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!
WALKING 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.
Raised:
124%
Raised so far: £6,203.25
|
Congratulations on completing the arduous walk! Sue & Stuart Donation by Sue Cooper on 30/08/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
|
|
Thrilled to support this excellent cause. The team worked hard to raise this money. Well done. Donation by KELLY PEREIRA on 30/08/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Well done - hope it all went well. Donation by Tony Gardner on 30/08/09 |
£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid |
|
|
Well done all of you, we can't wait to see the film footage! Donation by Tracey & Tim on 28/08/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good Luck, what an amazing thing you are doing. Abby Donation by Abby Griffiths on 26/08/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good luck guys! I have only just heard about what you are doing - sorry I didn't make the gigs. Lots of love x x x Donation by Claire Woodhouse on 26/08/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
All the best Leander and co, good luck! Roger and Anne Henderson. Donation by andrew noad on 24/08/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
|
|
good luck lee the blisters will soon heal. your dad would be well proud of ya! x x x Donation by aunty ann walford on 24/08/09 |
£5.00 |
|
|
Good luck Lea and Co. Wishing you all the very best on your way. I hope you raise lots and lots of money for such a special cause. xx Donation by Ed, Georgie, Noah and Tabitha xx on 22/08/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good luck to you all. Donation by Hilary & Tash Sargent. on 21/08/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good luck mate and don't get lost (just keep heading east), all the best :) Donation by andy noad on 20/08/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
My daughter spent 9 weeks in nicu, so I know how important the space to grow campaign is. Good luck. Donation by claire benson on 19/08/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good luck to the lot of you! Happy walking... x Donation by Beccy on 18/08/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good luck mate... Donation by Pete Maidment on 16/08/09 |
|
|
|
Good luck Leander - hope all goes well for you :) - Jenny (Flower Shop) - got there at last!! Donation by jenny on 11/08/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
|
|
Best of luck with your journey and your fund-raising target Donation by clive, lynne and rosa robson on 10/08/09 |
£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid |
|
|
Have a ball and may the power of Acoustic Plus be with you! We can also recommend Eulactol Heel Balm. Donation by Nick & Caroline, A+ on 10/08/09 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good Luck Lea, this should bring your donations to £1000 Donation by zakaria ezelove on 08/08/09 |
£6.00 + £1.69 Gift Aid |
|
|
I really hope your walk goes well. Very inspiring. Might even come to your Devizes gig :) Bless you Donation by Ellamai (Counties) on 05/08/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good luck! Great cause! :-) Donation by Lisa Hutchinson on 23/07/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Leander this is a fantastic thing you’re doing! I know from recent experience with my nephew how amazing NICU Units are. Good luck :) Beckie and Al x Donation by Rebecca Garland on 23/07/09 |
£40.00 + £11.28 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good luck with the walk!! Donation by Poot vintage on 15/07/09 |
£50.00 |
|
|
Walking to London is not a challange. It seems like you are stopping on the way. Go for Gold and walk to Paris.!!!! Seriously Good Luck Donation by stephen cleaver on 14/07/09 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
|
|
Best of luck Lea! I'm excited for you!! Donation by Dawn :) on 14/07/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Good Luck Lea and remember.. Keep on walking!!!! love Dizzi X Donation by rebecca edwards on 12/07/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
| * Total raised online: | £563.00 |
|---|---|
| Offline donations: | £5,640.25 |
| Mobile donations: | £0.00 |
| Total Raised: | £6,203.25 |
| Gift Aid plus supplement: | £110.28 |
* Charities pay a small fee for our service.
Find out
how much it is and what we do for it.