Helping Hands...

Cumbria County Council's Holehird Trust has agreed to pay half the cost of a £10,000 property survey of the home and agreed in principle to fund the rebuilding of an old extension at the property.

Last year the national charity Leonard Cheshire announced it was to pull out of the Windermere home by 2006 or 2007 to look for a new location in the Morecambe Bay area.

New Holehird was formed to raise the £2.8 million needed to upgrade the home so it could stay open once Leonard Cheshire pulled out and provide a long-term base for existing residents and more respite holiday care for disabled people.

But in a letter to the Holehird Trust, New Holehird trustee Eric Jones said the 2007 pull out date had been put back and that it may be "some considerable time" before Leonard Cheshire left the Windermere premises.

Mr Jones added New Holehird was seeking a professional partner to manage the home on its behalf once Leonard Cheshire moved out.

Leonard Cheshire spokesperson Sara Brown said it was "speculation" that the charity had put back its pull out date. "Nothing has changed in terms of our plans," she said.

When contacted by The Westmorland Gazette, vice chairman of New Holehird Robert Smith said he could not comment on the funding offer until it had been confirmed by letter by the Holehird Trust.

n THE Thyroid Foundation of North Cumbria held a support group meeting at the Royal British Legion in Penrith. Members came from different parts of the country to take part in the event.

The day included talks from people suffering from thyroid problems about their struggles to cope with the condition. The TFNC now says that it receives a daily influx of mail from sufferers in many parts of the UK with some from overseas. The organisation is self-supporting and self funding. The next support group meeting will be held on Thursday, May 19 and in the Green Room at the Royal British Legion, Penrith, at 6.30pm.

Thyroid sufferers, family and friends are welcome to attend. For more information and a sample of the TFNC News and Views Journal call 01768 862 567.

n MORE than £5,400 was collected for two local charities by delegates attending the Britannia Movers International plc conference at the Low Wood Hotel, near Ambleside. The money was raised from a raffle among the 200 delegates, spouses and their children and £2,000 from the auction of a four feet long model removal van. The model was donated by removal van body builder Marsden Vanplan Ltd., of Warrington. Britannia, whose headquarters are in Croydon, is a consortium of family-owned removal companies operating from 50 depots throughout the UK as well as in Spain and South Africa. A cheque for half the money collected was presented to Ashley Cooper, chair of the Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team, to help fund the 40 full-time volunteers in their valuable work of rescuing fallen climbers, heart attack victims and those with broken limbs as well as escorting ambulances in snowy weather. The rescue team costs some £50,000 a year to operate. The other half of the collection went to Derian Children's Home, Preston.

n OLDER people from the Lune Valley are invited to a coffee morning, which will aim to answer questions about social services, health care and community activities. Representative form Social Services, Age Concern Lancashire and the Forum for the Older Person will be on hand at the event to highlight existing services. They will also invite contributions from visitors about their experiences, good or bad about the care of older people. The coffee morning will be held at the Melling Institute, Melling, on Wednesday, May 18 at 10am.

n ENERGETIC walkers are being invited to take part in this year's Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in aid of Heart Research UK. The event on Saturday, June 18, takes walkers through the three highest peaks in the white rose county involving a cumulative ascent of more than 1,500 metres and covering more than 26 miles of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The event is suitable for walkers of all ages and will be fully marshalled. Participants can choose to do one, two or three peaks depending upon how far they want to walk. If you would like to take up the challenge or want more information contact the Heart Research UK team on 0113-234-7474 or email info@heartresearch.org.uk.

n A NEW partnership is set to give disabled children and young people the chance to take up sports at Kendal Leisure Centre. Youngsters will have the opportunity to try out basketball, tennis, trampolining and boccia during a course of three-month-long taster sessions.

The initiative was born after South Lakeland District Council, Cumbia County Council and South Lakeland Leisure consulted with South Cumbria Family Forum a support group for families with disabled children. The sessions start tomorrow (May 15) and will help with longer term planning for providing regular activities. For more details, call Claire Wickham on 01539-790124.

n VOLUNTEERS to help support a range of exciting fund-raising opportunities are being sought to help The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. The charity is particularly looking for helpers in the Grange-over-Sands area to help the local branch, which was set up just over 12 months ago. Guide Dogs is interested in hearing from anyone, regardless of how much time they have to give. Volunteers are needed at various events to help man the Guide Dogs stall, pack up afterwards and to transport equipment, guide dog owners and their guide dogs. For more information, contact Julia Brown on 01539-558626 or Suzanne Corlett on 07733-000876.

n THE future of Cumbria's Voluntary Action Village Halls Adviser has been guaranteed for the next two years thanks to a grant from Defra's Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES). Current funding for the post, which was provided by the Cumbria Rural Development Programme, ended on April 25, and the further two-year support from the RES means that Village Halls Adviser Carl Glynn can continue to spend two days a week offering advice to village halls in Cumbria. The service provides village hall management committees with a telephone advice line on access to funding, managing halls and committees and changes in the law, every Tuesday, and personal visits can also be carried out when needed. For more information on the service, call 01768-869525.

n MORE than 60 Brantfield toddlers will be taking a half-mile stroll this summer to raise cash for Barnardo's. From June 21 to 23 the pitter-patter of tiny feet will be heard in Kendal as the nursery group strides out to raise cash for Foresters Big Toddle for Barnardo's. Children from the Brantfield Toddler Group will be among thousands of other under fives taking part in the national event aimed at helping Barnardo's raise more than £1 million. Last year the group raised £800 during the Big Toddle. The event sets off at 10am and 1.15pm.

n A SETTLE couple are taking their motorhome on a mission of mercy to the Balkans to distribute equipment to schools in some of the poorest parts of the region. Tony and Carol Dilger are taking part in a charity trip to Croatia and Serbia organised by Give Youth a Hand which is sending a convoy of around 30 motorhomes filled with supplies such as computers, musical instruments and dentistry equipment, to be distributed among schools in both countries, some of which have never before had access to a computer. The couple will also work in children's homes and refugee soup kitchens run by the Serbian Red Cross.

Much of the equipment has been donated by local organisations such as Giggleswick School, which provided computers which were destined for the scrapheap.

n SANDGATE School at Kendal has received a £625 donation from the Leeds & Holbeck Charitable Foundation to help develop a new sensory studio. The day school caters for 59 children aged two to 19 years with severe to profound learning and physical difficulties. The studio will have state-of-the-art digital projectors so that the room can be transformed into an environment of choice, complete with sights, sounds and smells to provide a stimulating interactive environment.

n SOUTH Cumbria Assisted Technology Service is running a drop-in session for disabled people on Wednesday, May 18, from 2pm to 6pm in Stricklandgate House, Kendal. Charles Ely will be on hand to give information advice and to demonstrate a whole range of solutions from computer equipment to simple adaptations. For more information, contact Mr Ely on 01539-742633.

n THE Backbarrow & District and Crake Valley branches of the Royal British Legion are holding a coffee morning at Staveley-in-Cartmel Church Hall on May 21 to mark the anniversary of VE Day. There will be a raffle, stalls, produce, bric-a-brac and tombola. Tickets are priced at £1 and are available from Hon Sec R.W Hutton, 20 Ainslie Street, Ulverston, or on the day at the door.

n AN HOLISTIC day will be held in Windermere to raise money for aid workers going out to disaster areas. The day will involve nine therapists giving taster sessions on their services such as Reiki, Hoemeopathy, Shiatsu and Accupressure. The event will be held at Kwela's Restaurant on June 13 and Fair Trade juices, snacks and coffee will be served.

n A STREET collection held by South Lakes Society for the Blind in Kendal on April 23 raised £776.47. The money will be used to provide practical help and support through the charity's Sight Advice Centre at Stricklandgate House in Kendal. For further details, contact 01539-742633.

n LORD and Lady Shuttleworth are opening up thir Leck Hall home, near Kirkby Lonsdale, to the public on Sunday. May 22, between 11am and 4pm, to raise money for CancerCare. Admission is £2 and there will be a raffle and stalls.