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Thanks for your support
Many thanks to all the fundraisers who help us maintain and develop the services we offer our members. Special thanks this month to -
Marine Park First School in Whitley Bay, where children from a single class raised a marvellous £408 by organising a movie day with an entrance fee for a film and popcorn.
Thanks also to air conditioning company AAF International in Cramlington, Northumberland for their donation of £327.
If you would like to support the work of the Centre in some way, not necessarily by fundraising, you can find a number of suggestions on our Support Us page.
Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell rolled up her sleeves and helped out in Brownes Cafe on her recent visit to the Alan Shearer Centre. Catherine, an employment solicitor, was taking part in National Volunteers Week.
She was given a brief tour by Manager, Amanda Head and St Cuthberts Care's Deputy Chief Executive, Moira Ashman, who explained something of the Centre's history and what it offers disabled people in the area.
As an MP, Catherine is well aware of the increasing importance of maintaining facilities such as the Alan Shearer Centre in a time of financial stringency and cut-backs and is keen to lend her support to our work.
We are always delighted to hear that our guests have enjoyed their visit to the Centre, so we were very pleased when someone drew our attention to the Useful Vision website.
Useful Vision is a North East charity based in Prudhoe, Northumberland, which delivers a range of support services, organised events and educational activities to help blind and visually impaired children get the most out of life.
The charity hired the whole Centre on 22 May for a Family Day, giving 15 families exclusive use of all the facilities, with an arts and crafts session for the children and a buffet lunch for everyone in Browne’s Café. The warm, dry weather meant that the garden and grounds could be enjoyed too.
We look forward to welcoming them back for their next Family Day on 28 November.
If you would like more information about Useful Vision you can visit their website at; www.usefulvision.org.uk.
Our Live & Learn courses offer a variety of practical and fun activities for adults with physical and learning disabilities. Just as importantly though, they include regular interactive discussions aimed at raising awareness of how to cope with real life situations.
Recently we had a visit from "Firewoman Sam" of Northumbria Fire Service who discussed fire safety with members. She gave advice on how to spot potential hazards, prevent fires occurring and what to do if they were unlucky enough to face one.
The Fire Service has a 'Ban The Pan' campaign aimed at discouraging people from using chip pans - a major cause of fires in the home. Fortunately, all of our members said they didn't use a chip pan, preferring the safer option of oven chips - or getting them from their local chip shop.
Before she left, Sam (yes, it is her real name), gave everyone the opportunity to see how difficult it is to get in and out of the firefighting uniform.
A hardy team from the Department for Work and Pensions are again raising funds for the Alan Shearer Centre with a sponsored mountain climb in June.
Last year they climbed Scafell Pike in the Lake District. This year the challenge is rather more difficult - the highest mountain in Britain: Ben Nevis. With a summit 4,409 feet above sea level, Ben Nevis has some degree of snow cover almost all year round and fog and poor weather conditions can be expected even
in June when the climb will take place.
One of the organisers, Sharon Melsome, said, “This is a huge challenge for people with a very mixed level of fitness.”
The team will climb on Saturday 5 June following the tourist route part of the way, branching off to follow Carn Mor Dearg Arete across the summit, then rejoining the tourist route for their descent.
To sponsor the climbers yourself online, visit: https://www.charitychoice.co.uk/donation.asp?ref=6222
Alternatively, you can send a donation direct to us. Details of how to do this can be found on our Support Us page. Please state that your donation is on behalf of the DfWP climbers as we will be notifying them of the total they raise for us.
Members of Newcastle's North East Rhinos Motorcycle Club took to the roads on a special mission this Easter. They were helping pupils of Walbottle Campus distribute almost 400 Easter eggs they had bought for disabled and sick children in the area.
The fundraising effort was organised by one of the pupils, 16 year old Vanessa Middlemiss, whose father Jonathan is a member of the Rhinos.
This year was the club's tenth Easter egg run and Jonathan told the Evening Chronicle, "I know it means a lot to the youngsters and it has just spiralled each year."
The Alan Shearer Centre was one of the many places to benefit and Centre regular John Robson was on hand to pass on our thanks to the pupils for their generosity.
Anyone joining our Live & Learn courses can now enjoy their activities in our newly extended facilities. Part of the former Auton Children's Home which adjoins the Centre has been modernised and re-equipped to hold a variety of sessions.
The Live & Learn programme for adults with physical or learning disabilities is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays and includes arts and crafts, basic computer skills, cookery and gardening. The new extension now provides a dedicated space for the courses and even includes its own fully equipped kitchen.
For more information, visit the Live & Learn page or download a leaflet.
The Centre's first Valentine's Party was a big hit, with a large crowd of our regulars turning up bringing friends and family for a night of music and dancing.
Members of our Live and Learn group had prepared for the party by making sugar hearts and decorating lanterns to hang in the reception area. There was Disco for those who wanted to strut their stuff, while others just chose to sit it out or enjoy the buffet in Browne's Cafe.
Many thanks to members of the North East branch of the Quilters Guild of the British Isles who have donated some of their handiwork to the Centre.
The colourful patterned quilts known as Linus Quilts are specially made to comfort children who are sick or in need of a hug and to give them the reassurance that comes with snuggling up in a blanket.
Project Linus originated in America in 1995 as a result of a quilter's desire to help children in need and came to the UK in 2000. Since then, over 96,000 quilts have been delivered to children's homes and hospitals, neo-natal units, special care units and various children's charities. The brightly coloured quilts are especially popular with visually impaired children.
You can find out more about Project Linus by visiting: www.projectlinusuk.org.uk
Thanks too to little Oliver Saul who modelled our quilts while waiting for his lunch in Browne's Cafe at the Centre.
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