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BEST FOOT
FORWARD FOR CHARITY SHOP WORKER AND DEDICATED FUNDRAISER
A charity shop worker and
dedicated fundraiser has put her own health problems on one side to
raise money for the children's hospice cause which she volunteers
for.
It was 3rd time lucky at this year's Wirral Walk for Susan C'Ailceta
who has epilepsy and learning disabilities and volunteers at the
Claire House charity shop in The Grange and Pyramids Shopping Centre
in Birkenhead.
Susan was among the estimated 3,500 walkers who stepped out in
blazing sunshine for this year's 15 mile Wirral Walk, from
Seacombe Ferry on the River Mersey to Thurstaston Country Park at
the mouth of the Dee estuary.
Susan, 48, raised more than £150 for the 10 bedded hospice which
provides respite, end of life and bereavement care for children and
young adults with complex medical needs.
Susan from Rock Ferry had to abandon her first attempt partway
through in 2011 due to bad weather, while last year she was taken
into hospital for emergency treatment just before the walk.
But this year she set off from Seacombe at 8.30am, and after a
midway break to rest, eat and take medication, proudly stepped over
the finish line at 3.45pm.
"I was very tired but it was brilliant, I was so pleased.
I had my photo taken then, and while I was walking. It was such a
great feeling to finally finish it, and to help raise money for the
children at Claire House. They do such a great job there. The
organisation of the walk by the Rotary Club was very good, there
were drinks laid on all the way, which really helped me."
said Susan.
Kitted out in Claire House T-shirt, leggings and walking trainers,
Sue initially accompanied a relative, who was raising money
for another charity, but he went on ahead. "I enjoyed walking
along at my own pace and chatting to everybody, they were so
friendly." added Susan.
A swimmer and long-distance runner in her 20s, Susan now keeps fit
by walking daily near her home in Birkenhead.
She works at the Claire House shop every Friday and Saturday and
colleagues there have dubbed her "Raffle Sue" because
of her fundraising work.
"I love working in the shop, it's such good fun, and the girls are
lovely to work with." said Susan.
Also raising cash for the charity was another Grange and Pyramids
shop worker, Jess Jeffries from H&T Pawnbrokers.
The 23 year old former Prenton High School pupil was joined by her
sister Abbey, 18, a trainee hairdresser, and their friend Susie
Tucker, 24, who works in Rock Ferry.
Together they raised more than £250 for Claire House, completing the
trek in just under 6 hours.
"My feet are killing me now, but it was all worth it. The hardest
thing was about three miles from the end, when our feet were really
hurting, but we kept pushing on. Then towards the end at Thurstaston
we heard the bands and all the music, and that gave us a real boost
to finish. We chose Claire House because as a company that's our
selected charity this year, and we've got lots of things happening
to help raise money for them." said Jess.
Derek Millar, Commercial Director for The Grange and Pyramids
Shopping Centre, said:- "Susan and Jess have gone to fantastic
efforts to raise money for a local cause which is close to many
people's hearts on the Wirral. They should rightly be proud of their
achievements."
Located on the Wirral, Claire House Children's Hospice also supports
the whole family, providing support and counselling for as long as
is needed. Its specialist nursing team also work in the community
through the Hospice to Home scheme, which offers care and support in
the family home.
Steph Clark, Wirral Area Fundraiser for Claire House, said:-
"The participants last weekend certainly did walk the walk and
everyone at Claire House is so delighted with the support we had on
the day. While we support children, young people and families from
across the North West, the hospice is based on the Wirral so we
really rely on the support of the local community, who came out in
their droves for us at the Wirral Coastal Walk. Claire House needs
£6,500 every single day to provide a first class level of care to
children and young people with complex medical conditions. The money
raised through the Wirral Coastal Walk will support Claire House is
all sorts of ways, from paying our nurses and buying much needed
medicines, through to taking the children to the zoo or providing a
home-cooked meal to a family who haven't had the chance to sit down
together in months."
The Claire House charity shop in The Grange and Pyramids Shopping
Centre can organise for donations to be picked up on a Monday or
Thursday morning. To find out more, call the shop on:- 0151 666
2770. More volunteers always welcome too.
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North West
Motorway Police Group conducts Operation Coalition on the region's
motorway network
Police Officers from the
North West Motorway Police Group target criminal's travelling on the
North West region's motorway network. On Wednesday, 5 June 2013, a
day of action drives home the message to all those travelling on the
region's motorways that officers from the North West Motorway Police
Group will arrest anyone engaged in any criminal activity on the
motorway network in the North West. The North West Motorway Police
Group brings together roads policing officers from Cheshire, Greater
Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire under a collaborative
agreement to Police together the whole of the regions motorway
network. The motorway network in the North West is responsible for
linking most of the North West region's major towns and cities and
accounts for 22% of all motorways in England. The North West
motorways carry in excess of 350,000 vehicles per day and over 250
million tons of goods per year. It is the responsibility of
the officers who work for the North West Motorway Police Group not
only to ensure this network of roads is kept running, but also to
make sure that those who use it are safe and criminals do not use
the network to further their illegal activity. The economic
consequences of disruption to the network Policed by the North West
Motorway Police Group is huge as the network carries ? of all heavy
freight traffic and a 3rd of all road traffic. Assistant Chief
Constable Ruth Purdie who is responsible for the North West Motorway
Police Group explains:- "The role of the traditional traffic
officer has changed considerably in recent years with the
responsibility of not only enforcing road traffic legislation and
responding to incidents, but becoming intelligence led to deny
criminals the use of the road network to conduct their criminal
activity. As people have become more mobile travelling the length
and breadth of the region on the motorway network, it has become
easier, not just for the law abiding citizen to use the motorway to
go about their business, but the network also provides the criminal
fraternity the ability to move from one area to another easily.
Criminals no longer limit their activity to the community down the
road but often commit crime in one area then use the motorways to
quickly return back to where they live, believing they can evade
Police detection. By working across the region, Police forces can
target and disrupt criminal's lives stopping them as they travel
from one Force area to the next, conducting their illegal business.
Members of the public often don't see this side of road policing
activity and can believe roads policing officers only role is to
deal with motorway collisions but this is not the case."
Superintendent Craig Thompson, who is responsible for the North West
Motorway Police Group's Operation Coalition on Wednesday, 5 June
2013 commented that:- "Operation Coalition is a great example
of the wide range of knowledge and skills needed by all the officers
who work for the North West Motorway Police Group. Officers from the
North West Motorway Police Group have encountered a wide range of
different criminal activity during the day of action. This has
included stopping a range of people whose vehicles failed to meet
the required safety standards and posed a danger to other road
users. A number of criminals using the network to transport either
themselves or illegal goods such as drugs from one part of the
region to another and numerous incidents of driving behaviour that
gave real cause for concern. This has clearly demonstrated the
diversity of activity undertaken North West Motorway Group officers.
The motorways are known to be the safest type of roads to travel on;
however the life of a roads policing officer is very stressful and
like today they have to be able to switch from dealing with one type
of incident to another. Caring for those who are injured or in shock
following a collision, irate drivers held up in tailbacks, angry
drivers who are stopped because their vehicles are illegal and a
danger to other road users, and dealing with serious and organised
crime gangs are all examples of what officers working on the network
have encountered under today's Operation."
Everyone working for the North West Motorway Police Group from
Police and highways officers to call takers in the Regional Control
Centre, have to be able to respond quickly to emerging incidents
everyday on the motorway network. The range of different and
diverse incidents staff are required to deal with, requires
dedication, professionalism, expert skills and knowledge to enable
them to do what is required of them in a very challenging work
environment which is the motorway network.
Letters to the Editor:-
"The kids are alright!"
"It's National Volunteers
Week and I think it's high time we stopped being so down on young
people. It's fashionable these days to blame this current generation
for so many of society's ills, but we've done a survey of our
volunteers which shows that young people have a thing or 2 to teach
the rest of us when it comes to making the world a better place. I
work for national disability charity Vitalise. We run the Sandpipers
respite break centre in Southport, which provides much-needed
respite breaks for people with disabilities and carers from across
the region. We simply couldn't do this without the hundreds of
volunteers who willingly give up their free time to provide support
and companionship for our guests each year. 8 out of 10 of our
volunteers are between 16 and 25 years old. Some of them come from
the local area, while others travel half way round the world to give
their precious time to Vitalise, but they all share a common desire
to improve themselves and the society they live in. Young people
face enormous challenges in getting a foothold in the world of work.
For a 5th of our young volunteers, Vitalise was their 1st experience
of a work environment. Despite this, they remained optimistic; 84%
of them believed that volunteering had improved their prospects of
getting paid work. Volunteering also helped our young volunteers
become better people. 99% of them said that it had improved their
understanding and attitude towards people with disabilities, with
84% saying it had that improved their understanding and attitude
towards different nationalities and cultures. 9 out of 10 said that
they felt more confident and well-rounded, as a result of
volunteering. What's more, volunteering also inspired our young
volunteers to make the world a better place - 8 out of 10 of them
said they had been inspired to get more involved in their local
communities and play a greater part in society. So I would like to
invite your readers to be inspired too, and spend a week of their
time; or just the odd day; helping our disabled guests have a
much-needed break. It's tremendous fun and a fantastic opportunity
for you to put your experience to good use, gain new skills and make
new friends from all over the world, so why not give it a try? For
more info call:- 0303 303 0147 or email:-
volunteer@vitalise.org.uk." Colin Brook, Vitalise
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