Rockinghorse Appeal in aid of the Children’s Ward at the DGH

An appeal has been launched to raise money to improve facilities at the children’s ward at Eastbourne District General Hospital.
Children’s charity Rockinghorse aims to raise over £120,000 to help renovate Friston Ward and to make it more comfortable and entertaining for young patients.

The plans include creating a new adolescent room with more entertainment facilities, building a lounge for patients to be able to relax with their families in comfort and a new modernised playroom for the younger patients.

Friston Ward treats over 4,000 children and young people every year for a range of conditions including, common childhood complaints, such as eczema and asthma; emergency surgical cases; and those requiring long-term treatment, such as cystic fibrosis and cancer.

Liz Vaughan, Friston Ward Sister, spoke at the fundraising launch. She said: “We can’t thank Rockinghorse enough for their support and we need as many people as possible to help us raise the money.
“We have great facilities but unfortunately they are a bit old and in need of updating. We have parents, grandparents and siblings staying with us overnight as well as patients and we want up-to-date facilities for them.
“We have wanted to renovate areas of the ward to make them better for the children for a while and we are very excited that it will now be possible with this appeal. We take admissions from all over East Sussex so this will make a big difference to a lot of young patients and their families.”

Ollie Turner, 11, who has had severe cystic fibrosis since birth and is a regular patient in Friston Ward, was also at the launch. He said: “When you are in hospital, you want something that keeps you company. That is my computer console when I am at home, which they have got in the ward but a lot of people want to use it.

“It would be great to have more games consoles and to be able to watch TV with your mum and dad. There are a lot of toys for young children but it would be great to have more things to do for older patients.”
Rockinghorse aims to make life better for sick and disabled babies, children and teenagers across Sussex and Surrey. It raises money for a number of NHS organisations in the area to help provide cutting edge equipment and to improve medical and respite facilities for children and young people.

To donate money to the Friston Ward project or to find out how you can get involved, please call 01273 730286 or visit www.rockinghorse.org.uk

A Plea from Contact a Family for ALL Parents with a Disabled Child

On Friday 10 July, the new government launched a website to let the public have their say about public spending under the its spending review. The Government will be looking at the responses over the summer, so that they can publish their decisions in October. The discussions and decisions the government takes over the summer will determine how public money will be spent for the next four years.

I realize that this work is taking place at a time when it can be hard for parents to engage with things. However I cannot stress enough how important it is that as many families with disabled children as possible speak up. This is a critical time, and the decisions taken now will affect families with disabled children for the next few years. There is a real opportunity to make our views heard about the importance of investing in and protecting services for disabled children and their families.

The more people that speak up the better. Other groups will be mobilizing their supporters too, so it is critical that we do the same. Please pass this message on to as many families as you can, so that they can go onto the website and hopefully encourage their friends and relatives to do the same.

Contact a Family will be raising the following issues:

• The importance of investing in services to support disabled children and their parents
• The importance of easing the financial pressures on families by making the right benefits available and also taking steps to help parents take up jobs if appropriate (affordable childcare, flexible working etc)
• The importance of investing in parent participation so that families can drive the development of services locally
• Please click onto the link http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ and have your say.  The amount of time we have to influence is very limited. Please help us to make the most of that time.

For more information contact:
Srabani Sen
Chief Executive
Contact a Family
Tel: 020 7608 8704
209-211 City Road, London EC1V 1JN
www.cafamily.org.uk

Eating Well from the start

Good nutrition is such a key factor in helping maximise a child’s learning potential and general health, and is a great foundation for their future. Through instilling good healthy eating habits from an early age, you can help, among many things, to:

• reduce susceptibility to illness, which is inevitable through peer contact and play;
• increase concentration levels, which in turn can increase learning potential;
• give them the right energy sources for growth and play; and
• get them interested in good food that will give them all the nutrients they need to grow and thrive, and be a great basis for a healthy life.

Eating healthy fresh food is easy to do and will not break the bank. Often a few changes to a diet can have noticeable benefits.

For one to one nutrition consultations, or group consultations for 4-5 people, contact qualified nutritional therapist, Caroline Westoll, at www.carolinewestoll.com

Let’s Go Cuckoo

Broad Oak Pre-school have joined forces with Friends of East Sussex Hospices to create a huge fundraising event called ‘Let’s Go Cuckoo’, taking place on 4th July. ‘Let’s Go Cuckoo’ will be a sponsored 4-mile walk along the beautiful Cuckoo Trail in East Sussex.  The BBC presenter and mother of two Louise Minchin will be walking on the day.

The walk will start at 10am in Horam and will finish at ‘The Cuckoo’s Rest’ in Hellingly at around 12.30pm, raising much-needed funds for both charities. Refreshments and entertainment will be on offer for the families who complete the walk along as well as a “Let’s go Cuckoo” T-shirt, goody bags and medals for children.

You are invited to join this fun day out, and to bring along your friends and families, young and old. The combined fundraising target is £10,000.  Many local companies have already supported the walk with donations, advertising or in kind.  Grateful thanks are offered to those (BBC Sussex, Co-op, , Freeman Foreman, H & R Hughes Solicitors, Heathfield Windows, Lawson Commercial, Sussex Express, Sovereign Radio, Southern Pools, TR Fastenings & Watsons) who have given their support so far.

Broad Oak Pre-school has been serving the local community for 41 years and has looked after generations of children.  Exceptional care and education are bywords for the school, reflected by an “ ‘outstanding’ in all areas” Ofsted commendation.

Administrator Helen Swan says “Broad Oak Pre-School is run as a charity.  Every year we need to top up the amount we receive from government fees and grants in order to cover our running costs.  Recent changes in the way government funds pre-schools has resulted in BOPS having to bridge a larger than usual shortfall”.

Friends of East Sussex Hospices raises funds and promotes awareness of the invaluable services offered by the hospices that serve the people of East Sussex.  Chairman Kathy Gore says “Our hospices couldn’t perform these services without the wonderful support of local communities and events such as this”.

Local businesses supporting ‘Let’s Go Cuckoo’ include Appleby Petfield, Heathfield Ironmongers, Jewsons, Parker Building Society, Pennels Carpets, Print Matters, Southern Pools and WebPlacing.

For details, registration and sponsorship details see www.letsgocuckoo.co.uk

Rising Stars need help

New Premises and Equipment Sought as Rising Stars Pre-School Hall in Eastbourne Razed to the Ground in Suspected Arson Attack

When St. Andrews Church Hall on Seaside, Eastbourne was destroyed by fire in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 9th May, the home of Rising Stars Pre-school was also razed to the ground. The pre-school, founded in 1977, is a much-loved and popular hub of the community – it already has a full register for September 2010. Sadly there is currently nothing to offer those looking forward to this opportunity since all of the toys, books and ICT equipment have been reduced to ash. Staff, parents and children are distraught at the loss of their resources, not to mention files of irreplaceable work. The pre-school is run by parents and is a non profit-making charity, making the loss all the more poignant.

The immediate priority of the committee is to ensure that the 53 pre-school children currently on the register can continue to be cared for by the staff they have grown to know and trust. They are urgently seeking an OFSTED-registered building to use temporarily until May half term, after which time a more permanent solution is sought.

Please call Sarra Hawes (Chairperson) or Louise Smith (Pre-school Manager) with any offers of help, either with Rising Stars’ quest for a new home or for equipment to enable them to continue their essential role in our local community. Tel: 07773 874629.

There will be a sponsored Toddle on Friday May 21st starting at 10am from Eastbourne Pier to Princes Park.  An online sponsorship page is being set up but in the meantime if you would like to make a donation please contact Chrissy Higgins or paypal her at chrissyhiggins1978@yahoo.co.uk.  More details on Facebook at:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118530341510868

Free child tickets to Kent & East Sussex Railway and Bodiam Castle