  Focus NewsletterMarch 2024 Welcome to the March edition of FOCUS and our charity, Off the Fence, which we have recently supported with £5000 to cover two projects, Antifreeze and Gateway. You can read a report on how our grant has impacted these projects, as well as their latest impact report, marking 25 years as a charity. We include details of our current fundraising events for 2024 including Kew Gardens Half Marathon with Em Cockshutt and Dan Barnes on Easter Sunday and a new event for this winter, please see below. We would like to thank the University of Warwick for choosing BHMT as their main charity for another year, but first of all, here is an update about their latest fundraising event for 2023/4, the Lax Ball. FOCUS on FUNDRAISING University of Warwick Lax Ball: Stratford on Avon February 24th 2024 Thanks to President, Lucy Fothergill and Charity Manager, Daisy Barrow for organising what looked like a very successful evening at the Stratford Park Hotel. As well as the Lax Ball and a Raffle, the UofW supported our Beer, Harris & Freud event last November and ran a pizza and quiz evening raising £100’s with these events. We are delighted to announce the new President for 2024/5, Fran Bowden has recently announced the BHMT will be their chosen ‘charity of the year’ once more. Kew Gardens Half Marathon Sunday March 31st 2024 Em Cockshutt and Dan Barnes will be taking part in the Half Marathon and fundraising for the Trust. “We both met Joe through Warwick University Lacrosse (Lax) and he was a great runner/sportsperson, often running half-marathons and triathlons on top of playing lax, smashing his degree and his social life! One of Em’s fond memories of Joe was encountering him in his third-year kitchen cooking a four-person lasagne to enjoy in the bath as a reward for a casual Thursday night half-marathon around Leamington 😂. For Dan, being in the year below, Joe was the most welcoming person when he joined Lacrosse, taking him under his wing.” You can show your support to Em and Dan with a donation to their JustGiving page.  Good mates – Em and Joe at University of Warwick NEW FOR 2024 Much Ado About Nothing: Not The Stratford Marathon Challenge, December 2024 A truly all-inclusive event, the day will incorporate a choice of original challenges in and around Shakespeare’s Hometown Stratford-on-Avon, including creativity, fundraising, athleticism and most importantly fun! For those who dare, the option of a unique full marathon distance course will be available. This will be a team event with up to four in a team and you can walk, jog or run, As You Like It, so long as you huff and puff! There will be challenges on the way, snacks and hot drinks and plenty of prizes for different achievements, some not so conventional.  Onesies welcome … and actively encouraged! Awards up for grabs include: – Best dressed team – Most money raised: “The Merchants of Venice” – Most original team name – Fastest course completion: “Much Ado About Rushing” – Best photo award – Various unique Shakespeare themed challenges – Plus a special endurance prize for completion of full Marathon distance We intend to make an application to Big Give to coincide with their Christmas Challenge, where all our funds would be match-funded if we were successful with our bid. We will be including more details next month, but in the meantime if you would like to register your interest, please contact Miranda (miranda@beerharrismemorialtrust.org or 07887897673.) or any one of the Trustees. Ironman European Championships, Hamburg Sunday June 2nd 2024 Nathan McAdam Freud will be competing in his first European Championships Ironman in Hamburg. The event has already sold out, but you can show your support to Nathan with a donation! 113 Events Half Ironman Cotswold Waterpark, Sunday July 14th 2024 One of our favourite events of the year! Why not join us for the event either as part of a relay team or as an individual. The 1900m swim is in one of the beautiful Cotswold Park lakes, followed by a gently rolling 56-mile cycle and then athletes are treated to a mixture of tarmac and hard pack pathing for the 13.1-mile run that takes in lake side paths as well as local village routes before finishing back close to the lakeside transition. Entry fees will be free in exchange for fundraising. For more information click here – or contact Miranda at miranda@beerharrismemorialtrust.org or 07887897673. North Yorkshire Long Course Weekend (LCW) Friday, Saturday and Sunday September 6th – 8th 2024 This event is NEW for 2024. Set in picturesque Pateley Bridge, which sits within Nidderdale Area of Outstanding National Beauty, you can choose your challenge by selecting your preferred distances and disciplines for the Long Course weekend. Entry fees will be free in exchange for fundraising. Friday kicks off with the Yorkshire Dales Swim, giving you the unique opportunity to swim in the stunning Grimwith Reservoir, deep in the Yorkshire Dales. Saturday will see thousands of cyclists start from Pateley Bridge and take on the choice of 56- or 112-mile bike courses set in The Yorkshire Dales National Park. Incorporating some of the sections in Tour de Yorkshire, Tour De France and UCI courses into a very own sportive course. Rounding up the weekend on Sunday, you have a range of run distances from Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k to take in some of the spectacular surrounding countryside, returning to Pateley Bridge where the massive crowds await you on the red-carpet finish line. For more details, please visit the website. Amsterdam Marathon Sunday October 20th 2024 Ben Carr will be running his third marathon and once again he will be raising money for the BHMT. At a recent meeting with Ben, he said it was the Trust (and Joseph) who had inspired him to start running competitively, first of all with 10km runs and now marathons. If you feel inspired to start running, whatever the distance, whatever the speed, please contact Miranda (miranda@beerharrismemorialtrust.org or 07887897673) or one of the Trustees to see what support is available. FOCUS on Charity: Off The Fence, written by Analise Walls  “We would like to extend our deepest gratitude for the grant award of £2,500 in July 2023, the first of two years of funding, towards our programmes: Antifreeze and Gateway. 2023 presented great victories and challenges for Off The Fence as our local community faced hardship resulting from governmental policy amendments and the cost of living crisis. This report outlines some of our developments over the last year as we worked to meet the increasing demand for poverty-related support services. The Antifreeze Homeless Project “Brighton and Hove has seen a 155% increase between January and September 2023 (Brighton & Hove City Council, 2023) in individuals sleeping rough. Consequently, the demand for Antifreeze’s support services has grown. Our Day Centre equipped us with the capability to offer lifesaving services including showers, laundry and healthcare provision to 385 guests in 2023.  Images from our Antifreeze Day Centre “We anticipate the demand for these services to grow throughout 2024. We welcomed mental-health professionals, including Mind UK and Rose Rowkins (Start The Conversation), to provide workshops surrounding anxiety, suicide prevention and practical self-help tools. Our clients expressed how impactful these sessions were by facilitating open conversations in an emotionally safe place. This feedback has informed the decision to increase focus on 1-to-1 sessions to increase mental health check-ins and aid the journey to independent living. Our operational capabilities also grew through an exciting partnership with Royal Mail. This fast-tracked employment initiative has provided clients with jobs as postal workers. This initiative has proved successful as we currently have three clients enrolled and thriving in their new roles and have welcomed new clients due to media attention surrounding it. The Gateway Women’s Day Centre and Outreach “Since re-opening our day centre in December 2022, the Gateway building has been a hub from which women in our local community can receive wrap-around care from our fully-trained Gateway team. The team provided 1-to-1 support, group therapy sessions, group skill-based activities, legal and financial advice and holiday celebrations to 130 clients this past year.  Christmas ’23 gift table for Gateway clients “Our team aims to provide a space where women can receive the practical support they need while recharging before returning home. We have facilitated numerous social events through our Centre encouraging positive relationship-building and peer support. These events have recently included a silent disco to celebrate International Women’s Day, a photography course and a painting therapy course. Our recent Autumn 2023 feedback survey provided the following client quote: “I had a 1:1 meeting last week and I was made to feel that my concerns were valid. The member of staff listened to me and answered questions. I felt so much better afterwards.” As operate through 2024, the Gateway support team is working to act upon recently received feedback and curate a further diversified support package best suited to the current needs of the women we support. The Local Need “Across both programmes, there has been a notable increase in client numbers. This heart-breaking reality reminds us of how important it is to bring hope into situations of isolation and marginalisation through unconditional support and practical assistance. Each recovery journey is case-specific and unique to the individual. We are actively growing in mental health expertise. This month our team received suicide prevention training from Start The Conversation to intervene and support in times of crisis. This is just one of many opportunities to grow in mental health support Citywide and offer life-saving care.  Off The Fence team and Start The Conversation “Together, we are one step closer to seeing the poverty cycle breaking permanently across Brighton and Hove – individuals flourishing in secure employment, permanent housing, educational achievement and positive peer relationships. Thank you for your support at this crucial time.” For further information about Off The Fence please visit their website. If you would like to make a donation to our charity, which enables us to help this project, please click here: Donate If you are able, please consider making your donation a monthly one. Monthly support helps create long term stability for the Trust and our commitment to promote wellbeing to those who suffer from mental health illness. Please visit our website to find out more about the organisations we support. Once again thank you for your donations, involvement and interest in the Trust. Best wishes for a Happy Easter, Roy Harris (Chairman)     Copyright © 2024 Beer-Harris Memorial Trust, All rights reserved.You are receiving this email because you are a personal contact of a trustee, or you kindly previously supported our campaigns or opted in via our website or fundraising platforms. Our mailing address is: Beer-Harris Memorial Trust Stockland House, Low Road Evesham, Worcestershire WR11 4UH United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? 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March FOCUS…
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