PEPENBURY SKYDIVING TEAM

A courageous group of volunteers took a giant leap for Pepenbury when they took part in a fundraising skydive at Headcorn Aerodrome in November. 

Congratulations to Darren Hills, Shaun Lewis, his daughter Dannika and Sam Harman who all made the jump from around 12,000 feet freefalling at over 120mph!  Thank you to everyone who supported them with sponsorship helping to raise a fantastic £775 for Pepenbury. Darren, who raised £400, said afterwards “It was an amazing experience and I would like to do it all over again and raise even more money next time”!

You can experience the thrill of a ‘Tandem Skydive’ for yourself by pledging to raise more than £395 for Pepenbury in sponsorship and then you get your jump free.  You will be harnessed to a professional parachute instructor at all times throughout the descent. The jump and the training are completed in one day and your instructor will control your landing.  If you would like to take part and experience the thrill of a ‘Tandem Skydive contact Nigel Hill, Fundraising Manager on 01892 822168.

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CIOB PRESENTATION

In the last edition of ‘In Brief’ we thanked the Chartered Institute of Building for their kind donation to us. Well, three senior managers from the Institute found the time to come over to see us, look around AND present us with a cheque for £1260.

The Art Room seemed like a good place to record the presentation!

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THANKS TO MANSELLS

Many thanks to Clive Dowell from Mansells for a donation of 10 pairs of safety boots to be used by our budding horticulturalists throughout the organisation. His generosity is much appreciated.

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We were recently pleased to show a group of students from Invicta Grammar School round Pepenbury recently. The Girls split into groups and visited a residential house, Acorn Day Services and learned something about the business side of the charity.

The biggest hit of the day was John Mead, who showed our visitors where the Coffee Shop was and where to buy Christmas Trees!

It was good to see such enthusiasm from the students and we hope they will come again.

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CHRISTMAS LUNCH

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Ken Thornton who hosted a lunch at Woodlands Golf Club on 7th December.  Our service users had a great time!

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RETREAT DISCO

A Christmas disco was held at The Retreat in Tunbridge Wells on 14 December which was well attended and enjoyed by all.

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PRIMROSE PROJECT

A very big thank you from all at Primrose to Pantiles Rotary, especially Roy Patey - chairman - who not only personally provided us with a new net tunnel, but along with other members of the club, worked through a freezing cold week to provide us with a very comfortable and warm tea-hut.  Plus a cash donation of 500 pounds!

It has been a very satisfying year for me. The help and support of the many Primrose volunteers makes the difference between a project which just gets by and a very happy and pleasant place to be.  My newest volunteer, Ian Hurst, has just completed the guttering on the huts and with his DIY skills will be invaluable to us in providing the necessary maintenance.  Yudhistra Moodley, whose microbrewery, Moodley's, is based in Penshurst, has taken on the wild-life area. We now have a very large wild-life pond. The surrounding area, when planted with wild-life attracting plants and shrubs, will hopefully be an interesting place for locals to visit.  Then there's Maria Cotterill and Claire Schwaner who each give Primrose two days a week!  How fantastic is that?

We will be experimenting with more plants and cut flowers this year.  Not only do the flowers attract pollinating insects, look and smell delicious, but they may also bring in a little money. Not that money is the most important issue, but it does give the project another sense of purpose, along with the social and therapeutic benefits.

So before you trot along to your local garden centre, please come and see what we have to offer.  Our gardeners will love to see you all.

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            SAD NEWS

It is with great sadness that we report the untimely death of Roy Prince, one of our service users. Roy, who was 24, was admitted to hospital where he died on 21 January after a short illness.

Roy moved to Pepenbury in February last year and after a few months moved into independent living with two other service users in Pembury.

Roy was one of our regular helpers in the Coffee Shop at Pepenbury and enjoyed his training in catering. He was an avid Manchester United supporter and loved joining in  the Monday night football training.

Our thoughts are with his mother and grandfather who were regular visitors to Pepenbury and are very proud of their son/grandson.

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WEST KENT BUSINESS AWARDS

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QUIZ NIGHT

The 3rd Annual West Kent Charity Quiz run by Pepenbury was held at Pembury village hall on 14 November 2009.  With sixteen teams entering, a very good evening was had by all.

The winning team – Simple Minds – won the Banham Shield and free entry to the Mayor’s Charity Quiz in January 2010. 

Thanks go to Mark Banham, staff member Becky for the food and Russell for running the bar, and all the other helpers. Thanks also to Tesco for supplying drinks on a sale or return basis

Next year’s quiz will be on 13 November at the same venue if they will have us!

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A BIG VOTE OF THANKS TO WEST KENT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Thanks to the Committee and Members of the West Kent Chamber of Commerce for making Pepenbury their Charity of the Year for 2010. Pepenbury has been a member of the Chamber for a few years now and has been pleased to host three Business Development evenings on site.

We look forward to working with WKCC over the next 12 months. 

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PEPENBURY MAKES AN EXHIBITION OF ITSELF!!

During the three weeks prior to Christmas last year, we were proud to put on our first Christmas Art Show and were lucky enough to stage it in the glorious Pantiles, the jewel in the town, and in a spectacular retail unit which was originally a family owned butchers shop.

Despite the icy and snowy weather, we able to bring a new awareness to the Pepenbury brand, and to sell and showcase much of our fantastic art, pottery, sculpture and other craftwork.

The Mayor of Tunbridge Wells opened up the whole event at a well-attended cocktail party on Thursday 10th December and it ran consecutively (except on Sundays) until Christmas Eve, hosted by our eager volunteers.

We all felt it was so much of a success that we hope to repeat it next year (in the Pantiles again), where we can prepare much more in advance and get more people involved.  A big thank you to Beatrice who really powered the whole event, and provided so much imagination in arranging and designing the shop so beautifully.

The project was the idea of The Woodreed Creative Consultancy, who sponsored it along with AXA PPP. Also our thanks must go to Targetfollow, the owners of the Pantiles, who kindly lent us the shop.

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WYCHWOOD NEW YEAR'S PARTY

A huge thank you to all the staff who helped, and everyone who came, for making the party such a success.

Also - a timely reminder for parents and relatives of those attending Wychwood to book any outstanding allocated days as these must be used before the end of March.

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GRAND CHRISTMAS DRAW

Thanks to everyone who supported the Christmas Draw! We really appreciate the support. The grand draw took place at the Christmas concert on Tuesday 22 December.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Mr & Mrs LK Green - Waitrose Hamper

Jason Ankers - MP3 Player

Jan Hovey - One night stay for two at the Ramada

Mr E Prentice - A Digital Camera

Mr Pryor-Willeard - Wine selection  

Daniel Ball - Belgian Chocolate Truffles  

Alan O’Brien - A bottle of CAVA   

Mrs P Buss - A bottle of Sparkling Rose   

Shirley Wilsher - Lucy’s Beauty Studio Gift Voucher

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WHY NOT JOIN THE FRIENDS OF PEPENBURY

Over the next few years money will be tight for all charities and this is especially true for charities that provide care for adults with learning disabilities.  Donation income is becoming increasingly important and it is essential that we continue to find the resources so the people in our care can lead active, happy and fulfilling lives.

Joining ‘The Friends of Pepenbury’ is your chance to support the valuable work of Pepenbury and gives you the opportunity to make a real difference by helping to provide the resources that change lives through supporting improved care and leisure facilities.

Please join the Friends of Pepenbury. Your support will be an enormous help.

You can download an application form from our website:

http://www.pepenbury.info/support-us.html

The subscription is only £25 a year. To find out more about how your support can help Pepenbury or for an application form contact Nigel Hill on 01892 822168 or email: nigelhill@pepenbury.info