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 2010


Barclays Bag Pack


Boxing night

Cheshire Police Boxing Night – On Friday 15th October Cheshire Police Force once again organised a charity boxing night in aid of our charity. The exciting night was again held at the new Lifestyle Centre in Winsford. A tasty 4 course meal and numerous bouts of boxing was well attended, in aid of Winsford Neromuscular Centre and The Joshua Tree, boosting our funds by a most welcome £1500. Many thanks once again to Dave Snasdell and all who helped with and supported the event.



Sainsbury's JT Open Evening, Northwich - Monday 27th Sept

Sainsbury’s Supermarket, Northwich hosted a Cheese and Wine evening giving prospective volunteers and shoppers the chance to meet some of The Joshua Tree Team, and also to view the exciting plans for the proposed Holiday House and Support Centre that are going for full planning permission in October.

Pauline Mills, PR Ambassador for Sainsbury’s, was the perfect hostess ensuring everyone was suitably fed and watered in a welcoming and informal atmosphere. Thank you to all who attended and especially to Sainsbury’s.


Hollybank Vets Open Day 5th September 2010

We were very grateful to be selected as Hollybank Vets’ chosen Charity to receive the benefits of the funds raised at their Annual Family Fun and Open Day which raised over £990. The event was very enthusiastically attended by a huge number of people, whom we thank for their contributions to help us create the Holiday House and Support Centre.


The Co-operative Supermarket Opening, Northwich – Thursday 5th August

Joshua had a true ‘Celebrity’ moment – an actual supermarket opening! - complete with paparazzi and the big scissors and loads of balloons, not to mention lovely samples of French patisserie. Josh took it all in his stride and also helped to sell lots of lucky raffle tickets to win Co-op voucher prizes. The draws and opening collections raised a wonderful £425.88, with the Voucher Raffle winners being……

Draw 1
£60 - E Jameson
£30 - A Web
£10 -C Bland
Draw 2
£60 -B Nile
£30 - A Wood
£10 - D Elliott

Thank you so much to Store manager John Berry, staff and customers for all your efforts in fundraising for, and promoting The Joshua Tree Charity.


Blakemere Countryside Fair Weekend - Sat 24th/25th July 2010

A fabulously breezy and bright weekend rapidly changed from sun to rain, and back again, without mercy, throughout the two days but the event continued successfully, with dog shows and fairground rides, fantastic displays including chain-saw carving, shire horses, side-saddle riding, dog agility, gymnastics, cheerleading, and music from The Weavils.

Silk FM broadcast live from the show whilst visitors enjoyed stalls and demonstrations, and took part in family activities from guessing pigeon race winners, coconut shies and hook-a-duck, to archery, shooting and Supagolf. The whole site buzzed with throngs of people having fun whilst helping the Joshua Tree stalls raise a brilliant £638.65 and Blakemere to raise a further £586.40, totalling a staggering £1225.05 for the weekend!

Importantly, many more people from all over the country heard about the reason for, and the work to build The Joshua Tree Holiday House and Support Centre. Thank you so much to all the Countryside Fair Visitors, participants, and all at Blakemere for their wonderful support.
The Pigeon Race Winners
Saturday
First Home - Mrs A Smart, Huxley
Fastest Time - Mrs N McKendrick, Cuddington
Sunday
First Home - Carol Haddocks Mum / Helen Tasker-Hall (DRAW)
Fastest Time - May Shaw, Northwich



CHESHIRE vINVOLVED STAFF AND THE YAT TAKE PART IN DRAGON BOAT RACE

Congratulations to the Cheshire Youth Action Team for taking part in the Chester Dragon Boat Race and helping to make 2010 the largest ever Chester Dragon Boat Festival. This year there were 29 teams competing, all working hard to raise sponsorship for 26 different charities. Cheshire Youth Action Team raised a total of £558 for the Joshua Tree. Seventeen volunteers took part in the Dragon Boat Race and a fun day was had by all.



Village Gala 5th June

On Saturday 5th June the Cuddington and Sandiway Parish Council Village Gala took place. The Joshua Tree were just one of many stalls, where we had our plans for the house up for people to see as well as selling some of the charities goodies. It was a great success with many coming out to watch the football tournaments taking place.


Ted and Daphne's Plant Sale

On Saturday 29th May, Ted and Daphne Hawker hosted a coffee morning, plant sale and cake stall in Cuddington.

It was a hugely successful morning, raising £1000 for The Joshua Tree. We are really thankful to Ted and Daphne for all their efforts, and thank them for their continuous support over the years.



Great Budworth Ice Cream Farm

Over the bank holiday weekend (29th-31st May), Great Budworth Real Dairy Ice Cream Farm raised funds for charity by hosting a sale including items such as antiques, household items and books. Proceeds were shared equally between St Luke's Hospice and The Joshua Tree. The event was a great success and we thank the owners and staff at the Ice Cream Farm for all their generous efforts and contributions to the charity.


Hartford Golf Club 2009 - 2010

Throughout the year different events were held to raise money for The Joshua Tree at Hartford Golf Club, raising a fantastic £384.79! We thank the ladies captain Julie Davies for choosing The Joshua Tree as your charity over that period and for all the supporters who helped to raise the money.


Eric Johnson of Northwich Limited

Eric Johnson of Northwich Ltd held various events raising £715 for The Joshua Tree, which we are very grateful and thankful for all their support. Diane Johnson has more recently become the first woman president after 109 years of the Electrical Contractors Association.




On the 21st May, staff from Weaver Vale Housing Trust embarked on a 1000 mile challenge at Marbury Park in Northwich, Cheshire. To complete the challenge more than 100 staff walked, ran, cycled, skipped and even hula hooped their way round the track, including chairman James Boyd, chief executive Steve Jennings and Weaver Vale's new MP, Graham Evans.

Each lap was more than two miles long and the team managed to smash their target completing 702 laps, reaching 1502 miles! The event was rounded off with entertainment provided by Sophie Bond. Children from Moulton Primary School also got involved by taking part in a sponsored “Golden Mile” event covering more than 200 miles at the school.




Coast to coast bike ride James Risk, 13, from Hartford has decided to support The Joshua Tree by cycling the Coast to Coast route between Whitehaven and Newcastle, approx 140 miles, over the weekend of 21 – 23 May. He has set up a just giving page www.justgiving.com/James-Risk and has already managed to raise over £300 for us

James heard of The Joshua Tree from his dad, who supports our charity through his supagolf centre at Blakemere and he decided he wanted to do something to help also. It was really good to hear from him. We hope his challenge proves to be a great week-end and that he experiences a huge sense of achievement through his efforts.

James’ travelling companions are his Dad Andrew, and two friends, father and son, Russ and Ashley Carter (17) from Sandiway.


We all made it !! - It was certainly a challenge, those hills were bigger than we envisaged and the heat meant we had to consume lots of drinks. Energy bars and gels kept us going through the day and in James case at least 2 pieces of chocolate cake per day!

We covered about 143 miles in a time of 15 hours averaging just under 10mph. I have to admit that 3 of us walked occasionally but James rode up every hill – he was determined not to walk!

James has raised £310 at this point but hoping this will rise further over next few days.




Prestatyn Walkers 14th May

On the 14th May the 'Prestatyn Walkers' walked The Gop near Prestatyn raising £93.


Hoole Church Charity Evening

On Tuesday 11th May, Hoole Church in Chester hosted a charity evening with various stalls raising £530 for The Joshua Tree. With special thanks to everyone at the church for their efforts.


Barclay's Plant Sale

On the 7th May Barclays hosted their annual plant sale, selling a variety of bedding and hanging basket plants. They raised a fantastic £744.17 with all proceeds going to The Joshua Tree.





On Saturday 24th April The Joshua Tree Charity’s Annual Fun Run was greeted with glorious weather. Radio 2 DJ Mark Radcliffe entertainingly hosted proceedings and actually ran too, along with many others, families and some of their dogs, over 2.5 and 5 km courses.

Medals and prizes were awarded by UK Athlete Charlotte Roach including awards for Silly Socks! Vale Royal Athletic Club had once again excelled themselves in the administration and marshalling of the runs, which were held courtesy of Cheshire West and Chester Council and the Rangers in the beautiful surroundings of Marbury Park.

The Architect unveiled the exciting plans for the Holiday House and Support Centre to great interest from the visitors, with much positive feedback. A fabulous day out in the country was had by all, with The Joshua Tree raising over £1000 on the day itself, with sponsorship money due in before the end of May to be added to the total.

Trophies were sponsored by Rosebank Sports , One Step Beyond , and Timpsons of Northwich . We would also like to thank Max Bamber for for some of the photo's of the day (see our Gallery). Many thanks also to all the runners who made the day such a success

The 2.5K race was won by Elliott Bowker (Race number 203) and the 5K run by George Thompson (Race Number 770)

Race Times

Gallery

If you would like any copies of the photos then please contact us quoting the photo reference number and we will send out a copy by email.



Mathew Hubbard ran his first marathon in Rome (the city built on 7 hills) on 21st March 2010. Starting as number 11301 at the Coliseum and passing many of the city’s best known sites, over narrow, unevenly cobbled streets, he finishing in only 3 hours and 37 seconds - a very creditable 394th out of 15,000.

Mathew’s success has inspired him to continue with more marathons and he is now approximating the times of the elite runners and is hoping to be classified as such in the very near future. Our biggest thanks to Mathew (in red) and his sponsors for the £420 he raised for The Joshua Tree on his first event.

Check out the Rome Marathon website for more information and videos. http://www.maratonadiroma.it


Northwich Rotary’s Swimathon It was great to be a part of the Northwich Rotary’s Swimathon at Moss Farm Swimming Pool recently. On Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th March 2010, 38? teams, consisting of between 4 and 7 individuals, donned their swimming gear and swam for an hour between 5pm and 9pm to raise money for several charities, including our own.

We entered two teams and are very grateful to Ian, Jamie and Emma Pritchard, Abi Jones and Sarah Oswell from team ‘Just keep Swimming‘ who managed a magnificent 85 laps. Emma is just 8 years old! Well done to you all.

Our second team was made up of teenagers from a local youth group at Bethel Church – Kendra Buckle, Amy Bedford, Cai, Sam and Annie Plant, Sarah and Kylie Jackson. They called themselves ‘ Can’t beat Bethel’…clearly there’s something about their chosen team name! They finished with 138 laps altogether and managed to come first in their group of 6pm swimmers!


New member to The Joshua Tree - We are really pleased to officially welcome Jo Pritchard on board as Charity Manager. After joining our team back in November 2008, Jo knows only too well why our centre will be important to many families. Her son Jamie was diagnosed with Leukaemia back in 2005. He, like Josh, is now back at school and is enjoying life to the full.


The Round Table and Rotary Club of Northwich Vale Royal very kindly presented Jo with a cheque for £1000.00 from their Christmas collections recently during a celebration evening at the Antrobus Arms. We are really thankful to Andrew Molyneux and Graeme Soutar and all members for continuing to support us so generously.




Our Name the Teddy competition was won by April. She correctly picked Glen's name at Zoe's Dance evening. April says "I was really surprised but pleased to win Glen. I enjoyed performing at the dance evening and I know the money raised is going to a good cause. Thank you."


Love to Dance Wows Audiences - Zoe Buckley’s Comberbach based Perfoming Arts group entertained friends and family at a party night at Winnington Recreation Club on Friday 12th February 2010. The 4 to 18 year old dancers performed costumed jazz and modern dance routines intermingled with a disco, whilst the audience also enjoyed refreshments, raffles and fundraising activities, and even the chance to learn a dance routine.

Congratulations to all those Ladies and Gentlemen who braved the dance floor (and their children as instructors) in the name of The Joshua Tree. A fabulous night which raised £503.73 for The Joshua Tree in recognition of International Childhood Cancer Day, 15th February. Thank you so much to Zoe and all at Love to Dance and their guests.


The V-inspired Awards celebration at Mid Cheshire College on Wed 10th February 2010 was organised by the Cheshire Vinvolved team to celebrate the success of many young volunteers in the area (16 – 25 year olds). The evening featured live music, dancers, card games, portrait drawing, magic tricks and a full-buffet dinner.

We are really pleased that Katie Moore (right) was among the students who received a certificate to celebrate over 50 hours work with The Joshua Tree. To name but a few, as part of her volunteering, she has been instrumental in setting up a scheme for placing collection boxes in the locality. She has also created a comprehensive system to allow local artists to display their work at our shop. Although now back at Lancaster University, Katie continues to help us. She has set up our charity face book fan page and keeps it updated with current news and events. It is also great to see her during her holidays from college where she puts her hand to anything that’s needed. Her certificate is certainly well deserved!

All proceeds from the raffle on the evening came to The Joshua Tree, totalling £167.50. We are especially thankful to Helene Devey of Vinvolved for choosing us to support.


Whitegate Primary School

Whitegate Primary School conducted a Christmas Nativity followed by a retiring collection raising £476.35 for The Joshua Tree with special thanks to the headteacher Ian Percival.


Delamere Forest 41 Club

Over the Christmas period Delamere Forest Club raised money for both St Luke's and The Joshua Tree by having a Santa's sledge and Christmas carol collection door-to-door over Delamere Park and the surrounding area. The total amount raised for The Joshua Tree was £600 and was a great success.


Weaver Vale Garden Centre, Christmas Wishing Well

Over the Christmas Period Weaver Vale Garden Centre had a Christmas Wishing Well where customers and staff through in their spare change, raising £495.51. We thank Weaver Vale Garden Centre for their continuous support throughout the year.


Antrobus Carolling

During the Christmas holidays, some Antrobus Villagers went door-to-door for a week around the village to sing a variety of Christmas carols raising a tremendous £1770. It was a great success and we thank all those who participated for your time and efforts during this chilly time.