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Hi Sunshine News readers,
What a week! Last night we took to the Grand Hotel, Gosforth Park for our annual black-tie Question of Sport quiz and dinner. This was our only black-tie event of the year and has been highly anticipated, with months of work going into it.
The event was sponsored once again by Lowes Financial Management and was hosted by Sky Sports’ Pete Graves. We’ll tell you all about how it went in next week’s column, so keep your eyes peeled as we’ll have a whole host of thank you’s to give out!
Question of Sport may be done and dusted for this year, but there’s no rest here at Sunshine HQ as we catapult into all things Christmas! To kick the festive season off we’re starting December with a bang as we have organised for a choir to join us in Eldon Square on Friday 1st December at 12pm to sing some festive tunes.
Our carol singers are from NE Gospel Choir, which is part of ‘The Mouthful Way’ and we’re hopeful that if you’re not feeling Christmassy by then, their performance will help you get into the festive spirit! Come along to say hello on your lunch break and if you have any change to spare, we’ll have some buckets for collections and any donations would be hugely appreciated.
It’s also that time of year again where we dust off our Christmas jumpers – although I have already seen some fabulous knits in the shops! Christmas Jumper Day is just 4 weeks away and we’d love to get as many people to wear their best (ugliest) festive sweater for us on Friday 15th December!
We’re delighted to say that we already have a list of participants for this year, but we’d love for this to grow so please do join us – whether you do it alone at home, at work with your colleagues, out and about with your family, even get your pets involved! However you do it, pop on your best Christmas jumper for The Sunshine Fund.
We ask participants to donate £2 on the day, which can be done easily by text-to-give – simply text SUNSHINE 2 to 70085 to make a one-off donation. You can also donate online, by bank transfer or by cheque using the details at the end of this column.
If you would like to join us for Christmas Jumper Day, please email Sophie.Revell@thesunshinefund.org so we can add you to our list - and share your photos on socials using the hashtag #sunshinefundCJD.
All donations over the festive period go towards improving the lives of babies, children and young adults living with disabilities, additional needs and terminal illness in our region. We are a small charity making a big impact by funding life-changing equipment that is not available through the NHS or Local Authority.
With the cost of living impacting all of our lives, particularly those in the North East, one of the most deprived areas of the UK, Christmas and winter can be a difficult time for many, and for families where the child has complex needs, it can be even tougher as there is a direct link between disability and poverty. However, we couldn't do what we do without the generosity of our loyal supporters.
There are many ways you can support us this festive season beyond our carol singing and Christmas Jumper Day; we have an Amazon Wishlist containing a number of items that are either on our waiting list, or items that can significantly improve our services and family events. This is great if you'd like to make a more personal, tangible donation - think if it as a Christmas present! Visit our wishlist here: https://amzn.to/3SApPsy.
We are also bringing the original Santa Bus back to toon and we'll be stationed on Northumberland Street from December 14th - 17th. Come visit us for a fully accessible and inclusive Santa's Grotto right in the heart of Newcastle City Centre.
All visits to Santa are completely free and no booking is required. Just come along, get some photos and add your name to our 'Nice List' - and if you have any spare change, please do pop it in our buckets!
Following our social media and sharing our posts grows our audience and spreads our name and message, which has more impact than you’d imagine. It also means you can keep up with our latest news, and we already have some fantastic stuff planned for next year! You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok (@sunshinefund), and LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thanks for reading – we’ll see you next week for a full rundown of our Question of Sport night!
Sophie
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