Making Ellie Count
Making Ellie Count, sponsored by Caremark, was a special free music show held at the Pavilion in Broadstairs.
A total of £1000 was raised for the Sepsis Trust, and the event was the first of many Caremark hopes.
Artists gave their time for free, Kieran from Wren, Lauren Friday, Frank Tucker, The SuperMicks, Breed and Lee Patrick from Academy fm performed whilst Splat Boy Sounds & Events supplied the sound.
Caremark said staff were overwhelmed with the response from everyone giving their time for free, and the Pavilion giving us the use of their venue. It was so wonderful to see so many people come along to this event.
Caremark said it is not just about raising money for the Sepsis charity, it’s about making people aware of the symptoms, and how easily they can be masked. They say if you believe you or someone else has Sepsis, then make sure a test is done.
Caremark director Kerry Hill’s baby daughter Ellie died in 2015 aged just 11 months old.
Ellie was unwell, had a high temperature and was refusing food. After seeing doctors at the hospital and being giving treatment for viral tonsillitis, Ellie was sent home.
Sadly, the following morning Ellie passed away, she had been misdiagnosed and had not received the treatment that could have saved her. Ellie died of Sepsis.
This year Ellie should have been enjoying her ninth birthday. Her mum and dad, Kerry and Paul, wanted to do something to honour her short life by raising awareness of sepsis in her memory.
Kerry said: “Losing Ellie was simply heart-breaking and if her symptoms had been recognised earlier there’s a chance that things could have been different.”
Caremark is planning to hold more events to continue raising the awareness of Sepsis.
If you would like to donate please visit www.sepsistrust.org
Margate Sea and Royal Marine Cadets
Margate Sea Cadets, a registered charity, is a volunteer led youth development and community organisation for young people aged 10-17. For over 100 years they have worked with young people from varied backgrounds in Margate.
Sea Cadets use a variety of activities to engage with local young people and offer opportunities that they otherwise may not have, improving their life skills, job prospects and instilling in them discipline and self-respect. Specific skills include first aid, strategy, engineering, communications, boating, and marine engineering, amongst others. Cadets also learn to become independent by going away on training weekends and learning skills such as stewarding, catering, music, and meteorology navigation.
Volunteers help in a variety of roles – alongside volunteer instructor staff, other volunteers make up what is known as the Unit Management Trust (UMT), to carry out facilities management and fundraising.
Margate’s UMT is urgently seeking new volunteers. The UMT is preparing for its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in October, during which some of the existing volunteer members are stepping down or wishing to change their roles to gain different experiences, and the UMT is therefore looking for new members to join them.
People with a variety of skills and experience are always needed for these rewarding roles on the UMT – as well as helping the Cadets, you can also use this opportunity to develop and enhance your own existing skills and learn new ones. Roles include Chair; Treasurer; Secretary; leading on fundraising; leading on IT; and other Trustee Members (non-specific roles), who help out when and where they can.
If you have some time to spare, and would like to find out more about helping with the running of the over 100-year-old Margate Unit, please email: [email protected] to find out more.
You can also simply turn up to the AGM on Wednesday 4th October at 7pm, at the Unit’s premises in Hartsdown Park.
London Landmarks Half Marathon
Two Dane Court students will be tackling the London Half Marathon next April to raise funds for The Vavengers charity.
Lillie-Starr Van Walwyk,17, from Ramsgate and Ella Lewis, 17, from Margate, hope to raise money and the profile of the charity which is committed to ending Female Genital Mutilation/cutting and other forms of violence against women and girls.
Lillie-Starr said: “Me and Ella met and became friends about a year ago when I joined Dane Court, we instantly bonded over our crazy personalities and found out we had lots in common.
“We both enjoy going to the gym together and have interest in lots of sports, together we play netball and run, I am part of Dover Castle Archers and have been for many years. As well as archery I attend The Pauline Quirk Academy of Performing Arts (PQA).
“Recently we have been really motivated to increase our fitness and decided to sign up for the London Landmarks Half Marathon. After looking through the list of charities we could run for we stumbled across The Vavengers.
“Neither of us had heard about the charity but after reading about how they are committed to ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and violence against females we instantly decided that as young women we wanted to help this cause.
“It’s a charity that is close to our hearts as we recognise the privileged lives we live and how the abuse of young women of any kind in any location is a major issue that needs more attention and needs immediate resolutions.
“That’s why we decided to start to raise money through our go fund me and show that “when women rise we all rise.”
Find the Gofundme page here
Margate WI
As we say goodbye to summer, and the nights draw in, now is the perfect time to meet with friends, test your general knowledge and enjoy an evening of fun and games, all in the name of a good cause!
Margate Women’s Institute will be hosting a quiz at Thanet Indoor Bowls Club, on Friday 6 October and tickets are now available.
The event will aim to raise funds for the group, as well as their charity of the year; The Cheerful Sparrows.
Margate WI President Christine Bilham said: “Our group was established in 2015 to offer support to women in the area through education, and campaigning, as well as providing a safe space to make new friends and learn new skills.
“Our members have helped to raise awareness of local and national issues, from loneliness to litter. As a charity, we need to fundraise to ensure the group can continue to offer these opportunities to women now and for the future.”
WI members voted to support The Cheerful Sparrows this year in light of the good work it does to provide items to those in need in Thanet.
The Cheerful Sparrows is a charity approaching its centenary year. The volunteers actively support those in hospital by providing items to assist, such as cooling fans, toiletries and more specialised equipment.
They also support people in the wider Thanet community who are facing hardship. Grants of up to £250 can be given to help replace broken household appliances or pay towards things such as beds to ensure families have somewhere to sleep.
Christine added: “Our group want to do what we can to support The Cheerful Sparrows in their work, so proceeds from the quiz night will be shared with them.
“There will be chances to win prizes in the quiz, and there is also a raffle and interval games planned too.
“Our members have been working hard to put this quiz night together and we are really hoping that people will enjoy themselves.”
If there are any local businesses interested in supporting the event by donating raffle prizes, please get in contact, either via our social media accounts or the email below.
Doors open at 7.30pm, the main event begins at 8pm.
Tickets are £6 per person, to fill a maximum of eight people per table. Smaller parties may be grouped together.
To buy your tickets, email [email protected] with the subject ‘Quiz Tickets’.
QEQM Hospital League of Friends
Blood tests and cannulation are common procedures for diagnoses, assessment & treatment, but veins in babies and young children are not always visible to the naked eye so can be difficult for medical staff to access.
However, patients attending the Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit, Fordwich Ward & Children’s Emergency Department and the clinicians caring for them now have the benefit of 2 Accuveins we funded at a cost of over £10,000.
These are handheld devices, one of which is shown in use, that use vein visualisation technology which illuminates veins beneath the skin enabling them to be seen more easily. The improved needle placement makes procedures involving accessing veins less traumatic for the child (and their parents/carers!) We also funded stands for each device to enable easier movement between areas of the Hospital.
We urgently need donations to enable us to continue to make a difference to our local Hospital by funding items like these. If you can help, please visit our website www.qeqmfriends.com for all the details of how to do so.
MICommunity Shop Margate
Have you ever considered volunteering? Do you have time on your hands? Kids at school? Perhaps you are retired and would like to keep active?
We are opening our second community shop in Cliftonville towards the end of September / beginning of October, and we are looking for new volunteers to join the team.
Interested? Then go to our website and fill in the Volunteers’ form, or visit the Kent Volunteers’ Website
https://kentvolunteers.org.uk/
Email [email protected]
MIcommunity Shop Margate
9 High Street Margate
Open Monday to Saturday
Independent Vindicatrix of East Kent Association – M.N.
Members and supporters of our Independent Vindicatrix of East Kent Association – M.N. travelled by coach again to the National Merchant Navy & Fishing Fleets Memorial at Tower Hill in London for our day of Remembrance.
Sadly a small number of members could not attend due to illnesses but our thoughts were with them all. The parade took place in beautiful sunshine which by the afternoon reached about 27C in the Memorial Garden area resulting in one fainter but I’m pleased to say he was recovered by the time to return home.
The numbers of all were down this year possibly due to the industrial actions taking place and the half-marathon taking place in the area which resulted in many roads and bridges being closed.
However the day went well and we held our usual raffle on board before returning home which raised £118 and we will be making a donation to the MacMillan Cancer Nurses in the near future. Our thanks to all in Thanet for remembering the Merchant Navy and the thousands of merchant seafarers lost especially in wartime. We WILL Remember Them.
National award for Kent Police
A Kent Police initiative to improve the safety of women and girls in pubs and clubs has received a national award.
The force has been recognised for its implementation of the ‘Best Bar None’ national licensed premises accreditation scheme in Kent at the first National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing recognition event in London on 6 September 2023.
The award is the second accolade the scheme has won. Earlier this year it was crowned the ‘Best New Scheme for 2022’ at a national event held at the House of Lords.
The countywide initiative is designed to improve standards in what policing calls the ‘night time economy’ across Kent. To be accredited, licensed premises must demonstrate competency in a number of key areas, including venue management, staff training and customer safety.
All winning entries had to demonstrate how they built trust and confidence, that their approach was victim-centred, and they had to show impact, including how they were pursuing perpetrators.
The recognition event was developed and judged jointly by police forces and representatives from charities including SafeLives, Suzy Lamplugh Trust and Karma Nirvana, alongside the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, Nicole Jacobs, and police staff associations.
Detective Superintendent Mark Weller, of the Protecting Vulnerable People Command at Kent Police, said: ‘It is incredibly rewarding for our officers to receive this recognition and a testament to partnership working.
‘We are aware of the disproportionate effect that violent crime has on women and girls and we know there is always more to be done. That’s why we have dedicated officers and PCSOs in Community Safety Units across the county working all the time to prevent and deter criminal activity in public places and improve safety in pubs, clubs and bars.
‘We run regular operations where both uniformed and plain-clothed officers work with door staff, CCTV operators, taxi firms and volunteers such as Street Pastors to help make night-time venues enjoyable and safe for everyone. As part of this, many licensed venues have signed up to the Best Bar None scheme to demonstrate their commitment to protecting their customers.
‘Recent stats show that arrests for drunk and disorderly behaviour have fallen by 42%, from 716 arrests in 2018 to just 415 in 2022. It is likely that the Best Bar None initiative combined with a more proactive approach from venues has contributed to this decrease in the number of incidents.
‘Officers also regularly give out advice and anti-spiking products, for example, during walk-and-talk events for women and girls so they can share their views on how they can be helped to feel safer. No one should feel at risk when they are out at night, and we will continue to listen to concerns, learn and ensure we seek out people who are intent on causing harm to others.’