Nolan Charity Fund Newsletter Spring 2017 (PDF)

Spring Issue – Apr / May 2017
charity@nolanupvc.co.uk
07966 426439
@charitywales
Nolan Charity Fund
By Sarah Cleevely, Fundraising & Events Manager
Registered Charity No. 1160008

A spring in our step!
So, we’ve finally made it to the warmer weather and longer days. We’ve been busy at the Nolan Charity
Fund. Last week we hosted a special evening at Parc y Scarlets to welcome our beneficiaries and award
our grant funding for 2016-17. Some fundraising challenges have also been completed and a gentle walk
enjoyed by dogs and their owners on Tenby’s South Beach to raise money for the charity. In this, our
spring newsletter, there’s a round-up of all our charity news from our new beneficiaries and we also
catch up with last year’s funding award winners. Plus, if you want to get involved, there are details of
forthcoming fundraising events. Happy Easter!

Funding Awards Presentation Evening
£15,000 shared by 11 beneficiaries across
Wales
The home of Scarlets rugby hosted the charity’s
second, annual presentation evening in April. In
front of more than 50 invited guests and Llanelli
Rural Council chairman, Cllr Stephen M
Donoghue, each of the beneficiaries were
welcomed onto the stage by trustees Nolan
Nicholas and Robert Taylor to receive a share of
£15,000.
The money raised last year has been donated to:

Hywel Dda Health Charities receiving £1,300 to
purchase iPads and DVD players for the children’s
wards at Bronglais, Glangwili and Withybush
hospitals.
Ysgol Saron receiving £2,000 to purchase IT and
play equipment for two pupils at the school with
Down syndrome and Duchenne syndrome.
Welsh Hearts has received £1,400, which will pay
for a new defibrillator and cabinet. The people of
Carmarthen were asked to nominate their
community or organisation, and the chosen
location for the new defibrillator will be
Carmarthen Quins RFC, Abergwili.

Alzheimer’s Society Cymru receiving £2,500 to
help relocate their Tỳ Perthyn Day Care Support
Service in Ammanford.
Carmarthenshire Youth Support Service’s Food
Hamper and Toy Appeal receiving £1,000 to
ensure that the project can continue to support
children, young people and families in need in
2017.
Canolfan Elfed Inclusion Centre at Queen
Elizabeth High School receiving £1,000 to help
towards the purchase of a Rompa interactive
projection system.

Receiving their presentation cheque from Nolan
Nicholas and Robert Taylor, Cerith Allen and Guto
John from Canolfan Elfed.

Y Bont will receive £1,000 to help subsidise a
number of childcare and pre-school sessions for
disabled children and their families.
Tenovus Cancer Care has received £2,000 as the
Nolan Charity Fund charity of the year during
2016. The donation will help towards ongoing
cancer care and research in Wales. During the
two years working with the Welsh cancer charity,
the Nolan Charity Fund has donated £7,000.

Tenby Surf Life Saving Club received £1,080,
which has funded the purchase of 60 new rash
vests for the club’s members; essential kit for the
water-based training either in the sea or local
swimming pool and for securing our future
lifeguards.

Happy Days will receive £1,240 to pay for 76
children from Port Talbot and surrounding areas
aged 5-16 with ADHD and autism to have a day
trip to Drayton Manor in Staffordshire.
Reach for the Stars received £1,000, which has
purchased five mini iPads for the charity’s
therapists to enable them to assess autistic
children aged 2-5 years old and produce a
programme of tailored treatment using applied
behaviour analytic (ABA) therapy.

Tenby Surf Life Saving Club members pictured in
their new Nolan Charity Fund kit.

Speaking after the presentation evening on 6th
April, Nolan Charity Fund founder and trustee,
Nolan Nicholas, said:
“It was a wonderful evening and a great way to
mark two years as a charity.
“We have now donated over £25,000 to nearly
20 worthy causes in Wales since the charity
began, and to recognise this year’s beneficiaries
was a great honour for me.
“There are so many organisations that need a
helping hand to realise their goals and aspirations
and I am so please to see that the Nolan Charity
Fund is able to do this to ensure all the good
work in Wales can continue.”
Commenting on assessing the 2016 applications,
Nolan Charity Fund trustee Robert Taylor, said:
“This year has been extremely difficult to choose.
With almost 30 applications there were some
very poignant stories and strong reasons for
financial support being sought.

Director of Reach for the Stars, Sheraz Akram
receives the five mini iPads donated by the Nolan
Charity Fund from trustee Nolan Nicholas.

“I am honoured to be a trustee of the charity and
to be able to benefit so many worthwhile causes
in Wales through the work that we do.”

Alzheimer’s Society Cymru chosen as
Charity of the Year for 2017

much needed service. Staff and our clients are
hugely grateful for this generous donation and
we all look forward to supporting the partnership
over the next year. ”
Nolan Nicholas, Nolan Charity Fund’s trustee,
said:
“I am delighted that we will be helping to support
Alzheimer’s Society Cymru in 2017. The work that
they do is vitally important in the local
community and for those living with dementia.

Chris Stokes, community fundraiser for Alzheimer’s
Society Cymru (centre) pictured with Nolan
Nicholas and Robert Taylor receiving funding for
the relocation of Tŷ Perthyn.

The Nolan Charity Fund has extended a helping
hand to Alzheimer’s Society Cymru and chosen
the UK’s leading dementia charity as its ‘Charity
of the Year’ for 2017.
The year-long charity partnership has begun with
a donation of £2,500, which Alzheimer’s Society
Cymru will use to fund the relocation of Tŷ
Perthyn Day Support Service in Ammanford.
The service is to be relocated due to increased
rental costs and its new home requires some
structural work to ensure the safety of clients
using the facility and to make the environment
more dementia-friendly for when it reopens on
Tuesday 18 April.

“When we heard that the Tŷ Perthyn service was
at risk - it was immediately obvious where our
initial donation to the charity should go. This was
a service in need of money now or it risked being
closed and lost to those who need it. I am
delighted that we have been able to help with
the relocation of the service and that it can
continue to support people affected by dementia
in our local community of Ammanford. The Nolan
Charity Fund looks forward to working with and
raising money for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru in
2017.”
Over the next 12 months the two charities will
work together to raise funds for the Live Well
with Dementia programme and the charity’s
flagship Side by Side service.
For more information on Alzheimer’s Society
services and ways to help fundraise, visit
www.alzheimers.org.uk.

Donations / Thank You!

Chris Stokes, Alzheimer’s Society Cymru
community fundraiser for South West Wales,
said:

Pintos’ customers continue to support the Nolan
Charity Fund, and collection tins in the café and
chip shop have now raised £333.11. Thank you!

“We cannot thank the Nolan Charity Fund
enough for choosing to support Alzheimer’s
Society Cymru. There are over 3,000 people living
with dementia in Carmarthenshire and services
such as Tŷ Perthyn support those affected to
maintain independence whilst tackling issues of
loneliness and isolation. Without their support
we might not have been able to continue this

Thank you to Uprise Print who kindly donated
their time to produce a new pull up banner for
the charity for our presentation evening.
If you would like to donate a prize for our
Charity Golf Day on 9th June please get in touch.
Prizes for our raffle and auction are very
welcome!

Charity skydivers raise over £1,500
Five dare-devils took up the challenge at the
beginning of the month and successfully
completed a tandem skydive with Skydive
Swansea over Swansea Bay.
Blessed with clear blue skies, all five jumpers left
the plane at 12,000ft, and after the 45-second
free-fall were safely back on the ground 5
minutes later.

Thank you to all our
kind sponsors who
have kindly donated
to our fundraising
events so far this
year. Without your
support we wouldn’t
be able to benefit so
many worthy causes
in Wales.

Fundraising Events 2017
Thank you to Shaun Fitzpatrick, John Morris,
Jackie Scarfe, Catherine Morse and Sarah
Cleevely for ‘Freefalling for the Fund’ and so far
raising £1,650.
There is still time to donate, the event’s
fundraising page is open until 2nd May:
https://mydonate.bt.com/events/fundfreefall/

Walkers put their best ‘paws’ forward
On Sunday, 9th April, eight dogs and their owners
completed a three-mile walk from Castle Hill to
Giltar Point in Tenby, raising £70 for the Nolan
Charity Fund.

Trekfest The Beacons – 3-4 June 2017
We need you! Explore the Brecon Beacons on this
spectacular charity challenge trek.
Sign up as a team with family, friends or
workmates. Choose from 25km or 50km, both
routes summit the highest peak in South Wales,
Pen y Fan.
If you would like to take part, or for more
information, email charity@nolanupvc.co.uk.

Cardiff Half Marathon – Sunday 1 October
2017
The Nolan Charity Fund has 10 charity places
available in this year’s Cardiff Half Marathon on 1
October.
Run for the Nolan Charity Fund and we will pay
your registration fee.

This was the first dog walk for the charity, and
everyone that came along enjoyed the hour long
walk, stopping for a well-earned hot chocolate or
coffee at the end.
The Summer Charity Dog Walk will be in July.
Further details will be posted on social media and
the website in the coming weeks, but if you are
interested in taking part in this or future
fundraising walks, then email Sarah at the charity
on charity@nolanupvc.co.uk.

If you’d like to ‘Run for the Fund’, email
charity@nolanupvc.co.uk for further details.

New charity website coming soon!
Our new website is currently under development.
We are working with Simon Lamble of Curious in
Carmarthen on the new site, who has kindly
donated his time to the charity to design and
develop the site, which we are very grateful for. It
is due to be launched next month and we will
feature it in our summer newsletter.

Next issue
Thank you for your continued support. The next
issue will be out in the summer, but look out on
social media for details of fundraising events and
news from the charity.
Any charity news from around the region, then
please let us know. Or if you have an idea for a
fundraising event, we’d equally love to hear from
you, so get in touch!

And Finally… One Year On
We take a look back at some of our beneficiaries
from 2015-16. I caught up with the first round of
worthy causes who shared the charity’s donation
of £10,000 in 2015-16, to find out how the
money has helped and what the organisations
have been up to since receiving funding from the
Nolan Charity Fund. In our spring issue, we talk to
Myrddin Special Unit, Kids Cancer Charity and
Tenovus Cancer Care.

Myrddin Special Unit

couldn’t leave school without our bus and the
children learn so much from being in the
community taking part in activities and visits off
site. They also get to enjoy specific topic based
visits such as castles, museums and trips to the
beach.”

Kids Cancer Charity
The Kids Cancer Charity provides a range of
services, all aimed at improving the quality of life
for children with cancer and their families.
In May 2016, the Kids Cancer Charity received
£550 from the Nolan Charity Fund, which was put
towards sending a family from Carmarthenshire
away on a much needed compassionate care
break.
When a family has to deal with the traumatic
experience of a child suffering from cancer, a
break offering a completely stress-free
environment and allowing them precious time
together can be a vital element in helping the
family to cope with their circumstances.

Myrddin Special Needs Unit caters for pupils with
profound and severe learning difficulties aged 3
to 11.
In 2016, Myrddin Special Unit received £1,100
from the Nolan Charity Fund to go towards the
£15,000 the school needed to raise to receive an
accessible minibus from The Lord’s Taverners.
Since receiving the minibus at the end of last
year, it has become a vital lifeline for staff and
pupils. Without it, activities would be confined to
the school. Now, the pupils enjoy skiing at
Pembrey, horse riding near Ammanford, biking in
Bikeability in Dunvant and swimming in
Carmarthen leisure centre, weekly.
Reflecting on the money receive from the Nolan
Charity Fund one year on, Ceri Lilly from Myrddin
Special Unit, says:
“The highlight of 2016 was reaching the £15,000
fundraising total we needed for the minibus. We

On receiving funding for one of these breaks, Eira
Gwynn from the Kids Cancer Charity, said:
"We were delighted to establish a relationship
with Nolan uPVC, which led us to the Nolan
Charity Fund who very kindly provided a respite
break for a Carmarthen family. This helped us
concentrate on other demands made upon the
charity.”

During 2016, the Kids Cancer Charity was able to
send 268 children and their families away on
compassionate care breaks to their three mobile
homes located around the Welsh coast.
A brand new mobile home has recently been
added at Lydstep Haven Holiday Park, which will
allow many more families to experience respite
care.
A quote from one of the families upon returning
from their holiday:
“We would just like to say thank you to the Kids
Cancer Charity for our much needed break. It is
obvious that a lot of care and thought has gone
into providing the caravan, and we really
appreciate it. For one week we were able to feel
like a normal family.”

communities across Wales and beyond,” said
Carys Burgess from Tenovus Cancer Care.
“The partnership has also strengthened
awareness of our services and built new
relationships with supporters in South Wales.”
As well as the funding, Tenovus Cancer Care has
been carrying out pioneering research looking at
the positive physical and emotional effects that
singing can have on your body and how being
part of a choir can boost your ability to fight off
disease. Alongside their ‘More Than Singing’
research, the charity has also launched two new
Haematology days with their mobile units.

Tenovus Cancer Care
Tenovus Cancer Care supports cancer patients
and their loved ones, where and when they need
it most.
As our charity of the year for 2015, the Nolan
Charity Fund donated £5,000 to help support
many of the Tenovus Cancer Care cancer support
services, such as counselling for patients and
their loved ones, welfare and benefits advice to
make sure that people don’t struggle financially
and their Sing with Us choirs, which give people
whose lives have been affected by cancer, the
chance to socialise and boost their spirits.

In our summer issue, we catch up with the Paul
Popham Fund, Nofio Sir Gar, Raising Lolly for
Evan and Oli and Plant Dewi.

Need help for your local cause?
We support community organisations and
projects across South Wales who need financial
assistance.
The application for funding for 2017 is now open
and we welcome applications from individuals,
organisations and charities in Wales.
Email charity@nolanupvc.co.uk to request
details on how to apply or for more information
on the charity and the work that we do.
Applications close on 30th November 2017.
Funding is awarded in February 2018.

“The money received has allowed Tenovus
Cancer Care to continue supporting people
whose lives have been affected by cancer, in