Fundraising

One of my main aims for setting up my website was to raise money for charity. The c-h-o-c stands for, charity helping other children. Since 2003 I’ve raised money for the charities that have helped me in my recovery, and have so far raised over £45,000. Here’s the run down of events…

In July 2003 I donated a giant teddy bear, which had been given to me, to my school, Barton Court Grammar School, and which they raffled for CLIC (Cancer and Leukaemia in Children) and raised £490.30. My best friend, Rachel, brought home the money and it took us over four hours to count it!

On 17th September 2004 I held my first coffee morning, at my friend Evelyn’s house, in aid of The Silver Lining Appeal and RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association). We had a raffle, bring and buy table, tea and cakes and the event raised £420.15. Not bad for two hours work!

I held another coffee morning, at my friend Diana’s house on 9th December 2004, in aid of Demelza House, which raised £471.30.

I did a two hour sponsored silence at my friend Gilly’s house in May 2005, along with about twelve other children, which was in aid of Dave Lee’s Happy Holidays. They provide holidays and special days out for disabled and disadvantaged children in Kent. The event raised £750, which I was really, really pleased with.

On 1st December 2005 I had a Christmas coffee morning at St Nicholas’ School, which raised £477.77 for Demelza House. I had lots of stalls including a raffle, crafts, guess the name of the bear and fairy, and guess how many marshmallows in the jar. I also wrote a book of poems which my friend, John, printed for me and I sold them on the day, too, to raise money.

At the beginning of 2006 I set myself the target to raise £30,000 for The Silver Lining Appeal to buy specialist equipment for a Neuro-rehabilitation room. The room will help children recovering from the severest of brain and spinal injuries and operations. It will be called the ‘Nicole’s suite’, and will include two electric beds, multi-sensory equipment for visually/hearing impaired children, and a hoist in the ceiling to lift kids to the bathroom if they can’t get out and walk. It will hopefully be ready by September 2008.

Here is a run down of the events that have helped me reach my target…

2006 Events

My first donation towards my target came from the Whitstable Firemen on 16th March when they presented me with a cheque for £160.  A big, big thank you to the crew manager, Graeme Browning, and the other Firefighters: Dave Blake, Michelle Russell, Neil Smith, David Brooks-Usher, Nathan Ellis, Alen Browning, Alan Hills, Bruce Williams and Simon Parrish-Evans. 

I had an Easter event at St Nicholas’ School, in Canterbury, on 29th March. We had a scavenger hunt outside which the kids loved, a cake decorating table, a craft and games table, face painting and a table with a chocolate fountain. My friend Cherry was in charge of that and every time Mum looked over to her she was eating a bit of banana covered in chocolate! She took the extra bananas and chocolate that we didn’t use to another school she works at, and raised some more money. In total the amount raised was £143.78.  

My brother’s friend, Allie, swam a mile at the swimming pool, and along with some collections at the Beefeater in Whitstable, raised £144. A massive thank you!

On 12th May I did a 36 hour sponsored silence! I only intended to do it for 24 hours, but ended up doing it for 36. It was horrible, but it managed to raise £448, so it was worth it.

On 17th October Evelyn held a cheese and wine afternoon at her house which raised a brilliant £650. A massive thank you, Evelyn, and to everyone who came along.

Also in October Robyn, my best friend’s Nicola’s Mum, gave me a donation of £55, which was the spare change she had collected for spending money to go on holiday, but didn’t end up going, so gave the money to my target instead. Thank you, Robyn.

On 25th November Ralph Lombart organised a concert of easy listening music with his son Matthew, performing along with other acts. Ralph contacted me after reading about me in the paper, and said he wanted to help me reach my target. The concert raised a fantastic £2500! Thank you so much, Ralph and Matthew.  

Also in November Evelyn’s husband, David, sold his old clarinet for £80, and donated the money to The Silver Lining Appeal. Thank you David!

In December Robyn, Nicola’s Mum, held a guess the name of the bear competition at her school and raised £60. Thanks again, Robyn, for your help.

Also in December St Nicholas’ School held another event and raised £100.02. Thank you to everyone at St Nick’s.

2007 Events

My auntie’s basket making group were given £70 for an event they did, and they gave the money to The Silver Lining Appeal. Thank you, Linda, Pam and everyone else involved.

On 9th February my Grandad gave me £250 as part of my 18th birthday present. It was extra special because I had hoped to reach the £5000 mark of my target by my birthday, and thought I hadn’t until I opened the card with the money in, which was the exact total I needed to reach the £5000 mark. So thank you, Grandad.

My brother’s friend, Julie, had a chocolate party on 28th February. People bought chocolate with a percentage of the profit going to The Silver Lining Appeal. She also had a raffle and the day raised £125. I was unfortunately in hospital at the time, so couldn’t go along and I was gutted!

My friend, Hilary, and her friends, the ‘We Write Women’, organised a poetry evening on 9th March, which raised £186.70. Thank you to everyone who contributed and came along.

On March 11th I was invited to a concert to receive a cheque for £500. It was a charity concert, and the money was split between different charities. Keith Deary got in touch with me after reading about me and The Silver Lining Appeal in the paper. I did a speech on the night, and afterwards people gave me more money. I made another £100. A lady took our address, and a couple of days later she sent us a cheque for another £500. Thank you to Keith, and everyone who was there and donated. 

On 27th April around 30 family and friends took part in a sponsored walk from Herne Bay to Whitstable (approx 7 miles). The day was windy but nice, and I walked 30 steps at the end to finish it. The event raised £1100, so thank you to everyone who took part.

On 23rd May my auntie’s slimming group ‘Slimming World’ held a few auctions after their ‘weigh ins’ of things that people had donated, and they raised £1275. I went to the club where they presented me with a giant cheque. Thank you, Sally for organising it and everyone who bought something in the auction.

On 17th June I had a stall at the ‘funday’ on Tankerton Slopes, which raised £191. I had a raffle and sold cards which someone had made and donated to me to raise money. Thank you if you came along.

On 29th June, a friend organised a ‘pink prom’, where the orchestra all had to wear something pink! The evening raised £1000. Thank you to the Folkestone and Hythe orchestra for performing.

I met a man from the company, Adastra, at the ‘pink prom’, who later sent me a very generous donation for £500. Thank you so much, Lynn.

I received another donation for £500 again in July from Christ’s College in Cambridge. They did a fundraising event and the students nominated charities to receive the money. My friend’s son, Alexander, nominated The Silver Lining Appeal, which was awarded half the money. Thank you, Alex, for nominating the appeal.

Also in June, my uncle’s dad, John Dalrymple, gave me a donation of £40 which he raised by collecting his spare change. Thank you, John.

My physiotherapist, Julie, held a coffee morning at her house on 20th July, which raised £296.10. Thank you, Julie!

Also in July my publishing company, Hodder, held a cake day every Friday, where someone baked cakes and people paid for a slice. Hodder matched what was raised to make the total of £261.08. Thank you, Hodder and I hope you all had fun eating the cakes!

My uncle’s sister, Fiona, held a coffee morning at her work in August, and raised £160. Thank you, Fiona.

In September I had another donation from John Dalrymple of £50, from more spare change he had collected. Thanks again, John, for your help.

My uncle Ron also gave me a jar in September of 5p’s he had collected which raised £31. Thank you, Uncle Ron.

Also in September my nanny’s local pub, The Yew Tree, held a pub quiz which my nanny’s team won, and they got to pick the charity for the winnings of £55 to go to. They picked The Silver Lining Appeal. Thank you.

The ‘We Write Women’ organised another poetry evening in October called, ‘Pink Ribbons and Silver linings’, which was in aid of breast cancer care and The Silver Lining Appeal. The event raised £170, so £85 went to each charity. Thank you WWW for organising another event.

On November 24th my friends, Ralph and Matthew, organised another concert of easy listening music, and raised £1625.32. Thank you both again for all your help.

Also in December a friend of Ralph, Hope, organised a fundraiser at his school which raised £107.32. Thank you, Hope.

In December my auntie’s best friend, Alison, donated £300 towards my target, instead of buying Christmas presents for her nieces and nephews, which I was very touched with. Thank you so much, Alison.

Also in December I had a very generous donation of £500 from Jonathan. He donated two tickets to see the Spice Girls in concert to the radiotherapy department at The Royal Marsden Hospital, where we were both having treatment at the time, and they offered me the tickets. I emailed him to say thank you, and he then went on my website and read my diary where I said I couldn’t wait to get past the £13,000 mark because I didn’t like the number 13, so he donated the £500 on my Justgiving page which brought me over the £14,000 mark. I was very touched by that, so thank you so much, Jon.

2008 Events

I had my book launch for ‘The Way I See It’ on 10th January, and some books were sold on the night for The Silver Lining Appeal. Hodder matched what was raised, and rounded it up to make the amazing total of £2000. I was presented with a giant cheque and it made the night even more special. Thank you to everyone who was there.

On 8th March I did a book signing at Waterstone’s in Canterbury. We had a collection box which most people who had their books signed made a donation in. Hodder matched what was raised again, to make £131.40. Thank you if you came along to the signing.

On March 17th Knoxland Primary School in Dumbarton, Scotland, held a fundraising day called ‘Step by Step with Nicole’, because they wanted to help me reach my target. The children put so much effort into organising the day which I was really touched by. The day included lots of stalls, games and wearing pink and black - the colours of mine and Lee’s 18th/21st birthday party. The day raised £1204.72. Thank you so much to everyone at Knoxland Primary School.

On 22nd March I went to the 5th birthday party of my little friend, Ben, where I collected £27.45 for my target. Ben has been operated on at King’s College Hospital too by Chris Chandler, and guests at the party were asked to donate in return for drinks and hotdogs. The money raised brought my total to the £20,000 mark of my target, so I was really pleased.

On 12th April I won a Rotary young citizen award. I went to an award ceremony in Blackpool and was presented with a trophy, framed certificate and £500 which I decided to give to Silver Lining.

Also in April The Yew Tree Pub held another quiz night which my nanny’s team won again, so the £87.10 donations came to me, to help me reach my target. Thank you.

On 1st May, Christina, and her friend, Ellie, did a sponsored walk to raise money for The Silver Lining Appeal. Christina contacted me after reading my book, and I was very touched that she said she was going to help me reach my target. They managed to raise £168, so a massive thank you to you both.

On 1st June, a friend of Evelyn, Tracey, and her daughter Charlotte did a bootfair to raise money for The Silver Lining Appeal, which raised £125, so thank you so much for organising it, Tracey and Charlotte, and to Evelyn for helping out. I met Tracey and Charlotte at the end of the month where they presented me with the cheque, and I also met Tracey’s mum, Dawn, who gave me a cheque for £150 which was raised from donations made at her husband’s funeral. He was helped by King’s College Hospital too, so I was very touched that she decided to donate the money towards my target. Thank you, Dawn.

On 11th June I reached my target!!! I won ‘Britain’s Most Inspiring Fundraiser’ which was a new award launched this year by everyclick.com, in memory of Jane Tomlinson. The prize was £20,000 for my chosen charity, so it now means I’ve hit my target as I had already raised over £22,000!!

Thank you to every single one of you who helped me reach it. Whether you came to an event, organised one or sponsored me in one, you’ve all helped me reach another goal, and I can’t thank you enough.

I’ve now set a new target to raise £50,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust which is a charity devoted to improving the lives of teenagers and young adults with cancer. Their main priority is to build specialist units in hospitals for teens and young adults going through treatment for cancer, and they are currently building one of these units at The Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey, which is where I’ve had my cancer treatment since I was 11 years old. I have set up a fund with TCT, called ‘Nicole’s Fund’, and I’d like to have reached my target by 2010, which is when the unit is hoped to be ready by.

Money raised through Nicole’s fund will go directly to The Royal Marsden appeal, and to help me reach my target, please visit:

www.justgiving.com/nicolesfund

Thank you.