Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG) will be taking part in a 24 hour fundraising Swimathon on Thursday 3 April and they could use your support.
MYDG’s Operational Manager Dean Shanks explained: “Money raised will support field trips, outdoor activities and MYDG’s commonwealth summer sports programme.
“You can pick up a sponsor form from MYDG’s office in Craigroyston Community High School or the Community Shop on Pennywell Road. Alternatively, you can make a donation online at our justgiving site which will be up and running tomorrow and I will forward on a link to everyone then. You can also come along and swim or volunteer to help with the running of the event!”
MYDG is based at Craigroyston Community High School
TOP celebrities – including Olly Murs, Alan Carr, Chrissie Hynde and Plan B – have raided their wardrobes to donate some of their fashion favourites for an online pop-up shop in aid of charity Shelter Scotland.
Fans of music, fashion and comedy will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bid on signature items including an Olly Murs signed trilby hat and Chrissie Hynde’s Stella McCartney boots.
Other items include an Alexander McQueen jacket worn by comedian Alan Carr, fashionista Louise Roe’s 2013 Emmy’s red carpet dress, and a dress worn by former EastEnders actress Jo Joyner in her role as Tanya Branning.
Pop star and TV presenter, Olly Murs, said: “I’ve donated one of my trilby hats to Shelter Scotland this summer. It’s a great charity so get bidding guys!”
EastEnders actress, Jo Joyner, said: “Taking a bag of pre-loved clothes to a Shelter Scotland shop is a fantastic way to help a great cause. Shelter Scotland has never needed your support more, so I’m proud to donate my dress. Let the bidding commence!”
The online auction will open on Shelter Scotland’s website from 9.00pm on Tuesday 23 July and bidding will end at 9pm on Sunday 28 July.
Shelter Scotland is urging members of the public to take inspiration from its celebrity supporters and donate their own pre-loved clothes, home wares or books to their nearest Shelter Scotland shop, where every penny raised goes towards helping families and individuals facing homelessness and bad housing.
Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, said: “We’re so grateful to our celebrity friends for their outpouring of support and hope the public will get behind us too and donate any old or unwanted items to their nearest Shelter Scotland shop.
“It costs just £10 for one of our experienced housing advisors to help a family in need through our free national helpline. We can raise that money by selling an unwanted dress, jumper or pair of shoes. No donation is too small and every penny will go towards helping people in housing need.”
Shelter Scotland helps over half a million people a year in Scotland struggling with bad housing and homelessness. The charity’s free national helpline receives over 60 calls per day from desperate families and individuals. Shelter Scotland says this represents a 43% increase over three years, up from 42 calls per day in 2008/09.
Graeme Brown added: “We have never needed the public’s support more, and are relying on their kindness and generosity to ensure that we can continue to offer vital services to people who desperately need our help.
“Unlike our famous friends, your donations don’t have to include a designer label. Whether they’re as good as new or have seen better days – all donations are welcome. There’s no easier way to help people across Scotland who are facing homelessness or living in bad housing.”
Everyone who donates to a Shelter Scotland shop between Monday 15th and Saturday 27th July can enter a free prize draw to win one of five Fujitsu tablet PCs. The charity has also recently launched a new donation loyalty card. Each donation of stock will be rewarded with a stamp, with those collecting five stamps being rewarded with a £5 discount to spend in store.
Shelter Scotland has over 40 shops across Scotland, selling a range of good quality new and second-hand clothes, books, home wares and specialist items.
The online auction can be accessed via www.shelter.org.uk/sheltershops and will be open for bids from 9pm on Tuesday 23 July – 9pm on Sunday 28 July.
Just a week to go until the NEN Walkathon, and walkers may already have selected their chosen routes. You don’t have to stick to the suggested routes, however, the choice is all yours!
How about tackling … THE PIEMAN’S PATH?
Never heard the legend of the Pilton Pieman? Then read on …
The only known illustration of Patrick ‘Pudden’ Porter
Patrick ‘Pudden’ Porter – the Pilton Pieman
Many years ago, the legend of Pudden, the Pilton Pieman was born. This is the story:
Patrick ‘Pudden’ Porter was of noble birth – his family was landed gentry. Young Paddy enjoyed all the privileges of wealth, but life was to change forever for the young man when he met and fell in love with a Newhaven fishwife. Paddy’s father disowned him when he chose to marry his Newhaven love.
Patrick and his new bride lived in relative poverty, particularly when the fishing was poor, but the young nobleman was a good, hard worker who would tackle any labour – when he could not go off to see on the trawlers he worked with butchers, bakers and yes, possibly even candlestick makers to make money, gain experience and provide for his growing family. It was a tough life, but Paddy never regreatted the path he had chosen.
One evening, when he was particularly down on his luck, Paddy cut through Caroline Park House on his way home from a labouring shift, bringing in the harvest on Drylaw Farm.
He was amazed to see hundreds, maybe thousands of rabbits scampering around the grounds – and an idea formed that was to change his life forever.
The following day he returned to Caroline Park House and spoke to the gamekeeper there. The gamekeeper was only too happy to have someone to help him deal with the rabbit epidemic and soon Paddy was hard at work.
Paddy then used the skills he had learned as a butcher and a baker – and young Paddy’s delicious home made rabbit pies and puddings quickly became the talk of the town.
Paddy ‘Pudden’ Porter became something of a celebrity in Leith and Edinburgh – he mixed with the rich and famous and his pies were served at Royal banquets at Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle.
Pudden’s legendary rabbit pie can be seen at the British Museum
While ‘Pudden’ Porter’s family flourished, the same could not be said for the family who had disowned him. ‘Pudden’ had been the first of six boys – but each of the others died prematurely, often in suspicious circumstances. Some whispered that the Porters were cursed – a housemaid swore that each of the Porter boys died after eating …. no, contaminated fish!
The Pilton Pieman went from strength to strength – Paddy Porter became Lord Provost of Edinburgh. The Porters also had a large family – by a strange coincidence, also six boys – and each of them in turn became town councillors. It’s thought that this is where the phrase ‘gravy train’ originated.
And while both Edinburgh and Leith have grown and changed so much over the centuries, even to this day the city council still has it’s fair share o’ Puddens!
THE PIEMAN’s PATH
Bayne’s, Drylaw Shops
Groathill Bakery
Gregg’s, Pennywell Road
Gregg’s, Boswall Parkway
Caroline Park House
Granton Home Bakery, West Granton Road
Mason’s Bakery, Newhaven
Walk in the footsteps of a local legend and taste a piece of history!
This Saturday I will be participating in the MoonWalk. There is a cross party group of women Councillors walking as a team and we have created an online Fundraising Page for The MoonWalk Edinburgh Scotland 2013.
To show your support for this effort and raise funding for breast cancer in Scotland, please donate at
Tesco staff and customers have raised £11.85 million in one year for Cancer Research UK, its charity of the year. The money was raised by staff, customers and suppliers at more than 3,000 stories, offices and distribution centres across the UK, and according to Tesco this is the largest amount ever raised by a business and charity partnership in one year.
Fundraising activities included:
treks by Tesco staff members to Everest base camp and the Sahara, which together raised over £191,000
a festive-themed ‘Cycle to Lapland’ static bike ride in Tesco stores which raised more than £1 million over one weekend
competitions inspired by TV programmes including ‘Tesco Does Strictly’ and ‘Tesco Distribution’s Got Talent’ which raised more than £68,000
In-store fundraising activities by Tesco included a donation of 0.0125p from Tesco Personal Finance PLC every time a cash machine was used at Tesco until 29 February 2013, and promotions that encouraged Clubcard customers to donate their points to the charity.
The store that raised the most money was Tesco Extra in Dundee, which raised £22,000.
The funds raised are being used for 32 early diagnosis and detection research projects helping to ensure more people receive treatment at a time when it is more likely to be successful.
During the partnership Tesco also helped Cancer Research UK raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer. Eight million health information leaflets were placed at store checkouts.
Richard Taylor, Cancer Research UK Executive Director of Fundraising and Marketing, said: “Tesco staff, customers and suppliers have gone above and beyond to raise a record-breaking amount of money for our lifesaving work over the past year. The dedication they have put into raising vital funds to help improve the early diagnosis and detection of cancer particularly during a time of economic uncertainty has been truly inspiring.”
Since 1988 Tesco has chosen a different charity every year to benefit from staff and customer fundraising. The company’s Charity Trust tops up staff fundrasing by 20% up to a maximum of £500,000.
Last month Tesco announced that Diabetes UK will be it’s next charity of the year.
Macmillan Cancer Support is encouraging people in Edinburgh to get together and organise a Mammoth Quiz to raise thousands of pounds for the charity.
The Mammoth Quiz was created by a Macmillan fundraising committee who write all the questions and distribute the quiz packs, so all people need to do is sign up and get some friends together on February 22nd 2013. To take part and organise a quiz in your area contact anna@webboundle.co.uk
Daphne Fowler (pictured below), who appears in TV quiz show Eggheads said; “I am delighted to be the Patron for the Mammoth Quiz, I think it’s a fantastic event and is so easy for people to get involved. I would encourage everyone to sign up, it s always such fun and I can’t wait to head along to my local Mammoth Quiz again this year.”
A date for your diary … Muirhouse Millennium Centre is holding a Table Sale on Saturday 23 March from 11am – 3pm. Fre entry.
You can reserve your table now – tables cost £5 for Centre members (£7.50 for non-members) and the cafe will be open serving tea, coffees and cakes. Why not pop along and pick up a bargain?
For further information call Muirhouse Millennium Centre on 467 3578 or check out their Facebook page.
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