Our aim is to develop a holiday house and support centre in Cheshire, where children with a life threatening illness can come with their families for a FREE short break.
FRSB

News from 2009



Hartford Hall Hotel have also continued their support throughout the year with events and collection boxes. Their latest raffle raised £130 giving a total of £580.37 for the year. Thank you for your enthusiastic support.


Halloween Lights at Debbie Phillip’s House – The most illuminating way of celebrating what is traditionally a dark night! Debbie threw herself and her home into the spirit of the night and decorated spook-tacularly, raising a sweet £319.37 for the Charity – what a treat, thank you!


Belvoir Lettings

Belvoir Lettings, Thursday 29th October – The family firm held a Celebration reception evening in their Northwich offices for current and prospective clients, which included raising £80 for us. Many thanks indeed.


80th Birthday

Elsie Leonard’s 80th Birthday Celebrations, Saturday 17th October – Thank you so much for the fabulous £415 raised for the Charity as a result of the celebrations - a lovely way to raise both awareness and funds, which we much appreciate.


Boxing night

Cheshire Police Boxing Night – On Friday 16th October the combined power of the Cheshire Police Force and boxers made an exciting yet filling night at the new Lifestyle Centre in Winsford. A tasty 4 course meal and numerous bouts of boxing was well attended, in aid of St Lukes Hospice and The Joshua Tree, boosting our funds by a most welcome £3000. Many thanks to Dave Snasdell and all who helped with and supported the event.




60th Birthday

Olwyn Gallimore 60th Birthday and Retirement Party, Saturday 3rd October – What a fabulous way to raise £125 for the Charity. The celebrations were much enjoyed by the guests and The Joshua Tree benefited as well. We thank you for your selfless support.




Volunteers fair

On Tuesday 22nd September CWAC held their first Volunteers fair in Northwich Memorial Hall to help local charities recruit new volunteers. The event was well attended by recruiters and despite the competition we raised awareness of the charity, made new friends and contacts to support us both in raising funds and also for operations when the Holiday House is up and running. We are so very grateful for every bit of help we receive, whether in time, money or skills, and hope that you will continue to support The Joshua Tree.




Beer Festival

Northwich Beer Festival, Saturday 19th September – The annual town beer festival organised by The Rotary Club of Northwich and Northwich Vale Royal was held in September and greatly enjoyed by the many people attending. Funds were raised for several charities including a raffle resulting in £335 for the Joshua Tree – cheers!




Dragon boat race

Connexions Dragon Boat Race, 10th September - The inaugural event took place on the River Dee in Chester with keen and competitive crews battling to win, resulting in great entertainment and a fabulous £936.35 raised on our behalf – thank you for braving the elements and each other for our cause. Same time and place next year… please!?




Safe Workers!

As part of a health and safety initiative run on the Northwich wastewater treatment works Galliford-Costain-Atkins (GCA) have donated £675 to The Joshua Tree.

The site team worked 200,000 hours without a reportable accident. We are extremely grateful to Arwel Edwards and Jo Vause, and their team for considering us.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

A further £750 was gratefully received in November, in recognition of yet more ’hours worked safely without reportable incident’ from Simon Maxwell of the construction consortium operating at Northwich Waste Treatment Works Site. Thank you for thinking of us… and for being so careful too.




Hollybank Vets Open Day

A very enjoyable time was had on Sunday 23rd August at Hollybank Vets open day. The weather, although not hot, kept dry allowing various outdoor activities to take place. These included a bouncy castle, face painting, a delicious home made cake stall, a sweet stall and traditional luxury ice cream supplied by Isabelle's Ices

The open day also allowed current and prospective patients to take 'beyond the consulting room' tour to look at the excellent facilities that the Hollybank practice has to offer. We would like to say a huge thank you to Richard, Helen, Helen, Rachel, Sian and various 'others' who were asked, begged or otherwise cajoled into helping out on the day. A fantastic total of £340 was raised.

If you would like further information about Hollybank Vets then either take a look at their website www.hollybankvets.co.uk or catch up with the latest information on their Facebook page Hollbank-Veterinary-Centre




Northwich Amateur Swimming Club

Northwich Amateur Swimming club raised an amazing £774.12 during the Summer when many members took part in a swimathon. Many thanks to you all.




Rudheath Social Club

Rudheath Social Club organised a Cabaret Night on Saturday 18th July which very kindly raised £350 and was thoroughtly enjoyed by all who attended. Much appreciated, thank you.




And for the crafty!

Hilary Jones, vice chair of the Flintshire U3A Group (made up of different interest groups for people no longer in employment) nominated The Joshua Tree Charity to a quilting group. They have now finished their work and it was raffled off over the Christmas period. A beautiful finished product - thank you all for your enthusiasm and hard work.




Fashion Evening

Tarporley High School Fiesta and Fashion evening took place on Friday 10th July – The Fairtrade Fashion Show presented by the staff and pupils showcased homewares, clothes, jewelry and accessories from a number of different Fairtrade mail order suppliers, very professionally modeled by year 10 pupils. Refreshed by homemade goodies and Fairtrade beverages, the guests of all ages were also entertained by a fabulous show from our celebrity patron, Paul Pashley, ranging through modern covers to traditional ‘Brat Pack’ favourites. Thank you to Philippa Meehan and her team for a wonderful event raising a fantastic £900.






21st Birthday

Thanks so much Sally - you're a star!. What a fab night - loads of fun and loads of money raised too.

Earlier this year Sally Harrison contacted us to ask if she could raise money for The Joshua Tree at her 21st birthday party. She spent a number of months organizing Prizes for an auction and raffle as well as looking for a suitable venue. The Regent Hotel in Doncaster kindly allowed Sally the use of their Abbey Road Suite for the evening on 3rd July free of charge. The Beatles themed bar provided a great venue for relaxing and enjoying good company and music. Thanks again Sally you have a Big Heart!!

View some photo's of the evening in our Gallery




It's a Knockout

Wow what a day we had on Saturday 13th June 2009. All the hard work from Whitegate Charity Trust payed off beyond our wildest dreams! The weather was fantastic and the crowd turned out to enjoy the sun shine. All the teams really entered into the spirit of the day with a wide array of fancy dress, from cowboys to bumblebees! Graham Fisher and his team were tremendous and encouraged everyone to throw themselves into the games end enjoy themselves
We were also joined for the day by the Fire Service who put on a spectacular display of the consequencs of trying to deal with a chip pan fire with water.

The team from Whitegate Charity worked tremendously hard all day serving burgers, cakes and coffee. At one point the bar had been drunk dry so a quick trip to restock was required. Others directed traffic to keep the whole event running smoothly and some provided entertainment for the children with a selection of crafts to do.

Later in the evening we were entertained with a selection of live bands who came to add a great atmosphere to round off the day.

We would like to give our tremendous thanks to the whole team from Whitegate Charity Trust for a truly spectacular day!!



View some photo's of the day in our Gallery




Coffee Morning and Plant Sale

ON Saturday 30th May Ted Hawker and his wife Daphne hosted a coffee morning and plant sale to raise not only funds but the profile of our charity. The weather turned out to be fabulous and it was not only the plants that were wilting in the heat!!. Ted, a keen and accomplished gardener, had put a huge amount of effort into growing all the plants himself and there was a huge variety to choose from.

Daphne and others had spent considerable time baking a delicious array of cakes to compliment the coffee and an extremely enjoyable time was had by all who attended. The morning raised a staggering £1000 and we would like to offer our sincere thanks to Ted and Daphne and all their team of helpers for a lovely morning.




12 hour Marathon - Friday 22nd May

Others who joined Alan for a lap or two were the new Northwich Town Mayor Helen Burder, Weaver Vale Housing Trust's Chief Executive Steve Jennings and Chairman James Boyd.

During the course of the day, as well as all Alan's supporters from Weaver Vale we were also joined by pupils from Leftwich Primary and High school, Rudheath High School, Northwich Guardian's reporter Gina Bebbington, Harry Evans and Shaun McGrath from Vale Royal Athletics and many others, all of who completed a lap to spur Alan on to his goal. Towards the end of the event we were joined by The Weavils Folk Band who provided a great finish to the day.

We would like to give a huge thankyou to Alan and all the team from weaver Vale Housing Trust for their tremendous support and hard work that made the day a great success. Below are a selection of photos from the day.
View some photo's of the day in our Gallery

The Weavils – This local music ensemble have supported a number of different events for us over the years, with their entertaining repertoire and extensive musical talents. This year they raised £101.75 and were heartily welcomed at the end of Alan Maddocks’ 12 hour run on a chilly and very wet day in May. Thank you for braving the weather too.




Vale Royal Lions Club

On Thursday 7th May the Vale Royal Lions Club organised their Annual Golf Day at Portal Park Premiership Course in Tarporley which culminated in a celebration dinner and awards presentation, including £3600 funds raised for the Charity - we thank the Lions for all their fantastic effort and support to date.




Barclays Bank Ltd

The Gadbrook Park based Barclays staff have supported us from the start of the charity. This year the annual Staff Plant Sale alone enhanced many gardens and raised a blooming £1172.52. Barclays also raise much awareness and money for us through their staff volunteering and match funding schemes for which we are exceptionally grateful.




The 3rd Annual Fun Run

The 3rd Annual Fun Run took place on the Saturday 25th April. A great time was had by all. After a previous week of warm sunny weather race day was dull and showery but the weather didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the runners. Both races were started by Tom Davies and the finishers medals and winners trophies were presented by Alan Maddock from Weaver Vale Housing Trust.

We would also like to say a huge thank you to Harry Evans and his loyal team of helpers from Vale Royal Athletics Club for organising and planning the race. Also many thanks to Chris Moseley for enabling us to host the event in the beautiful surroundings of Marbury Park.

For those who are interested in how they did on the day here are the results of both races.

2.5K
5K
Position
Surname 
First Name 
Time 
1
LEE 
DUNCAN 
11.48 
2
JAKEMAN 
DANIEL 
12.21 
3
PLANT 
SAM 
12.59 
4
PLANT 
SILAS 
13.04 
5
MOSELEY 
JACOB 
13.13 
6
MARSDEN 
PHOEBE 
13.23 
7
MARSDEN 
CRAIG 
13.23 
8
FLETCHER 
KIT 
14.48 
9
MILLS 
RUTH 
15.15 
10
EDWARDS 
LEWIS 
15.59 
11
EDWARDS 
ANDREW 
16.54 
12
PLANT 
NICK 
17.47 
13
JAKEMAN 
EMILY 
17.53 
14
JAKEMAN 
STEPHANIE 
17.53 
15
HILL 
BETH 
18.37 
16
CUNNAH 
OLIVER 
18.42 
17
HILL 
JOSH 
18.42 
18
FLETCHER 
JENNY 
19.20 
19
CUNNAH 
NEVE 
22.08 
20
TASKER-HALL 
MIA 
24.00 
21
PRITCHARD 
EMMA 
24.07 
22
JAMESON 
EILEEN 
24.23 
23
WARD-HUGHES 
HELEN 
24.35 
24
TASKER-HALL 
HELEN 
25.00 
25
TASKER-HALL 
DUNCAN 
25.08 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Position
Surname 
First Name 
Time 
1
DALE 
LUKE 
21.09 
2
COLLIER 
STEVE 
23.34 
3
CUTLER 
MIKE 
23.51 
4
HUGHES 
DAVID 
24.06 
5
SMITH 
PETER 
24.33 
6
HANDLEY 
STEVE 
24.33 
7
MAY 
BARRY 
25.29 
8
SALA 
TONY 
25.43 
9
10
CRAWFORD 
DANIEL 
27.11 
11
CUNNAH 
CLAIRE 
27.15 
12
HILL 
ADAM 
28.28 
13
CUNNAH 
HARRISON 
28.32 
14
OLIVER 
RICHARD 
29.08 
15
JONES 
CAROLINE 
29.10 
16
CAMERON  
JAMES 
30.16 
17
CAMERON 
ALEXANDER 
30.21 
18
DONNELLY 
JOELLE 
33.06 
19
MARTIN 
CLARE 
33.54 
20
ADAMS 
LISA 
33.54 
21
WRIGHT 
DIANE 
34.01 
22
INKERSOLE 
NICOLA 
34.40 
23
KINSEY 
LESLEY 
34.45 
24
FARROW 
JULIE 
35.09 
25
BLANE 
SARAH 
36.05 
26
NORMAN 
JAMES 
36.56 
27
CAMERON 
ANNA 
37.33 
28
CAMERON 
JOANNA 
37.34 
29
LEES 
JOANNA 
38.34 
30
PRITCHARD 
JAMIE 
39.38 
31
MILNE 
ARLENE 
40.15 
32
GARNER 
JANET 
40.16 
33
MELARKEY 
ZOE 
41.26 
34
McWEAN 
KATY 
41.26 
35
CRAWFORD 
NEVE 
42.08 
36
CRAWFORD 
CONOR 
42.12 
37
GOUGH 
VICKY 
43.38 
38
POWELL 
SADIE 
48.37 
39
DONNELLY 
CHILD 2 
48.49 
40
LEWIS 
ANDREW 
50.14 
41
BLANE 
JULIE 
50.15 
42
LEWIS 
SIAN 
50.16 






Support from Vale Royal Mayor and Mayoress

We would like to offer Malcolm and Jo Gaskill former Mayor and Mayoress of Vale Royal our sincere thanks for all their support during their term of office. We would also like to thank the outgoing county council of Vale Royal for all their support and we are looking forward to working with the new authority of Cheshire West and Chester.