A cheque for £1000.00 has been presented to the Woolverstone Wish following a successful Cabaret Night held in Felixstowe Conservative Club.  The evening was arranged by Karen Deary and her husband Wayne and featured the comedian Mickey Zany and keyboard player Annie.  The packed house was also treated to an excellent buffet supper provided by Karen.

A raffle took place during the evening and the Conservative Club kindly paid the entertainers' fees, helping to maximise the money raised for the charity.

Following the untimely passing of well known Felixstowe businessman Charlie Manning, the ladies who formed ‘Ladies Who Care’ (LWC) decided that they would like to organise a Winter Charity Ball in Charlie’s memory.  The Manning family were approached about the idea and they readily gave their support.

Incredibly, from an initial meeting and discussion the event took place within 10 weeks.  It was held at The Orwell Hotel Felixstowe on the 11th December 2011 and was attended by over 200 people and raised £12,500 for Woolverstone Wish.  The charity was chosen as it was felt that it was local and the work it does touches so many people.

The organisers were overwhelmed with donations from the many sponsers and numerous people who gave so generously to the Grand Auction and Tombola.

The ladies said that the success of the Charity Ball was due to the fact that Charlie Manning was a much loved and popular personality and his family stated that he would have been very proud to know that in his memory much needed funds were raised for such a worthy cause as Woolverstone Wish.

The picture above shows some of the Ladies Who Care presenting their cheque (l-r Shirley Alexander, Judy Cattermole, Francesca Shelley, Cheryl Thayer from Woolverstone Wish, Sarah Manning, June Webb and Lyn Sallows).  Also involved in organising the event, but missing form the photo, were Karen Shelly and Patsy Weichett.

Ipswich Lions Club are holding a Spring Fair on Saturday, 10th March in St Margaret's Church Centre on Bolton Lane, Ipswich.  The event is open from 10:00am to 4:00pm, entrance is free and there's free parking available.

Stalls will include Girlie Gardening Gifts, Candles, Cup Cakes, Embroidered Towels, Bird Boxes, Handmade Soaps and Scrubs, Jewellery, Cards, Home Fragrances, Photo Experience, Manicures, Bags, Scarves and lots more!  Refreshements will also be available and all proceeds will go to the Woolverstone Wish.

Over 100 chemo bum-bags have been made and donated by the members of the the Great Blakenham Craft Club.  The bags are used to hold chemo drug containers, allowing patients to more easily move around while their treatment, which can often taken several hours, is administered.

Some of the Craft Club members are pictured on the left.

A Psychic Night is planned for 12th August, with all proceeds going to the Woolverstone Wish.  The evening is called Maria's Wish and is being organised by Alison Nunn in memory of her mother, Maria Porter, who was a patient in the Oncology Department.   The event will be held in Kesgrave Social Club and will feature local psychic, Stephanie Carr and a disco will finished the evening.  There will also be a chance to buy raffle tickets for some excellent prizes and all entrance tickets will be entered in a prize draw for £100.

Doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start and tickets are available by visiting the Maria's Wish website at www.mariaswish.org.

Calum and Lewis Deal have raised £500.00 for the fund by organising a Bake Sale.

Their father, Chris, is a patient of the unit and the boys wanted to do something to help him and other people who are being treated for Cancer.

They raised a total of £1000.00 for Cancer charities and donated half of it to the Woolverstone Wish.

The boys are pictured on the left with their parents Chris and Lorraine.

Representatives from Crane Building Services and Utilities recently presented a cheque for £4386.00 to the Woolverstone Wish Fund committee as part of company's annual charitable giving programme.

The Woolverstone Wish Fund is one of 5 charities in the region who have benefited from Crane's donations.

Each year, Crane staff are invited to nominate local charities which have some form of affiliation to them and there families - particularly smaller ones that provide direct services to the needy and disadvantaged.

This year, the Wooverstone Wish Fund was nominated by an employee who underwent chemotherapy at Ipswich Hospital as part of her breast cancer treatment in 2010.

Woolverstone Wish committee member Victoria Barber said: "We are delighted to receive support from Crane.  Our current total is over £206,000 and the long-term goal is to raise £800,000 to enable the hospital to increase the available space, improve patient privacy and provide a more comfortable treatment area".

The picture above shows (l-r) Julie Collis, Cheryl Thayer, Judy Lumsden and Victoria Barber.