Annual Summer Ball Raises over £8000

Sophie's Appeal held its seventh Annual Ball at the Macdonald Botley Park Hotel on a lovely summer's evening.

Guests were welcomed with a Pimm's Reception and entertaind by close up magic from Wayne the Weird before sitting down to a three course meal and an evening of fundraising and fun.

Following the meal, guests were entertained by El Loco, a fantastic act based around a dentists chair combining the arts of comedy, magic, mime and...handcuffs!

A wonderful evening compared by Russel Hartnell-Parker rounded off with dancing 'till the small hours raised over £8000 towards our aims.

Grateful thanks to all who supported this event.

Hat Trick for The Dynamos

The Annual 6 a-side Football Tournament organised by Cherbourg Football Club was held at Crestwood School on 26th June. 22 teams took part in the tournament helping to raise £830.94 for the charity.

The Dynamos lifted the Cup for the third time in the adults section with AFC Spirit as Runners Up. The 11 - 13's section was won by Compton Red with Claret Rangers taking 2nd Place. Compton won the 14 - 16's section with QK Yellow taking 2nd place.

Saints midfielder Adam Lallana presented medals and took centre stage for many memorable photographs.

Sainsbury's - Charity of the Year

Sainsbury's, Eastleigh have chosen Sophie's Appeal as their charity of the year.  Following several in store fundraising events and a sponsored walk, they recently donated a cheque for £2580.00

Our thanks to all the staff and customers at Sainsbury's, Eastleigh who donated towards these events and raised this magnificent sum.

Family Fun Day - a Scorching Success

Scores of families turned up to enjoy a day of family fun with Mr Ted on the hottest day so far this year.

Friends of Sophie's Appeal, Jo and Tony Digweed, gave up their garden to provide the venue for a fun packed day.

From a fantastic aerial display of the birds of prey from Falcon High and dancing from Spinners Dancers to the numerous stalls, there was something for everyone

Over £1600.00 was raised on the day and our thanks, once again go to Tony and Jo for the wonderful setting and all of our helpers and stall holders without whom the day could not have happened.

Waitrose Romsey - Community Matters

Waitrose pledges several thousand pounds per store per year to charity.  In order to ensure that it benefits the local community, shoppers are asked to nominate charities to benefit from these donations.

Thanks to the staff and shoppers at Waitrose in Romsey, Sophie's Appeal has benefited from a recent donation of £535.00 - Thank you Romsey!

Fashion Show Fun at Colden Common

Sophie's Appeal teamed up with Colden Common Community Centre to raise funds for both causes with an evening of Fashion Show fun in May.

Committee members and friends modelled clothes provided by Travelling Trends and helped raise over £570.00 which will be split between the Community Centre and our Appeal.

Special thanks go to the models, Colden Common Community Centre and to Donna Stroud who worked so hard to organise the evening.

Quiz Night Raises over £600

Sophie's Appeal resident quiz master, Colin, presided over another evening of brain taxing entertainment whilst helping to raise funds for the Appeal.
Nearly 100 people attended and over £600 was raised during the evening held at the Fleming Park Bowling Club in Eastleigh. Thanks as always go to all those who supported the event and to Jenny and Jim and staff for their usual warm hospitality.

Think you've got what it takes to win the quiz? Watch out on the events page for the next event.

Louise’s Arctic Challenge raises over £4500

Charity supporter Louise Willis has raised over £4500 for the appeal through her participation in ‘The Arctic Challenge’.  The adventure saw 27 year old Louise drive a team of five husky dogs across 250km of rolling highlands and deep forest.  She began in Norway and finished in Sweden six days later, camping in temperatures of -20 degrees along the way.

Louise drove her husky team for around 14 hours a day across demanding terrain.  Often the gradient became too steep for the huskies alone, meaning Louise had to be in top physical condition to be able to complete the challenge. 

The trip itself was self-funded, however Louise wanted to use the opportunity to raise funds for the appeal.  Louise commented: “The husky trail was a life changing adventure that I will never ever forget.  The challenge was very hard and it got really tough at some points, so I tried to keep in mind what it was all in aid of.  I chose to support Sophie’s Appeal as it’s a local charity very close to my heart.  Before I left, Lin (Sophie’s mum) said that Sophie would be watching over me to keep me safe, and so that really gave me the drive to complete the challenge, and raise lots of money for such a worthwhile charity.”

Louise is continuing to collect donations online at http://www.justgiving.com/Louise-Willis0.

Health and Beauty Fair at Holiday Inn raises over £700

The Holiday Inn, Eastleigh continues to provide much needed and valued support to the Appeal.

On 7th March a Health and Beauty Fair was held as one of its many fundraising events to raise monies for Sophie’s Appeal.

For those looking to improve theri fitness and well being exhibitors  included  a Yoga Teacher , Personal Trainers and Instructors on Nordic Walking and Kettles Bells. The world of Beauty saw experts from The Spire Hospital advising on cosmetic surgery and local salons demonstrating threading , Indian head massage and makeovers. Mini Taster treatment were available throughout the day.

Products from Arbonne, Mary Kay Cosmetics, H & M Perfumes, Bodyshop, Virgin Vie and Avon were on sale, Jewellery and Handbags were also displayed for purchase 

Around 150 people attended the event and the success was evident from the comments of “will this be an annual event?” coming from both those attending and exhibiting.

A Dream Come True

Sophie’s Appeal brought a little Disney Magic to a young girl from St Ives. Little Olivia Caballero was chosen to go on a dream holiday with her family to Disneyland Paris provided by the Trust.

Olivia was told about her trip, which coincides with her sixth birthday at a special assembly at her school.

The trip was arranged through Beyond the Moon, one of the Trusts partners.  Photo courtesy of Bournemouth Evening News.

The Giving Tree 2009

Staff and pupils from Norwood, the Crescent and Alderman Quilley School gathered for the annual Giving Tree assembly where local children and members of the community donate presents to be taken to sick children in the two hospitals supported by the Trust.

Following the assembly over two hundred presents were taken to Winchester and Southampton Hospitals where committee members were able to meet some of the poorly children and brighten their day with Christmas gifts.

Thank you to everyone who helped bring a ray of sunshine to the children through the donation of gifts this year.

Quizical fun raises over £450

The Sophie’s Appeal Quiz Night held in November at Fleming Park Bowling Club in Eastleigh was enjoyed by 80 people.  Our resident quiz master, Colin Bond provided and evening of mind taxing entertainment with a hot supper thrown in.

A big thank you goes to all who attended an enjoyable evening of fun.

Come Dine with Me

Long time, loyal supporter of Sophie’s Appeal Lesley Harrod invited several of her friends to join her to enjoy a fabulous meal cooked at their own home by chefs Paul and Gary from The Holiday Inn, Eastleigh.

Lesley placed the winning bid at the Annual Fundraising Ball for this experience and an enjoyable evening was had by all.

Hattie Jacques Playlist - A Musical Extravaganza

WOW!  What a night.  If you’ve never heard ‘The Hatties’ then I recommend you stop reading now, look up the next gig and get to it!  Just one of the comments received from a truly wonderful evening of entertainment.

Over 200 people enjoyed a fantastic night of great music, great entertainment and great fun at the Rosebowl in West End.

The evening was a tremendous success and thanks to the Hatties donating their fee to the Appeal the evening raised over £2200.00

Thanks to you all for a wonderful evening.

Honk!

Thanks go to the Footlight Youth Theatre Company for donation of their interval collection from their recent performance of Honk! at the Point, Eastleigh.  The total raised was over £250

Annual General Meeting 2009

The fourth Annual General Meeting for the Trust was held at The Holiday Inn, Eastleigh, on Wednesday 14th October 2009.

The Trust Secretary, on behalf on the Chair of the Trust explained about the work that had gone on over the last year before the Treasurer gave her annual report.  With the tremendous help and support of so many people, the Trust raised over £50,000.

Our sincerest gratitude was recorded to all those who have participated in our events and to those who have worked so tirelessly over the last year to make this the most successful fundraising year since fundraising began.

ABBA Tribute Night

Nearly 200 people boogied the night away to sounds from the ‘70s whilst helping to raise nearly £500 for the Appeal.

The evening saw one of the UK’s premiere tribute bands, ABBA’s Angels performing all of their best known songs in two sets at the Rosebowl in West End.

Thanks to all who attended and made a really enjoyable evening.

Peak Performance

Around 50 people donned their hiking boots to raise both funds and awareness for the Appeal by climbing England and Wales’ highest peak, Mount Snowdon.

It is hoped that the climb will have raised an astonishing £8000 to help the Trust continue to provide support, treatment and research into childhood cancer care in local hospitals and in the community.

Event organiser, Katie Deadman said, ‘It’s been tough organising this event.  The sense of achievement reaching the top and knowing that all of the hard work and effort put in by everyone involved will help so many poorly children has made it all worthwhile.’

The event was sponsored by Awimaway.com and the walk led by the CEO and world record holder Harish Kohli.  He has led two record-breaking expeditions: the 1980 Trans-Himalaya – 8,000km in 475 days – and 1995's Ski-Himalaya, a 2,000km traverse. Awimaway offers intelligent, sustainable and high-quality adventure, activity and experiential holidays that provide  truly memorable experiences.

Lin Barringer, Sophie’s mum and one of the ground support said, “Times are tough at the moment and it means a lot that people from all different backgrounds gave up their time, and others their money, to help.  It has been a fantastic weekend.  In addition to raising money people have made new friends, had a great time and there has been a wonderful sense of camaraderie.”

Corporate sponsors include Chloride Power who agreed to match fund one of their employees, Verity Fricker and the BAA Communities Trust who have match funded the 12 hikers from Southampton Airport.  Verity was the top fundraiser with over £600 of individual sponsorship.

Sophie’s Appeal would like to thank everyone who supported the event through sponsorship and particularly to all of those who gave up their weekend to join us in the climb.

For local press coverage, click here

Football Marathon Event for Sophie's Appeal

A 12 hour, five-a-side football marathon was held recently at Crestwood Community College to raise much needed funds for Sophie’s Appeal. The event was organised by Sean Toomer with help of friends and Tim Lyons & Co Chartered Accountants and raised nearly £1500.00

The match featured members of Eastleigh Working Men’s Football Club and the team at Tim Lyons & Co including Sean Toomer, Ashley James, Andrew Jones and Tim Lyons with rolling substitutions permitted throughout.

Almost 600 goals were scored with the final score at 395-187 to the whites and prizes were awarded as follows:
1. Top Goal Scorer with 95 goals : John Golding
2 .Man of the Match : Ben Hogbin
3. Endurance Award : Lloyd Chalkley
4. Idiot of the Match : Graham Toomer

Sean Toomer, event organiser said, ‘I didn’t realize how much work goes into organizing fund raising events, but we all had a fantastic day and it was great fun! Knowing that the money raised through all our hard work will be well spent on helping all those poorly children has made it all worthwhile and the sense of achievement is phenomenal. I would like to thank Rae & Roy Gouldthorpe, Leanne Brown, Tony Mullen, Ashley James, Lloyd Chalkley and Sam Gowman for their extra hard work which helped make the day a success. In particular, special thanks to the players – 12 hours is tough!’

Sainsbury's Eastleigh Cycle for Sophie

A group of 30 staff pedalled away over 3 days burning a staggering 14000 calories recently in an effort to raise funds for Sophie’s Appeal.

The Eastleigh store has recently adopted Sophie’s Appeal as its Charity of the Year and this first fundraising event raised nearly £1300 thanks to the generosity of the customers and the toil of the staff.

Keep an eye out in store for future events.  Why not bring the children down and decorate a Gingerbread Man at the next event later in August.

Sophie's Appeal Football Tournament

The fourth annual six-a-side tournament was held at Crestwood College, Eastleigh on the 4th July with 192 players from 24 teams taking part.  The event was organised by Cherbourg F.C. and raised nearly £1200.00.

Winners of the adult section were Fuzz Buzz with Team Sparta finishing as runners up.  Compton Youth claimed the 10 – 12 title while Crestwood Legends lifted the trophy in the 13-14 section.

James Beattie, patron of the Sophie Barringer Trust, presented the medals and trophies to the delight of the children and adults alike.

Thanks to Crestwood College for the use of the facilities, S & D’s Trevor Harper and Chris Bryant for help with the pitches and to Acne Massive and Compton Youth for their generous donations.  Our sincerest thanks also go to Ed, Penny, Carole and Melvin for organising a great event.

Yateley Manor School Raises over £3000.00

Sophie’s Appeal is proud to have been chosen as Yateley Manor’s charity of the year this year.  At a recent presentation, Donna Shave spoke to the school to tell them about the Trust’s inspiration, Sophie and tell them a little more about the work of the trust.

Our sincerest thanks and appreciation to the pupils, parents, teachers and everyone else who worked so hard to raise this magnificent sum.

Sophie's Appeal Charity Summer Ball

The sixth Annual Summer Ball was held at the Rose Bowl, home of Hampshire Cricket.  The evening helped to raise nearly £10,000 and was enjoyed by 250 guests.

Following a Pimms Reception, guests enjoyed games, a buffet meal, casinos and dancing ‘till 1am.

The guest speaker was Professor Kathy Pritchard-Jones, team leader of the Childhood Cancer Biology Team at The Royal Marsden Hospital.  Kathy was able explain how the money donated by the trust is used to help understand how Wilms disease develops and ultimately to find a cure.

Sainsbury's Chooses Sophie's Appeal

Following a recent presentation to staff members at Sainsbury’s Eastleigh, Sophie’s Appeal is delighted to announce that we have been chosen as their local Charity partner for this year.

Please look out for fundraising initiatives in the Eastleigh store.

Gala Concert at Itchen College

Concert goers enjoyed an evening of singing featuring singers including established performers Gareth Jones and Barry Clark who have both played principal roles in the Phantom of the Opera, with Barry Clark on the original cast recording with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman.

Songs from London’s West End stage provided the evening of classic entertainment at a Gala Concert arranged by Nick Short.

The evening raised over £350 and our grateful thanks go to Nick, his singers and to Itchen College for supporting the Appeal.

A Night for Joy

Donna Stroud was inspired to organise a fundraising evening on behalf of the Trust in memory of her mum, Joy who died two years ago from Cancer.

The music packed evening held at Roddington Forge, featured music from Dodger, Chalky Gravell, TZEE and African Roots and Sue, Paul and Pete from The Jelly Rollers.  The evening was a tremendous success and raised over £1200.00.

B&Q 10km Road Race

Nearly £350.00 was raised by two supporters of the appeal in this year’s B&Q road race.

Huge thanks to Ben Laney and James Duthie donned their running shoes to complete the race in around 50 minutes and raise much needed funds for the Trust.  Thanks guys!!!

Green Park Challenge

Our thanks and congratulation to Nathan Ennis for raising funds for Sophie’s Appeal whilst running in the Reading Half Marathons junior event, The Green Park Challenge.

The event is almost three km and is only open to those under 11.  Nathan completed the event and raised over £200 for the Appeal.

Fleet Half Marathon

Donna Shave, chair of the Sophie Barringer Trust stretched her legs in preparation for the London Marathon by taking part in the Fleet Half Marathon whilst raising funds for the Appeal.

Black and White Ball

Huge thanks go to Caroline, Dianne and Kerry for organising an evening of entertainment at the Empire Hall in Totton.

Around 300 guests attended the fundraising evening which included music from ‘Monster Rock’, a raffle and an auction.

A cheque for nearly £3000.00 was donated by the organisers at a presentation event at the headquarters of The Wessex Cancer Trust in Southampton.

Quiz Night Raises Over £800

The Sophie’s Appeal annual quiz, held at Fleming Park Bowling Club in March was a great success once again raising over £800 for the Appeal.

An evening of exercising the gray matter combined with the hospitality of Jenny and Martin from Fleming Park Bowling Club and a ploughman’s for sustenance was enjoyed by over 100 quizzers.

The winning team, If Only We Could, pipped the Bishopstoke Bandits to top spot thanks to their knowledge of that favourite Christmas song, The Twelve Nights.  The Underpaids are ‘proud’ holders of the Wooden Spoon.

With grateful thanks to Fleming Park Bowling Club, our quiz master Colin and all of the contestants who helped make the evening the success that it was.

Song and Dance for Sophie's Appeal

The award winning International Southern Minstrels, with dancers from the age of three upwards, entertained an audience at the Theatre Royal in Winchester in January helping to raise valuable funds for Sophie’s Appeal.

Songs from hit musicals accompanied by dance choreographed by Iris Price saw smiles and toe tapping throughout the stalls.

With grateful thanks to all the guys and gals for their hard work and fundraising efforts.

College Donates Over £800

Thanks to Eastleigh College who chose to support Sophie’s Appeal for a second year running as their Charity of the Year.

Through a variety of fundraising efforts over £800 was donated and a cheque presented by Jas Kang and the staff and students at a presentation on a very cold and windy day in late January!

Thanks once again to all of the staff and Students for their continued support.