raising money for Macmillan gives the opportunity to "forget everything" "sorta disappear" and focus my attention on something worthwhile. It stops me reminiscing on the bad times and thinking of what the future holds, and once my mission is accomplished, for that split second I feel a sense of "electricity" generating through my body! Once that ceases, I endeavor to start again, to prevent my mind from drifting to that place that drives me insane.
So, that time has now come and I have two more fundraising events in August. A pampering night on the 19th and The Locks are performing at the Cricket Club on the 21st. These will be taking place in Melton so if anybody wants to come please contact me for a ticket. Ticket prices are £15 and £5 respectively. A word of warning, the nagging will commence in approximately two weeks time!
To end this posting I want to say a huge thank- you to everybody who donated prizes for my stall and to the guys who helped me on the day. Thanks for putting up with my persistent nagging “prizes, I need prizes, get me more!”, but most of all thanks for the constant support you show me every time I embark on a new challenge!
Before I go I will leave you with one last quote from somebody who conquered Kilimanjaro a few years ago:
"My main thoughts are that while it is a physical challenge it is also an extreme mental challenge, so you need to be prepared for it. Exhaustion, lack of sleep, lack of sanitary conditions, different food regimes etc Be prepared to dig deep."
I have a feeling I will not be sensing much "electricity" during this challenge! I think I best put down my Curry and head for the Gym x
Well done on the amount raised!
ReplyDeleteThanks Glynis.....Did not realise you were Nikki's Mum! I hope the wedding goes well x
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