The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Bunny ch-ears to Stagecoach!
HI Sunshine News Readers,
I hope you all had a lovely Easter break, we certainly welcomed the sunny weather over the long weekend! We’ve had a busy week around the break with lots of visits out and about.
We started with one of two visits to Hadrian School last week, just before the pupils broke up for Easter. We went along to watch their Easter Bonnet Parade with our friends at Stagecoach, and we were in awe of all the creative outfits, hats and dancing that took place!
It was great to see Shaun, Jon and Emma from the Slatyford bus depot; not only are Stagecoach huge supporters of The Sunshine Fund, but they are also keen supporters of the community, notably of the kids at Hadrian School.
The team were there to hand out chocolate and gifts for those who can’t eat. Their generosity and enthusiasm to support local children with additional needs is inspiring and they always go above and beyond to spread joy across the community.
It was lovely to catch up with the gang as they also began their on-thebus Easter bucket collections for us! The team are always looking at ways to support our charity, and it gives them a great excuse to dress up! We’ve seen drivers donning bunny ears and some in full fancy dress, spreading joy over the Easter holidays.
The collections are running until the end of the week so if you spot a yellow bucket, please do spare what you can as all proceeds go towards providing a better life for children in our region, and allows us to fund life-changing equipment for babies, children and young people living with disabilities, additional needs and terminal illness.
We returned from the long weekend to some perhaps less bright weather, but have had a busy week as myself and Amanda, our Fundraising & Events Coordinator, attended some fun events to spread awareness of our charity and what we do to local parents, carers and those who support children with complex needs.
This included a second trip to Hadrian School, where the sports hall had been transformed from its Easter eggstravaganza to the NECANN marketplace organised by our friends at Irwin Mitchell, followed by a visit to the wonderful team from Sunderland Parents Carer Forum at the Beacon of Light the next day.
These are great opportunities for us to meet parents, guardians, care-givers and potential service-users so they can learn more about our charity, what we do and how we can help support their children and families, whether it’s through a piece of equipment or through our helpline service and/or our family events.
It also allows us to meet other organisations who we can direct families to and vice versa, and opens discussions around partnerships and potential collaborative projects. We met lots of new people and caught up with some familiar faces, too. All in all it was a productive week and we hope that visitors left with some reassurance of the help and support that is out there.
I’m ending this column with a sad farewell to one of our lovely members of Team Sunshine as we say goodbye to our Trust Fundraiser, Ashleigh. She says, “I have absolutely loved my time at the Sunshine Fund and being part of such a remarkable, highly skilled and knowledgeable team. Despite the unprecedented challenges we have faced during my time here, it’s been thoroughly rewarding working with the girls and meeting all of our incredible children and families. They are memories I will cherish forever.”
Ashleigh has played a vital role in generating income for our charity and we wish her every success as s h e starts a new chapter. Thanks for reading,