The Giving Tree 2008

This years Giving Tree Appeal was a huge success with over 150 presents donated by local children to take to local hospitals.

The appeal, the fifth since it was started by Sophie Barringer in 2004, gathers presents from local schools and distributes them to children in hospital who are poorly over the Christmas period.

The presents are collected at Norwood School in Eastleigh, where Sophie was a pupil and a special asembly is held to remind children not only about the origins of Christmas but also to makes them aware of the suffering of sick children over the festive period.

The assembly was led by Marcus Roe, former head teacher at Norwood.  Sarah Beattie, a patron of the Sophie Barringer Trust was also there to talk to the children about the importance of remembering others less fortunate at this time.

The pupils were joined by pupils from The Crescent Primary School, Quilley School of Engineering and Solent Youth Action Group who worked hard to collect and wrap presents from the community.

After the Assembly, the presents were loaded into two cars and taken to both Winchester and Southampton General Hospital where some of the school children and members of Solent Youth Action Group were able to meet and give presents to the poorly children in hospital.

Pamper Night

Our annual ladies pamper evening raised valuable funds for the Appeal and was held at Fleming Bowling Club this year.

Guests enjoyed taster pamper sessions to help them winfd down from the build up to Christmas.  Therapies on offer included Indian Head Massage, Reflexology, Manicures and more.

For those wishing to catch up on the Christms shopping there were also stalls selling hand-made cards, jewellery, fudges, skin care products and many more.

Thank you to all those who supported the evening.

Weight Loss Wonders!

A team from The Holiday Inn, Eastleigh has raised over £450 through a sponsored weight loss programme at The Spirit Health Club at the Hotel.  They managed to shed over 2 ½ stone between them through hard work and will power (or bypassing the sticky lunchtime treats!).

Well done gang...keep it up!

Birthday Celebrations at Sophie's Place

Staff and patients at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital celebrated the first anniversary of the opening of Sophie’s Place, the dedicated children’s assessment centre of the hospital, which was funded by Sophie’s Appeal.

A plaque, which tells visitors about the inspiration for the centre was presented to Dr Ian Rodd, a Consultant Pediatrician on Northbrook Ward, and one of the doctors who treated Sophie.  Lin Barringer was then helped by some of the children on the ward to cut the birthday cake.

Sophie’s Place treated around 3500 children in its first year and Dr Rodd said, ‘Sophie’s Place is all that we hoped for. It is a lovely, well equipped area where we have been able to see up to 300 children a month.’

For further information, please click here.

Local Lodge Continues Support for Appeal

The Hampshire Lodge of Emulation (No1990) which meets at the Masonic Centre in Eastliegh has donated a further £700 to Sophie’s Appeal at a recent Charity Presentation by the Eastleigh & Chandler’s Ford Masonic Group.

The Lodge started supporting the appeal when the late Bob Timms was Master, continuing with his stepson Jamie Orlowski and the brethren have provided generous support ever since.

The cheque was presented on behalf of Jamie by Rose Timms who works tirelessly behind the scenes at the Eastleigh Masonic Centre and provides gratefull support to the Trust.

Netball Club Runs for Sophie’s Appeal

Family and friends turned out to support the runners in this year’s fun run to raise funds for Sophie’s Appeal and Eastleigh Baptist Church’s own netball team Cornerstone.

Thanks to Jo and the team for their continued support.

Fashion Show Success for Trust

A fashion extravaganza held at the MacDonald Botley Park Hotel has raised over £16,000 for the Trust. The event, organised by Sophie’s Appeal Patron Sarah Beattie, was attended by around 350 people.

The evening was compered by Mike Osman and clothing supplied by local outlets was modelled by ex Saints stars James Beattie, Matt LeTissier and Francis Benali. Sarah Beattie also modelled clothing as well as co-ordinating the entire event.

The stars were joined on the catwalk by 17 models who were selected at our very own modelling competition held at the hotel on 21st September 2008.

As well as the fashions on show, guests were treated to performances by street and hip hop dance company NoCo, an auction, raffle, and a variety of stalls selling fashion related products.

Sarah Beattie concluded: “James and I feel passionately about The Sophie Appeal and the work that the appeal funds in both practice and research areas. We now look forward to the future. Every penny raised through the Fashion Show will be spent on making the lives of sick children and young adults a little easier.”

Photographs of the event can be found at;
2AM Photography
Colin Charles Photography

Donations from all photographs sold will be made to the Appeal.

Please click here for further information.

Race Night Raises Over £1,400

A night at the races helped to raise over £1,400 for the Appeal. The event held at Fleming Park Bowling Club in Eastleigh offered an evening of race night entertainment with the chance of a flutter and a hot supper thrown in.

Wannabe owners, trainers and jockeys all had the chance to win a bottle of wine.  The final auction race and the raffle also helped raise the final sum.

Thanks go to all who attended and particularly to Pete Collings for organising the sponsors for all of the races, and for donating his winnings from the final race to the Appeal.

Annual General Meeting 2008

The third Annual General Meeting for the Trust was held once again at The Holiday Inn, Eastleigh, on Wednesday 8th October 2008.

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 £36,669.77.

Pam Westbrook from Hannah’s Holiday Home, one of the organisations that the Trust supports, also gave a short talk about the invaluable respite breaks in the New Forest sponsored by Sophie’s Appeal.

Thank you once again to everyone who has made this year such a success.

Modeling Competition raises over £1000

Sarah Beattie, Patron of the Trust, organised an evening of catwalk entertainment at the Botley Park Hotel. People applied from all over Hampshire to take part in the event which was publicised by the Southern Daily Echo and appeared on Channel Five News.

The evening of entertainment was the culmination of a long day for the modelling hopefuls. Male and female models from the age of twelve attended from 3 o’clock to rehearse for the evening.

The evening was compered by Mike Osman with judges including James Beattie, Rick Jackson from Ocean FM and Ewan Thomas European and Commonwealth 400m champion. It provided the 12 female and 4 male models for the Fashion Show on 19th October and was enjoyed by over 250 spectators.

Click here for further information

Sophie’s Appeal Football Tournament

Fine weather and good sportsmanship graced the day for the 3rd Tournament in aid of the Appeal.

19 Teams from across South Hampshire supported the event which was won by The Dynamos for the second year running.  Crestwood Legends were proud winners of the Junior Tournament.

Hampshire FA Officials, who acted as referees for the Tournament commented that it was ‘a tournament played in good spirit and sportsmanship.’

All players received commemorative medals and Donna Shave, chairperson of The Sophie Barringer Trust, presented the winners cups and trophies.

Over £900 was raised on the day and great thanks go to Ed Martin, Melvin Laney, Penny Sanger and Carol Barnes who worked tirelessly on the day.  Thanks also to Crestwood College who donated the  excellent venue once again.

EBC Tournament Nets Over £750 for Sophie

The weather forecast was for heavy showers and the event was nearly cancelled, but at the last moment the sun appeared and the tournament was able to proceed.  Over 250 people attended The Eastleigh Baptist Church Annual Mixed Netball Tournament in Southampton organised by Jo Hewlett.

Together teams raised in excess of £750 which will go towards the many projects Sophie’s Appeal are involved with.  Mike Barringer, co-founder of Sophie’s Appeal commented on the event, “What a fantastic amount raised!  The effort that you have put into this and the tremendous support you have had for the event are outstanding. This money could, for example, pay for three children with life limiting illnesses spend quality time with their families on a respite holiday in the New Forest.  Far enough away to forget about the cares and worries of hospital treatment yet close enough in case of emergencies.”

Minister of Eastleigh Baptist Church, Martin Poole said, “Once again, we were blessed with great weather, as the forecast was for quite the opposite. It was so good to see so many people turn up and a great opportunity for Eastleigh Baptist Church to mix and have fun with our local community.  We are encouraged that so many people attended a ‘church-run’ event to support Sophie’s Appeal”.

24 teams from Basingstoke, Portsmouth and Southampton took part, competing for the shield.  Team Leggett, winners of 2007 met Team Tauntons in a terrific, yet nail biting final.  Team Tauntons stole the title winning 6-3.

Team Indescribable walked away with the Wooden Spoons – better luck next year!

The Fifth Annual Summer Ball

The Annual Summer Ball was, once again a huge success raising thousands of pounds for Sophie’s Appeal.  Held at The Rose Bowl, home of Hampshire Cricket, over 250 people enjoyed an evening of entertainment, dancing and a fundraising auction.

Following a Pimms Reception, guests were entertained by games and by dancers from The Leigh Ballrooms in Eastleigh before a buffet meal and the Grand Auction.  The evening was rounded off with dancing until 1am.

During the evening, some fantastic facts and figures were revealed by Donna Shave, chairperson of the Trust.  For example, £72,180 has been raised at the last 4 Summer Ball's, £39,245 of this was raised through auctions, and over 7623 pints of beer have been consumed over the years!

The evening was attended by James and Sarah Beattie, patrons of the Sophie Barringer Trust.  James surprised everyone with his own special rendition of ‘Play up Pompey’ after a guest pledged to donate £500 to hear him sing!

Classic Car Rally Raises over £1000.00

Classic cars rolled up at Sophie’s Place, the dedicated children’s assessment and care centre at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester on 10th June.

Ronald Knoth, a classic car enthusiast from the Perigord region in France organised Pertrac Roses, a fundraising Rally to help support Sophie’s Place.  Driving up through France and meeting like minded enthusiasts along the way, they arrived with six beautiful Citroen Traction-Avant classic cars.

On arrival, Ronald presented a cheque for £1000.00.

After in introduction to Sophie’s Place by Ian Rodd, a consultant paediatrician, the drivers, their friends and family were allowed to see the ward which treats over 300 children per month.  Following in informal lunch they continued on their fundraising trip.

Since completing the round trip back home he has boosted that total to over £1300.00.  Sophie’s Appeal would like to thank Ronald, Helene and all who worked so hard to make your fundraising trip a success and spread a ray of Perigord sunshine across Hampshire.

Ropley Over Run for Sophie’s Appeal

Over 400 Runners converged on the leafy Hampshire village to raise funds for Sophie’s Appeal in May.  The main event of the fundraising weekend was the 10k road race organised by Chris Bellwood from Southampton Running Club which attracted runners from as far afield as the USA!

As well as the main race over 100 children also took part in fun runs and dashes.  There was plenty to do on the village green and despite the inclement weather, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

A huge thank you to all who took the time to take part and those who worked so hard behind the scenes to ensure the day ran smoothly and raise much needed funds for the appeal.

Airport Owners, BAA say ‘Well Done’

BAA Ltd, owners of Southampton Airport have recognized the outstanding work of Sophie’s Appeal for the second time in three years. At an award ceremony in London to celebrate the work of all of their staff who volunteer, Mike was awarded Best Fundraiser and received a cheque for £5000. Mike said, ‘I had to pinch myself when my name was mentioned, it’s fantastic. This money could be used for all sorts of great work, for example, it could pay for forty sick children and their families to spend a three day respite break in the New Forest or to help continue our funding of a reseach project at The Royal Marsden Hospital.’

DIY for Sophie’s Appeal

Over £450.00 was raised in this years B&Q Eastleigh 10km Road Race.  A great big thank you and congratulations to Nicola, Sam and Nick from White Total Design, our website sponsors and to Trevor Harper and Chris Bryant who both ran the event on behalf of Sophie’s Appeal for the second year running.

Quiz fun raises nearly £650

The Sophie’s Appeal Quiz Night held in March at Fleming Park Bowling Club in Eastleigh was enjoyed by over 100 people. Quiz master, Dale James compered a fact packed quiz won by ‘General Ignorance’ with ‘The Birthday Girls +3’ taking home the Wooden Spoon.

Nearly £650 was raised on the night and a big thank you goes to all who attended and Sophie’s Stars who, at 15th may not be the sharpest, but shone brightly and put on and enjoyable evening of fun.

Rotary Club of Eastleigh Donates £100

A cheque for £100 pounds was presented by the President at the luncheon meeting of the Eastleigh Rotary Club on Monday 3rd March. During the event, held at the Concorde Club, Eastleigh, Lin and Mike Barringer gave a short presentation regarding the history and the aims of the Sophie Barringer Trust and expressed their sincere gratitude for the generous support of the Club.

Eastleigh College Donates over £900

Students and staff at Eastleigh College donated over £900.00 from fundraising over the last year. Sophie’s Appeal was nominated one of the colleges Charities of the Year. The money was raised from a variety of fundraising activities, including a ‘dress down' day, a quiz night, a summer social and the takings from a Performing Arts student show.

Thanks to all those who worked (and played) hard to raise such a magnificent sum.

Piling on the Pounds for Sophie’s Appeal

John Hamshare, a former trustee of The Sophie Barringer Trust and his wife, Tracy raised over £450 for Sophie’s Appeal in 2007.  John sold Tracy’s home baked cakes at Southampton Airport every Friday in 2007 helping to expand the coffers of the Trust (and the waistline of those were tempted!).  Thanks to John and Tracy and also those who supported them.

Thanks also go to the BAA Communities Trust for match-funding John’s donation to the tune of £350

Airport puts a Spin on Raising Money

Customers at Southampton Airport raised over £300 in the lead up to Christmas through donations into a ‘money spinner. Children (and some adults) could be seen peering into a spiral watching their coppers disappear into the little black hole in the middle.

Thanks to all those who donated and to Southampton Airport for nominating Sophie’s Appeal as the first benefactor from this collecting box.

Giving Tree 2007

Pupils from Norwood School, The Crescent School and Quilley School of Engineering in Eastleigh all attended a special assembly where presents were collected to take to sick children in hospital this Christmas. 

The Giving Tree at Norwood was started by Sophie Barringer shortly before she died in December 2003 and Norwood School has kindly allowed the event to continue. After the assembly nearly 300 presents were loaded into cars and accompanied by a few pupils to the hospitals. The pupils met some of the pooly children who will be helped this year. Jane Buchanan from Piam Brown Children’s Cancer ward said, ‘Your continue support is so wonderful. It really does make a difference to children too poorly to go home over Christmas.  Thank you.’

Huge thanks also to pupils and parents from Nightingale School in Eastleigh who also collected presents for the Giving Tree Appeal.