Leander Morales

Walking for Sunshine

Fundraising for RUHX
£6,204
raised of £5,000 target
by 26 supporters
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Participants: Lee Walford Jon Watts Andrew Hill Andy Noad Tim Beecham Steve Martin Thom Pears Jim Murtagh (Ye Olde George Inn - Colnbrook) Ian - (From Reading) Zak - (For transporting our PA and other vital equipment!)
RUHX

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1058323
We support Royal United Hospital (RUH Bath) to provide exceptional healthcare for all

Story

WE DID IT!!!

Having had an amazing afternoon at Marston House we've finally raised over £5,000! This hasn't been the easiest task in my life but well worth every segment of effort! So many people to thank from the walkers Lee Walford, Jon Watts Andy and co through to Sophie Ellis Bextor, Dizzi D, Zak, Royal Mail, Dickies, T-Shirt & Sons, Heron Press, Cara Dillon, Angela Yeoman, First Great Western, Ye Olde George Inn and even those who bought raffle tickets/sponsored offline and online or had any part in this campaign in any format. I thank you all!!

Scroll from bottom of page to the top to see how this small local story ended up with huge celebrity endorsement!!

To attend the final show go to www.ticketweb.co.uk or contact (01373) 455420 - Frome's Cheese & Grain Box Office.

UPDATE:

08/10/09

Ok! The final furlong. There's going to be a tea party with the raffle being drawn on October 18th. Special guest musicians include the Primavera String Quartet plus Jazz/Funk legend Pee Wee Ellis. Also expect performances from some other great artists covering different genre's and maybe one or two special guests. details via www.ticketweb.co.uk. (Type "Marston House" in search engine!) Anyone who buys a ticket will be entered into a free draw to win a meal for 2 at Michael Parkinsons pub! (To be drawn on the day!)

18/09/09
Michael Parkinson has donated a meal for 2 at his and his son's (Nick) new pub Nr. Windsor. If the food is a good as the beer you'll have an amazing evening! Details on how you can win this will follow soon. If you would like details on how to attend the raffle draw with the Primavera String Quartet and special guests contact - walkingforsunshine@yahoo.com

17/09/09
Somerset Standard and Guardian battle of the bands has donated and amazing £930.00 from the battle of the bands held by the newspaper back in August. This is an outstanding amount and and this is because of the sheer generosity of music editor and BOB organiser Dan Biganne. He has now taken the total up to 88%! This is incredible!!




WE MADE IT!!!

117 miles complete! We still have money to count and we're still receiving donations until October 18th (The Grand Raffle) A huge thanks to all our sponsors and everyone who took part in the walk! A huge thanks to Jim & Cindy at "Ye Olde George Inn" in Colnbrook. They helped us raise a staggering £700.00 in their pub alone. Jim even walked 19 miles to West-London with us!! Also a huge thanks to "Pete the builder" who donated £200.00 in Woolhampton and everyone who may have thrown 10p, £1 or £20 in the bucket. What counts is the fact that you've all contributed towards building the first Sustainable NICU in the UK.

We haven't finished yet!
Despite having had our huge mishap courtesy of DHL, We are currently selling tickets for the grand raffle with guitar signed by Status Quo and other amazing prizes from Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jamie Cullum, Michael Parkinson, Judie Tzuke and many more. As you know, we wanted to sell the tickets during our tour but a 24 hour courier service ended up taking 5 days costing us valuable opportunity and costing NICU £1000,00. More info on how to win one of these fabulous prizes and info on the limited tickets for the event will be made available soon.
Please keep donating! Your money could help save the lives of those who have only spent a moment in our world. My 5-Year old daughter was saved by a newborn intensive care unit. Who knows? Maybe she'll one day be a doctor, nurse or Lawyer who may save the lives of others!! Donate today. This is a national cause well worth contributing to. More photo's and Videos soon. :-)




SO........ WHAT CAN I DO TO SUPPORT THE FIRST SUSTAINABLE NICU IN THE UK?

Click "Read more" to see full updates!

W
ALKING FOR SUNSHINE



On Friday August 21st I will be walking from my home in Westbury, Wiltshire to Nelsons Column in central London.
I will be performing a number of live solo acoustic shows during my 117 mile trek, raising money for Bath’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit where my daughter was cared for back in 2004.

Bath based charity "Forever Friends" are currently running an appeal called “Space to Grow”
The campaign has been ongoing since 2007. The aim is to raise 4.5 million pounds towards the 6.7 million costs  of the first in a new generation of newborn intensive care units In the UK

It has been recently announced that the appeal only needs the final 1.5 million to complete the project. There are already plans to dig the first piece of turf this autumn. Really, this is going to be amazing for the people of Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire and beyond. It will be the first of this kind in the UK.
I hope you'll help with the campaign!!

MY STORY:

My daughter Alana Sunshine was born almost 10 weeks premature on May 27th 2004. My partner and I have had first hand experience in seeing how lives are saved in this unit.

I’m glad I can contribute in some way. We spent nearly 7 weeks in NICU. Some families were there for as long as 15 weeks. We were in a situation that no parent wants to go through with their newborn baby. In our case we were just grateful for Alana to be alive. During our time in NICU it was clear to see the lack of space in the unit, not only for the incubators and specialist equipment but also for the many passing doctors and nurses in NICU. There is also little space for parents to sit with their families over what can be a long period of time. Despite the need for this amazing new NICU, (And the first in a new generation of NICU's) I can't express how grateful I am for the care and attention given to my daughter. The doctors and nurses were amazing. I feel the least I can do is contribute some of my own time towards the appeal.

My 117-mile trek will be completed over an 8-day period stopping off at various venues and performing solo shows en route, ending up at Trafalgar Square on Friday August 28th. I hope to recruit other walkers and musicians to help raise funds towards the appeal.

I hope to raise £5,000 although I will be happy to earn anything that will contribute towards the funding of life saving equipment and facilities for NICU. The importance is raising the awareness of the campaign.

My trek will begin at my front door, in my hometown of Westbury, Wiltshire. Details listed below:

THE WALK:
 
Friday 21st:          WESTBURY – DEVIZES                     -         Gig @ The Bell - 9pm
Saturday 22nd:   
DEVIZES – HONEYSTREET               -         Gig @ The Barge Summer party - 4:30pm
Sunday 23rd:      
HONEYSTREET – HUNGERFORD     -         Gig @ The Five Bar Grill - 2pm
Monday 24th:      
HUNGERFORD – WOOLHAMPTON  -          Gig @ The Falmouth Arms - 8:30pm
Tuesday 25th:     
WOOLHAMPTON – TWYFORD          -          Gig @ Reading Fringe Festival                                                                                                          (Moondog Arts Café) - 4pm
Wednesday 26th:
TWYFORD – COLNBROOK                 -         Gig @ Ye Old George Inn
Thursday 27th:   
COLNBROOK – WEST LONDON        -         Gig @ The Cobden Club (4stickslive!) 8pm
Friday 28th:        
WEST LONDON – TRAFALGAR SQUARE -   Busk for NICU 12pm


Please donate now!

Full gig details available @ www.myspace.com/leandermorales

Keep updated: www.twitter.com/sunshinewalk

If anyone wants to help out, raise some money or maybe just join me for the walk contact:
walkingforsunshine@yahoo.com

NEW MEMBERS:

Lee Walford

Jon Watts
Andrew Hill
Andy Noad
Tim Beecham
Steve Martin
Thom Pears
Jim Murtagh (Ye Olde George Inn - Colnbrook)
Ian - (From Reading)
Zak - (For transporting our PA and other vital equipment!)


UPDATE!

24/08/09
I'd like to issue an apology to all those who have missed on on the raffle tickets this weekend for the Status Quo guitar. Dutch firm DHL were unable to deliver the tickets on time so unfortunately we've missed out on raising the first £1000 towards the Unit for premature babies. I'm hoping they'll compensate in some way. Please check the updates below to see how we get on with requesting some support in return for the service they provided us. The tickets will be arriving today so hopefully we'll have them in Woolhampton tonight!! I

18/08/09
Sophie Ellis-Bextor shows her support by donating more signed merch towards the raffle!! Amazing!!

17/08/09

Michael Eavis endorses the campaign by having his photograph taken with myself and the guitar for Western Daily Press! (He also signed the guitar) :-)

14/08/09
Vanessa from Frome's Roundabout clothing has donated a £50.00 childrens clothes voucher for her shop on Catherine Hill, Frome. Of course the voucher will be in the raffle! Details soon.

14/08/09

Incredible news!! Mrs Yeoman has kindly offered the unbelievable settings of Marston House to host a raffle draw!! Mrs Yeoman's great granddaughter was cared for by NICU and she would like to show her support for the campaign.  Watch this space for more exciting news!!   

13/08/09
Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman have kindly donated some amazing prizes to the campaign and are offering their support for helping raise further funds for the raffle!! :-)

12/08/09
BBC Wiltshire are going to follow us on the walk. They want to endorse the campaign over the coming weeks.

09/08/09

The fantastic news is that we're getting some great donations plus.. Jon Watts will also be joining us for 3/4 sections of the walk! If anyone wants to come just send an email to walkingforsunshine@yahoo.com even if you just fancy doing 5/10/15 miles with us!

08/08/09

THE FIRST £1,000!
Great news but still a way to go! Show your support by joining the walk or donating today!!

 
08/08/09

Status Quo have signed the guitar!!!
Check out the pic! Special thanks "All Instruments" in Westbury (For the guitar!) Also huge thanks to Glastonbury Festival for their co-operation and again to The Quo themselves!! (Must mention Peta and Glenn.) Thanks to those good people who helped the magic happen! Phew.. what a mission! Keep checking the site for details on how to obtain a raffle ticket.
Also, PLEASE DONATE TODAY!!!

07/08/09

MORE NEWS!
Westbury based music shop "All instruments" has donated a band new electric guitar for Status Quo to sign!! This is amazing! It's great to see such amazing generosity!

A fortnight ago Glastonbury Festival donated two tickets to the festival extravaganza which were bought for £30 from Ella Mai in Wiltshire. She then donated a further £20 online!


07/08/09

STATUS QUO WILL BE SIGNING A GUITAR TO AUCTION/RAFFLE!
I can't believe it but yes it's true. One of Britain's greatest bands and they still find the time to help support the campaign!! Also, Westbury based company T-Shirt and sons has donated 10 free shirts for our walk. You can see the final design over the coming fortnight. (Design courtesy of Andy Noad!) I am really grateful at the current level of support from friends, family, journalists and the amazing donations, making it possible to raise the awareness of the campaign. Spread the word and if you can afford it, please donate to what will be the first fully sustainable NICU in the UK.

02/08/09
Check out the photo's featuring some great prizes donated by great people!! Lots more prizes being donated as I type! Please keep the donations rolling in. Final raffle date will be announced soon!!

01/08/09
Leander pops to fish and chip shop (The Portway in Westbury, Wiltshire) The owners Vic and Sarah donate £100 towards the campaign!! Their son Luke was also cared for by a NICU having been born premature.

31/07/09
Endorse-It In-Dorset Festival tickets sold for £80! Thanks to Keith and festival team!! www.lgofestivals.com

30/07/09

Dizzi Dulcimer donates a new baby hand dulcimer!! (Worth £175.00) to the appeal! This will be raffled off at a final show yet to be announced! Do you know what a baby dulcimer is? Check it out on you tube! (Can't seem to add a link here!) Just type in "Baby hand Dulcimer!" You'll see Dizzi performing with one!!

28/7/09
Huge thanks to the amazing Judie Tzuke for contributing signed copies of her latest album "Songs 2" I've also recieved signed singles from Jamie Cullum and Jason Mraz courtesy of Air management!! Please keep donating!!

22/7/09

Special Thanks to my latest sponsors including: Westbury Lions Club, Royal Mail, Dickies Clothing, D'addario Strings, Endorse-It In-Dorset Music Festival, First Great Western, Glastonbury Festival and Heron Press for all contributions either in money or goods!!

Very special thanks to Lee Walford, Andrew Hill and Al O'Kane for joining me on this quest.

About the charity

RUHX

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1058323
RUHX (formerly The Forever Friends Appeal) is the official NHS charity of the Royal United Hospitals Bath. We’re here to make our place healthier, happier and stronger for the future. And we do that by supporting the extra extraordinary work that leads to exceptional care for everyone.

Donation summary

Total raised
£6,203.25
+ £110.28 Gift Aid
Online donations
£563.00
Offline donations
£5,640.25

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.