Sheffield family’s star-studded memorial concert raises over £60,000 for Weston Park Cancer Charity
A Sheffield family raised £62,204.46 towards cancer support services, research and treatment advances by organising a star-studded concert at Sheffield City Hall in memory of their beloved mum and wife, Bev Croke.
BB With Love’s Simply The Best 2022, organised by the Croke family – Michael, Sean, Rachel and Matthew – helped continue the legacy of ‘truly special’ Bev, also known as BB, who sadly passed away from breast cancer in 2021 aged just 61.
On an extremely moving evening, host Gok Wan was joined on stage by a number of West End, TV and film stars including Hayley Tamaddon, Daniel Brocklebank, Ella Vaday, Melissa Jacques, George Ure, Matt Henry MBE, Ben Nickless and producers Rachel and Matthew Croke.
Sheffield Cancer Choir, of which Bev was a much-loved member before she passed away, also provided a spellbinding performance – as did Sheffield-based Shine Choir, and RMC Academy of Theatre Performance, which is run by Matthew and Rachel Croke.
The Croke family set up BB With Love in 2021 to continue Bev Croke’s legacy and help provide physical, emotional, practical and financial support for people and families affected by cancer after the love, support and care the Croke family received from Weston Park after Bev’s diagnosis in 2019.
Simply The Best 2022 brings the total raised by BB With Love to almost £100,000 in just 18 months – a remarkable impact in a relatively short space of time.
City Hearts charity rebrands as Causeway
City Hearts, a modern slavery charity, has rebranded as Causeway in a move that will show its commitment to marginalised and vulnerable people.
Formed in 2005, Causeway works primarily across the north of England with survivors of modern slavery to bring lasting change to those caught in the cycle of crime and exploitation.
As well as highlighting the important work Causeway does, it is hoped the rebrand will help in its mission to create a fairer and more understanding society for all.
Causeway CEO Ed Newton said: “We were determined that this would be more than a new page or chapter, but a new book for the charity.
“Throughout this process, we have drawn upon the expertise and insight of the people we support, our staff, and our stakeholders.
“In Causeway, I am confident that we have an identity and strategy that will enable us to respond to the ever-increasing needs of our society and the people we support.
“We want Causeway to become a byword for the support of marginalised and vulnerable people. We are the safe place and bridge that takes people from existing to living.
"Going forward, we are determined to continue to deliver outstanding support that brings lasting change and to ensure that a person’s value is seen, their voice is heard and their contributions recognised, as we create a fairer and more understanding society for all.”
Youngsters raise hundreds of pounds for Doncaster’s St John’s Hospice
Doncaster teenagers taking part in Club Doncaster’s National Citizen Service (NCS) programme have gone the extra mile to help raise funds for Doncaster’s St John’s Hospice.
The teenagers, aged 15 to 17, completed a sponsored walk from Cusworth to Conisbrough Viaduct and back, raising an impressive £375 to compensate for their blisters.
They spent the money on prizes for the hospice’s 30th-anniversary tombola – which raised even more from their efforts through ticket sales.
The sponsored walk followed an earlier fundraising venture which saw the youngsters, who have been learning at Doncaster’s Eco-Power Stadium, donate teddy bears and other money-spinning items worth £300 to the hospice fundraising team.
St John’s Lindsey Richards, a member of the fundraising team from Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), said: “It was heart-warming to see these young people thinking of others as they set out to raise as much as they could for the hospice. It was a fantastic gesture and, as we sold lots of tickets for the tombola, it was actually worth more than £375 thanks to their efforts.”
Taking part in NCS is said to give young people the chance to learn new skills, develop confidence and leadership and learn about teamwork. NCS also provides young people with the opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life and make a real difference to their community or an issue they care about.
Using testimonials to strengthen your impact
HoHoHo! Have you been good boys and girls this year and will you be on Santa’s good or bad list?
As a non-profit, do you know the impact you have made this year? Do you know how you have made a difference to your beneficiaries and the community you are based in? Understanding this data is useful when applying for grant funding. Funders need to that you are going to turn their contribution into something that will give outcomes that make a difference and make the world a better place. This difference needs to be measured and you need to ensure you are tracking the evidence of this early in your delivery. The easiest way to achieve this? Monitor from day one and put in a process/procedure that can be followed by everyone involved in the project.
This monitoring can then be quoted as evidence of previous delivery for future grant applications to show you do make a difference and can give the stories and data relating to the differences you make. Collect the figures, but don’t forget to collect the case study material too – those tear-jerking explanations of what you do and how great you are at doing it, you aren’t saying it either, third party testimonials are very powerful, it’s like the best Trust Pilot review ever!
Ensure you are keeping this information on your website too – implement a system of asking for testimonials at the start of your work, during and after, most people are happy to sing your praises, but they don’t offer to share this – ASK them.
Just like our letters to Santa – ask for what you want and if you’ve been good, you may get just what you want!
Merry Christmas to you all and I wish you a very happy New Year – 2023 is on the way! May I take this opportunity to thank all my amazing clients, who have let me help them during 2022.
Give Wendy at Let's Save Consultancy Services a call on 0772 9481010 or email wendy@letssave.biz
