Dr Saleem to take on the Granfondo Sportful Bike Ride
Dr Saleem is going to be riding in
'The Hardest Marathon in Europe' on the 20th June 2010. This is a 134 mile bike ride in the Italian Dolomites called the Granfondo Sportful. The ride has a total climb of 5,500 metres - which they say can be completed in under 13 hours!
Apparently, the scenery is very nice - but will Dr Saleem have time to look at it as he pedals by?
If you would like to show your support for Dr Saleem then please visit his fundraising page and donate - just go to www.justgiving.com:80/Moin-Saleem.
Open Garden at Cookridge
Carol and Michael Abbott are again holding an Open Garden on Sunday 30th May 2010 (in conjunction with the National Garden Scheme). Carol and Michael's grandson, Danao, is currently in remission from Nephrotic Syndrome. The garden opened on the 28th June last year and was a huge success, with an amazing sum of £580 being raised for NeST.
The gardens are at 4A Blackwood Rise, Cookridge, LS16 7BG, which is off of Tinshill Lane. The admission is £2.00 with children free, there will also be refreshments available, (Tea, Coffee and Home Baked Cakes). As well as the refreshments there will also be plants for sale. Our special thanks again to Carol and Michael for their wonderful efforts in raising money for NeST.
Superhero Help for Millie
Millie Earnshaw suffers from NS, so to raise funds and awareness of the condition her parents and friends arranged a Fun Run. The event which took place in and around Huddersfield toured the local pubs in the area with fundraisers in fancy dress.
Philip's Marathon Pledge
Philip Branigan is one of a growing number of marathon runners that are pledging their support to NeST. Philip has basically spent the last 6 months getting himself fit enough to run half marathons in 2010 before next year making the big step up to full marathons. The events he has entered so far this year are the Bramley 20/10, Wokingham Half Marathon and Reading Half Marathon.
Philip's reasons for running for NeST are because of his 13 year old niece Emma Cope (pictured with him here) , who is already a major fundraiser, and has FSGS .If you would like to show your support for Philip then please visit his fundraising page and donate - just go to www.justgiving.com/nest-philip-branigan, or on Emma's page www.justgiving.com/emma-kidney-cope. Philip has an online training log with Fetch Everyone so that sponsors can keep track of his progress. He also has a Facebook and Twitter account which he regularly updates.
Ashley's Marathon Pledge
Ashley Burt is a member of a small group of runners in Chineham, and also a friend of Philip Branigan, and he too has joined the growing number of marathon runners that are pledging their support to NeST. When Philip told Ashley about his niece, Emma, and that he was raising money for NeST Ashley also decided to pledge to raise money for NeST through 2010.
Ashley will compete in the Reading Half Marathon, the London Dualthlon, as well as both the Great North & South Runs. If you would like to show your support for Ashley then please visit his fundraising page and donate - just go to www.justgiving.com/Ashley-Burt0.
Bailey's Bandz
Bailey has suffered with NS since he was five, and because of this, he wanted to try and raise money and awareness for NeST. To do this, he arranged a Childrens Sponsored Walk at Biggleswade Park in Bedfordshire on the 22nd of August 2009.
Bailey and his family wanted to try and raise further funds for NeST, and to raise the awareness of Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome. To do this they had the idea of producing 'Baileys Bandz'.
If you wish to support Bailey and his family by purchasing a band then make a donation online at justgiving.com and then send your details to Bailey Bandz.
Lyndon's Half Marathon
Lyndon Gough is in training to run the Plymouth Half Marathon on the 30th May 2010.
Lyndon was so moved after meeting Joseph and his mum Christine Stacey that it gave him the incentive to raise money for NeST to help fund research into finding a cure for the condition.
If you would like to show your support for Lyndon then please visit his fundraising page and donate - just go to www.justgiving.com/Lyndon-Gough.
Bradshaw's Books & Biscuits
Nicola Bradshaw is the godmother of NS sufferer Dylon. Nicola who is Managing Director of PC-Remedies, who are based in Watford wanted to help raise funds for NeST.
Nicola managed to raise £90 by selling books and donating 20% of the sales, she also provided teas/coffees and biscuits and asked for donations
David's Sprint Triathlon
David Yearsley, our founder, has bravely entered himself for the Stratford-upon-Avon Sprint Triathlon. Along with two other colleagues from BRITA, David will be raising money for NeST and also our BRITA's chosen charity
The Triathlon takes place on 9th May 2010 and will comprise of a 400 metres swim followed by 24km bike ride and finishing with a 5km run.
If you would like to support David and his colleagues by making a donation then please visit our 'Contact Us' page where there are details of where you can send them.
Juhi and Lily's Scooterthon
Juhi who suffers from NS and her sister Lily are helping to raise funds for NeST by scootering around the Serpentine in Hyde Park, while also collecting leaves and looking at bugs (and having a few yummy snacks along the way!). It may take them a while as Juhi is on very potent drugs. But they are determined to do it! Juhi's parents hope to make it a fun day for the girls, so anyone who wants to join them would be most welcome. You can contact Juhi's mum to get more details of the event on the 21st November.
So far they have raised the wonderful sum of £4,010 and if anyone would like to give further donations just go to www.justgiving.com/saloni-badiani.
Nottingham Half-Marathon Success
Andrew Tweedale, father of ten year old daughter Robyn who suffers from NS, has successfully completed the Half-Marathon run in Nottingham on 13th September 2009.
Andrew has raised the wonderful sum of £275 and if anyone would like to give further donations - he would be delighted - just go to www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Tweedale.
Andrew tells me he will bravely enter more fundraising marathons soon, so please watch this space!
Thank you Andrew and God Bless those beautiful trainers! (see link everyone).
Emma's Sponsored Walk
Emma is 13 and has recently been diagnosed with suffering from Nephrotic Syndrome (FSGS). But instead of letting the condition get to her, she is doing all she can to raise awareness and funding to helping find a cure.
Along with her family and friends she completed a sponsored walk of about 6 miles around the small town of Tadley in Hampshire on Saturday 26th September 2009. Emma was so happy to have completed the distance and in doing so has now (27th March 2010) raised a truly amazing £20,271.
As Emma has now surpassed her previous target of £20,000, she has set herself a new target of £25,000. She has lots more fundraising events planned for the forthcoming months, so I'm sure she will achieve this target again!
Emma would like to thank everyone who has helped in raising such a staggering amount. If you would like to help Emma and her team continue towards reaching their target amount, you can still make donations online at justgiving.com.
London to Southend Bike Ride
Mathieu Merenda and two of his police colleagues from the City of London Squad have raised an amazing £1,2500 so far after completing the London to Southend Bike Ride for NeST on 19 July 2009 in an impressive 4 hours. Mathieu, whose three year old son, Reece suffers from NS, and his two colleagues can be seen with their bikes.
If you still wish to support Mathieu and friends then make a donation online at justgiving.com. They would be delighted. Thank you to supporters for the wonderful sum of money raised so far.
Parachute Jump for Lauren
Mike Fuller and his friend Neil Beaver will be raising money to help fund the research into NS by linking their fundraising activities.
Mike will be parachuting (brave man!), on Friday 28th August at around 5pm, (God & weather permitting) over the Langar Airfield, in Langer. Should you wish to witness the jump, the address is Langar Airfield, Harby road, Langar, NG13 9HY.
To coincide with Mike's sterling effort, his friend Neil will be cycling from his home to the airfield and then back home with the journey covering around 50 miles. Neil’s employers, Halfords in Derby, are giving him their full support in his effort.
We wish both men well and fair weather and the best of luck in these challenging events.
More Teresa De Roberto
After the success of our Teresa De Roberto concert in October 2008 (see below), Teresa kindly agreed to do another concert on Saturday 26th September 2009. The evening was again a great success, with Teresa called upon to do an encore.
The proceeds were split between NeST and Metabolic Research, with £225 going to NeST. Our thanks go again to Teresa and to her Mum Lily and friends who worked extremely hard preparing and cooking the buffet, and to Tony Ferrari of Mead Digger Hire, who generously paid for the buffet and refreshments.
Open Garden at Cookridge
Carol and Michael Abbott held an Open Garden on Sunday 28th June 2009 (in conjunction with the National Garden Scheme). Carol and Michael's grandson, Danao, is currently in remission from Nephrotic Syndrome. The day was a huge success, blessed with good weather, many visitors came out to enjoy tea and cake in their wonderful garden. Daughter Johanna (Danao's mum) tells me people were very generous too - as an amazing sum of £580 was raised for NeST. Special thanks indeed to Carol and Michael for their hospitality.
Marathon Efforts for NeST
Colin Chapman and his colleagues Sarah and Ben successfully ran the Silverstone half marathon on 16th March 2009 and raised £186 for NeST.
Sarah then went on bravely a few weeks later to successfully complete the London Marathon, cheered and supported enormously by her family who literally followed the circuit; also witnessing her triumphant finish accompanied with tears of relief and joy. Sarah said it was a fantastic experience even the it was too hot for the event, but hopes to do a repeat performance next year hopefully for NeST.
The total raised from both marathons was a staggering £2054.50. Congratulations and Well Done! Lots of thanks to all involved (Sarah says if anybody would like any tips for doing a marathon she would be very happy to advise).
Barn Dance at Bicknor
The Barn Dance held on 18th October 2008 at Bicknor Village Hall in Gloucestershire raised over £300 for Nephrotic Syndrome research through NeST. The event was organised by Lisa Smith whose son, Harvey, was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome in June 2008. Harvey can be seen here holding the collecting bucket along with his cousins Kayla and Aaron. Many thanks to Lisa and to all who helped make this event a success.
Teresa De Roberto Concert
The Charity Concert featuring up and coming young star Teresa De Roberto on 25th October 2008 was truly a night to treasure. Teresa has the most incredible voice and she had a standing ovation that evening.
We raised the fabulous sum of £1,135 which will be split between Metabolic & NS research.
A big thankyou to Teresa and to her mum Lily and friends who worked extremely hard preparing and cooking the buffet. Many thanks also go to Tony Ferrari who generously paid for the buffet and refreshments.
Fashion 4 Life
On Thursday 16th October 2008 at South Street Baptist Church, Yeovil, a charity fashion show helping to raise vital funds and awareness for Nephrotic Syndrome Trust was staged.
The show was compared by Steve Carpenter from Midwest Radio, and was a huge success with everybody enjoying an eclectic evening of fashion.
The evening managed to raise £500, and thanks must go to the following who supported the event Midwest Radio, Retail Therapy Boutiques and Marion Baker (Men's Outfitters) and Haskins.
'Bugfest SW' Festival Donates to NeST
Bugfest South West is an entomological show which exhibits and sells invertebrates (creepy crawlies) and arachnids (spiders) from all over the world.
The first Bugfest SW was held on 23rd February 2008 and attracted 967 visitors to Holy Trinity Church in Yeovil. A generous donation was made to NeST.
You can find out more about Bugfest SW by visiting their website at www.bugfest.co.uk.
March 2008 Jumble Sale and Coffee Morning
A Jumble Sale and Coffee Morning was held at South Street Baptist Church, Yeovil on Saturday 22nd March 2008.
All proceeds from the sale went directly to NeST for research into Nephrotic Syndrome and over £160 was raised. Many thanks to all involved.
Haskins Calendar 2008
Each year, the staff of Haskins Furniture in Shepton Mallet take part in a competition to choose the photographs for their company calendar. As you can see from the picture on the right, they have captured a brilliant selection of photographs for the 2008 one.
All production costs were met by Haskins Furniture and this year 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these calendars went to Nephrotic Syndrome Trust. Over £700 was raised by the sale of the calendars.
But it's not only raising funds for NeST, by purchasing this calendar, you have been helping to raise the awareness of Nephrotic Syndrome. Many thanks to all who contibuted to making this such a success and in particular to Steve Catchpool from Haskins.
Pictured in the photo above of the jumbo cheque being presented are: a member of the Renal Unit Nursing staff, William Catchpool (5) who suffers from NS, his mum Sharon, Julie Levett (Haskins Marketing Executive, another member of the nursing staff, Evalina Catchpool (8) and Dr Moin Saleem who leads the research team at Bristol.
Music in Yeovil - December 2007
By popular demand, the excellent "Music in Yeovil" show was repeated this year. Despite quite a few poeple in the area being hit by illness, a last minute call for troops was well supported and the show went on!
It was fabulous evening. The choir, accompanied by Becci, sang beautifully and St Michael Singers were delightful. Ros captivated us all again with her incredible voice and sang a lovely piece of opera called 'A Weeping' in Italian - very moving indeed.
Our thanks go to all who supported us and in particular to those who came in at short notice. Over £700 was raised after costs were deducted - a brilliant outcome.
Bounce-a-thon
St Mary’s Pre-school held a bounce-a-thon at Holy Trinity Church Hall in Yeovil on 20 June 2007 and raised the fantastic sum of £580 for NeST. Emily Martin, presenting the cheque to Wendy, was one of nearly 30 children who took part in the event.
Our thanks go to all who helped with the event and fundraising, or even just taking part, with special thanks to one of the mums, Katy Hopkins, who organised the event, and to Russell Lee of Somerset Bouncy Castles in Yeovil for providing the rather essential bouncy castle.
Dr Saleem cycles over the Pyrenees for NeST
Dr
Moin Saleem and friend Philip Shoebridge from Bristol took part in the gruelling
Etape du Tour - the amateurs' stage of the Tour de France.
This was to raise money for research into Nephrotic Syndrome at the Children's
Renal Unit at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. And of course Dr Saleem
knows only too well how important funding is for this research as he leads
the research team at Bristol!
The ride took place on 16th July 2007 (it was very hot) and it involved 125 miles with a total ascent of 4,000 metres over 5 mountains.
Dr Saleem had this to say about the event - "We are glad to say that the Etape du Tour bike ride was a resounding success! Both Philip and I completed the gruelling event, well inside the disqualification time, and picked up Bronze medals. It was tough, judging by the number of riders, particularly on the last 2 mountain climbs (after the first 100 miles!) who were walking/hiding under the shade of trees, or just collapsing by the side of the road. However, we kept pedalling, and crossed the line together. Many many thanks to all who generously sponsored us, it made it hugely worthwhile."
Tri-UK have supported us generously in the past and this time round they provided high spec bikes and cycling gear for the event - many thanks. Brita, who have provided generous sponsorship for NeST activities in the past, have sponsored Dr Saleem for £1,000. Many thanks to them also.
A total figure of over £3,500 has now been raised. Thanks again to all involved.
Colin Chapman cycling to Southmead
Colin Chapman cycled from Cheltenham General Hospital to Southmead to raise funds for NeST on the 6th May 2007. Friends were there to provide support and to collect money on the way. Colin had planned his route well and his friends did pub collections en route (with the landlord's permission!). Colin's daughter Chloe has NS - she was first diagnosed at Cheltenham and then treated at Southmead.
Colin was joined on the ride by his brother Pete and friends Brian, Gary, Gavin and Steve and they can be seen here in the photo with Chloe after the ride (left to right, Pete, Brian, Colin, Steve, Gary and Gavin).
A lot of interest was shown in this cycling event and so far £3,675 has been raised with Gift Aid to be collected on some of that as well. Well done and many thanks to all involved.
David Yearsley raises £10,000 through Four Nation's Cycle Challenge
David Yearsley (founder of NeST) is seen in this photo presenting Dr Moin Saleem with a cheque for £10,000 at the Children's Renal Unit at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in September 2006. The money was raised through David taking part in 'The Four Nation's Cycle Challenge'.
David was one of a team of three who set off on 15th June 2005 from the Murray field Rugby Stadium in Edinburgh and cycled to Lansdown Road in Dublin, then on to the Milennum Stadium in Cardiff and finally ending their journey 10 days later at the home of English Rugby, Twickenham - a total of 600 miles.
This cycle challenge was done to help launch NeST and Jonah Lomu's comeback to rugby after his successful kidney transplant. It also highlights Jonah's involvement as an ambassador for NeST through being a sufferer himself.
Many thanks indeed to all the sponsors and individuals who supported this event and of course to David and the team who did so well in cycling such a great distance.
Land's End to John O'Groats Cycle
Dr Adrian Bridge, Chris Mills and Mark Mills took part in the Land's End to
John O'Groats sponsored cycle ride and raised over £1266 for NeST.
Dr Bridge has a son in David Cook's class at school.
The ride started on 27th July 2006 and they covered 1001 miles in 9 days. You can find photos and more details here.
NeST T-Shirts
NeST
T-Shirts (as seen in the photo) are now available. Nice quality and attractive
NeST design. Only £12 (Medium and Large) or £8 (Small) + pp. Details from Wendy.
Scottish Evening
Our
Scottish Evening fundraising event, complete with bagpipes, haggis, scottish
supper and dancing took place at Holy Trinity Church and Community Centre,
Lysander Road, Yeovil, Somerset on Saturday 30th September 2006. It was a great
evening of fun and laughs for all - and on the more serious side, £420 was
raised for research into Nephrotic Syndrome.
Many thanks to all who helped make this possible and in particular, to Loders Butchers and Milstead & Langdon Solicitors for their generous support.
Bygone Bedford Bits 35th Anniversary
Norman
Aish runs 'Bygone Bedford Bits' providing Bedford spares for classic vehicles
worldwide.
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Bygone Bedford Bits, he wrote to his many clients and asked if they might like to contribute to NeST - David Cook is his Godson.
Many have responded with gifts totalling over £5,000 so far - a big well done and thanks to Norman and all who have contributed.
The little Bedford bus in the photo was used for schools work by Dorset County Council. Norman (seen here with the bus) has owned it since the 1960s. Norman can be contacted on 01202 745117 should you ever need any of those bygone Bedford bits.
Great North Run 1st October 2006
When
Stefan Wisniewski was only two years old, he was diagnosed with Nephrotic
Syndrome. Following rigorous treatment by Dr Bell at the Horton hospital in
Banbury, he appears to be completely cured.
On the 1st October 2006, Stefan took part in the Great North Run in Newcastle where he is currently studying at the university. Stefan writes "The run went very well, it was an amazing buzz waiting at the start line (actually a far distant back from the start line). The atmosphere was electric and everyone seemed very happy to be there, it really felt like we were all part of something very special. As it was the first time I'd ever done anything like this I really didn't know what to expect, but enjoyed every second and I'm so glad I did it. The support from the crowds was overwhelming and I felt very proud to be wearing the NSTrust t-shirt and hope the money raised will make a difference, if only a small one. I also intent on running next year".
We hope to have more information and photographs soon. Well done Stefan and many thanks.
Risk Stop Limited
RiskSTOP
Limited, founded in 2001, has already been recognised as one of the leading
risk management companies in the UK. It has recently been awarded the Queen's
Award for innovation for its groundbreak risk management solutions. It works
as an independent consultant to many of the UK's biggest insurers.
RiskSTOP Limited sponsor our printing costs for NeST leaflets.
You can help too!
Most
of us involved will usually be very stretched emotionally and economically.
In the time we have available, it is good to get other people involved. You
will often need to make it happen and encourage others - even if you do not
do things yourself!
Some ideas
Here
are a few ideas that have worked in the past so they are worth trying again:
- Contact your local pub to see if they would run a social evening
- Your local church might help support an event
- You might hold a coffee morning or run a quiz night
- Schools with children who suffer from the condition may well support some fundraising
- Friends might use their contacts to raise funds. Famous celebrities?
- Companies might sponsor the cost of an event or medical equipment
- Run a marathon
Endless Possibilities
The
possibilities are endless but you need to ask and encourage others.
If we do not do this who will?