Mavis, the WightAID mascot, recently helped hand over cheques totalling £22,860 to 13 Isle of Wight charities. Ranging from funding for youth trips to the Lake District to cash for uplifting garden gifts for elderly people lacking family support, the awards all helped to enhance the lives of Islanders. The biggest award of the funding round went to Freshwater Independent Lifeboat, which received £10,000 for essential crew PPE replacement. Without this funding, the vital service would not be able to operate. But there were also plenty of small grants making a big difference. One of the charities benefitting, Godshill and Rookley Scouts, kindly hosted the event at their scout hut. The grants list in full… Under £500
- Nettlestone & Seaview Sheds – Printed gazebo for fundraising and other events.
- Pigsty Farm CIC – Grant towards a new disabled toilet .
- First Act 2011 – Theatre group for adults with complex and additional needs. Grant for members’ T-shirts to be worn at productions.
- Embracing Age IW – Grant to buy spring flowers and bulbs to gift to residents without a family or who are particularly isolated.
- West Wight Timebank – Grant towards specialist dementia games and puzzles for their dementia group, also for minibus hire for Ventnor lunch outing.
- MAD-Aid – Grant to enhance activities they run at their MAD-Aid DOT community room in East Cowes.
- Nature Therapy CIC – Grant towards their sound therapy programme and the Sound of Water Manual.
- Isle of Wight Cricket Board – Towards cost of a sports wheelchair.
Over £500:
- SWAY – Grant towards residential trip for 28 young people in Lake District.
- 1st Godshill and Rookley Scout Group – Grant towards upgrading scout hut toilets, including installation of accessible toilet.
- Isle of Wight Duke of Edinburgh Award Charitable Association – Funds towards four-day Gold Canoe Expedition in Scotland.
- Isle of Wight Rotary – Contribution towards Rotary fundraising for children’s walled garden at St Marys Hospital.
- Freshwater Independent Lifeboat – £10,000 for essential crew PPE replacement.
One of the companies supporting WightAID is Performance in People and the Ryde-based company sent along Abi and Regan to help Mavis present the cheques. Abi said:
“We are delighted to have been invited along to the recent charity cheque presentation and see first-hand the impact of our fundraising on some wonderful local island charities. “WightAID have formed a fantastic community network and support system for Isle of Wight charities. We look forward to continuing to raise as much money as we can for the foundation.”
Geoff Underwood, founder of WightAID, thanked each charity for the amazing work they do, and for their dedication to Island life. He said:
“Meeting in a group like this, gives all of you and our generous donors, the opportunity to really get to know each other, and find out about all the wonderful work so many people are doing to support our community”.
One does hope that the £10000 awarded to Freshwater RNLI is spent on soundproofing the neighbouring properties and paying the owners to live elsewhere during the summer months when there is noisy drunken debauchery at the station with the permanent placement of an alcoholic beer bus and live music under their windows.
With the beautifully upgraded Albion hotel just a short distance away we do feel sorry for the guests as the entire area is turned into a cheap tacky disco in the afternoon and evening.
How some of the drunks have not fallen into the sea we don’t know.
Totally ruined the area and lost a lot of support in recent years.
If you are going to have an hysterical rant about the Freshwater lifeboat, at least try to get your facts right.
They are an independent lifeboat and not affiliated with the RNLI.
Regardless of who they are, the remainder of my comment is correct.
I am sure that the real RNLI would have more sense than to ply alcoholic people with drinks next to the cliff tops and the sea while blasting the neighbours out with unwanted live music.
It is built as a lifeboat station, not a discotheque.!
I have been working at the Albion recently so you can take my word on it. Who knows what will happen in the new lifeboat building once completed, a wedding venue or nightclub.?
Have a butchers at the place and you shall understand why the neighbours are so annoyed, have some compassion for them.