NEWS

BEAUTIFUL NEW MURALS IN ISOLATION ROOMS

Momentum's most recently completed project was the redesign of two isolation rooms in Kingston Hospital’s Sunshine Ward. This was once again with the help of local artist Amanda Leggatt. Children can now go on an imaginary African Safari to see lions, tigers, giraffes and leopards or visit an imaginary seaside with a Ferris Wheel and candyfloss.

Amanda Leggatt hopes that the images she painted will help the children who are being treated to escape from the not-so-fun medical parts of their day. She said: "For the 'Out of Africa Room' I chose a sunny African theme as it is based within 'Sunshine Ward' and being one of the larger rooms I could imitate the vast desert plains. The main features are the animals and I have included parent and baby animals to appeal to families within the room. I try to always give my animals friendly faces as this is what children relate to the most. There is a proud Lion who we have named Nikolai after one of the children, and two cheeky lemurs who are painted full size."

"The 'Seaside Room' was a more challenging project, as the room was very small. I decided the seaside would be my theme as the seascape would give the room a sense of space beyond the walls. Also the soft pastel colours associated with the seaside helps the walls to be less imposing. I added sandcastles to give detail to the sand and feel they represent fun days at the beach. Also we have hiding crabs that the children can find and count and a beach hut framing the bed. As the room was funded by the American Women of Surrey, I added an American flag to one of the castles as a symbol of appreciation from Momentum."

Maggie Clancy, Head of Paediatric Nursing at Kingston Hospital said: "The beautiful new rooms will definitely help lift the spirits of children during their visits. Already I have seen so many of their faces light up when they see our new bright and colourful murals." The isolation rooms are used by children who are vulnerable to infection, such as children with cancer. Children can stay in the rooms for as long as two weeks, so it is important that the room is a welcoming and warm environment.

TROTT – LAND'S END TO JOHN O'GROATS!

In July, five students from Kingston Grammar School: Tudor Morris, Robbie Montgomery, Oli Clements, Tarn Huxford, Tom Beaumont embarked upon the cycle of their lives - from Land's End to John O'Groats – and raised over £10,000 for Momentum. Tudor Morris has a particular reason for supporting our charity and he writes:

"When I was 13 years old I was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. I had Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had spread to clusters around my heart, lungs and neck.

'The big C' had always been a word that scared me - my late mother sadly passed away when I was 6 years old, and knowing that, when I had it, reminded me of its potency - not just to individuals, but to families.

Over the next two years I underwent surgery to remove the tumours on my neck and intensive chemotherapy course for those in my chest.

I moved to and fro between the Royal Marsden and Kingston Hospital, where Momentum had only really just started.

One of the worst things was being in containment - when your immune system is so low that you could be put at risk from a minor infection and you are essentially put in a sanitised room until your bloods improve. You can be in there for weeks on end without really being able to leave one room, or the relative 'infection safe' zone safety of the hospital ward. Of course, family and friends are allowed to visit, but only if they aren't ill themselves.

Momentum were able to provide me with all sorts of entertainment when I was at Kingston - I could request pretty much anything (within reason, of course) and spent hours watching Simpsons DVDs and reading books when I wasn't sleeping. or doing schoolwork (!)

That was around five years ago now, and luckily I am now cancer free, having beaten the disease that my mother sadly succumbed to all those years ago. Momentum has changed vastly since then - when I was at Kingston, it was a very small charity, but with generous donations from the public it has grown - and they are able to give much more help to families with children affected by cancer.

Naturally, I wanted to give something back to Momentum - for what they did for me, and the massive amount of support that they continue to give today."

If you would still like to donate to this incredible team effort, visit Team TROTT's Just Giving site.

NOT THE LONDON TO BRIGHTON BIKE RIDE!

Toby Staton-Bevan and Leon Bateson, both Year 9 pupils at Ibstock Place School, decided NOT to take place in the London to Brighton bike ride this year, as they were in the middle of exams. However, the intrepid cyclists followed the same route on Monday 5th July and completed their journey in 6 hours 15 minutes. Well done to them and many thanks to Toby's dad, Bob, who drove their support vehicle. Donations are still coming in via Virgin Money Giving.

THE ENIGMA CHALLENGE

On the 21st April, Kingston upon Thames based solicitors, Carter Bells www.carterbells.co.uk held the Enigma Challenge, a night of fun-filled quizzes and games, artfully designed to bring local companies and organisations together! The evening raised a fantastic £3,100 for Momentum, with £1,500 of the total amount going immediately to sponsor our TROTT boys (see our Fundraising page). We want to say a special thank you to Carter Bells for organising the night in aid of Momentum and a huge thank you to John Lewis www.johnlewis.co.uk for providing the venue, food and many prizes on the night.

John Lewis have supported Momentum in a number of ways over the last six years, since our inception as a local charity. This is part of a long term commitment of ongoing support - as a business John Lewis helps the communities where they trade – and we are extremely grateful to them.

CHESSINGTON BOWLS CLUB MATCH

On Sunday 13th June, players from several local bowls clubs, joined in a day of fundraising for Momentum at Chessington Bowls Club, organised by the lady members there. Approximately 100 guests bought raffle and tombola tickets, home-made cakes and played a number of games.

Committee members and organisers for the day were Pam Hancock, Pat Mew, Renee Wickens, Rose Hollis, Lady Captain - Iris Cornwell and Treasurer - Andrew Stafford. They raised a fabulous £1,350! Many thanks for all their hard work.

MOMENTUM CELEBRITY GOLF DAY

Friday 25th June dawned glorious – perfect conditions for our Celebrity Golf Day at Richmond Golf Club. Unfortunately, Momentum Patron Phil Glenister was unable to attend, due to filming commitments in Majorca, but Ian Ashpitel from the Stage Golfing Society was there to deputise and see that the day ran smoothly. After registration, each team member was given the opportunity to buy two ‘Mulligan’ balloons, to release in lieu of a bad shot. At £10 each, most players thought that they were worth every penny!

The golf course was looking beautiful and 16 of the 18 holes were sponsored for the day by: The Railway Arms which is the ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Ashes to Ashes’ fan club forum, Luigi’s the ‘Ashes to Ashes’ fan club, FIS Global, Marriott St. Pierre, Quail, American Golf ,OJO Images, The Canbury Arms, Carter Bells, The Golden Golf Tour,Sunseeker Charters ,Warren House , Taylor’s FineWine and The Ashburton Cookery School.

16 teams entered the competitor this year, played to Stableford Rules and with prizes for First, Second and Third places sponsored by American Golf www.americangolf.co.uk, with the addition of an organic cotton shirt for each prize winner sponsored by Quail www.quailbymail.co.uk.

Following an idyllic 18 holes on the beautiful Richmond course, the players returned to the clubhouse for Pimms on the terrace, followed by a three course carvery lunch and entertainment from ‘The Four Balls’ of the Stage Golfing Society.

After a beautiful speech from Katie Johns, whose sister Hannah sadly died from cancer four months previously, we held a fundraising auction and raffle. Prizes were kindly donated by Marriott St. Pierre Golf Course, Sunseeker Charters, The Ashburton Cookery School, Golden Golf Tour, Warren House, Mia Wood, Fuller’s Brewery, Taylor’s Fine Wine and Phil Glenister.

Finally winners were announced – First Place Unisys, Second place FIS Global and Third place 4 x 4.

Momentum would like to thank Richmond Golf Club, particularly General Manager, John Maguire and House Manager, John Coles, for letting us use the wonderful club and all its facilities. Most importantly, they have put a date in their diary for us next year, so please save the date now! It is:

FRIDAY 17TH JUNE. Please contact natalie@moment-um.org to book a team.

Most importantly of all, the golf day raised £5, 893.79! This money will be put towards one of our new projects, which is buy a second Momentum Holiday home, so that we can pay for families who have children with cancer and life-limiting conditions, to have much need respite breaks at our expense. Our current holiday home is fully booked and has been hugely enjoyed by many families to date, but Momentum is growing and we anticipate the demand increasing rapidly.

SWING TIME IN SPRING TIME

On Sunday 2nd May Momentum held a fundraising black-tie dinner event for 300 guests, at Holy Cross Prep School in George Road Kingston. Entertainment was provided by the fabulous 18-piece band swing band, ‘Any Swing Goes’. The band is fronted by Glenn Dunn and was joined by guest singers David Erik, Amy Hill, Kim Ismay (who is also a Patron of Momentum), Kieran Jae and Kelly Rainford. The MC for the evening was Simon Slater, who also did magnificent work chairing the auction, which raised over £11,000.

The whole evening was masterminded by Momentum Trustee, Steven Humphrey McDermott, whose ‘day job’ is as the Lighting Director for the West End hit show MAMMA MIA! Steven is always incredibly creative and ambitious with his ideas and they certainly pay off. A fantastic evening was had by all our guests.

The total amount raised by ‘Swing Time in Spring Time’ was £18,956.93. This magnificent amount will be used to continue Momentum’s support for children in Surrey and South West London who have cancer and life-limiting conditions. It will also be put towards ongoing projects in the Paediatric Department at Kingston Hospital and new projects in St. George’s Hospital in Tooting.

MAY MERRIE BALLOON RACE

On Monday 3rd May, or May Day, Kingston town centre celebrated the 25th anniversary of the famous ‘May Merrie’. This year’s celebration it was even bigger and better than the previous year.

Momentum was honoured to have been asked by Kingston First to host the Big Balloon Release which was announced by the Mayor of Kingston upon Thames, Councillor Ian McDonald at 16:15pm in the Market Place. With 1,500 balloons all taking flight at once into the sky above the town centre, it truly was a spectacular sight!

With the help of all our volunteers and supporters, we raised about £1,500 from the event and would like to thank Kingston First for all their support. Also thanks to everyone who helped to sell the balloon tags and finally we would like to give a special thank you to all our volunteers who came down and helped out on the day - we couldn’t have done it without you!

The Winners of the Momentum Balloon Race 2010 were:

VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON
The 2010 London Marathon was a huge success once again and we want to give a special thank you to everyone that has supported Momentum this year, whether as sponsors for the wonderful Marathon runners or in actually running 26.2 miles in aid of Momentum. We can’t thank you enough for your support!

We have been urging our supporters to enter the 2011 ballot with the offer of Momentum funding your entry fee. This will be to anyone that manages to snag a spot and chooses to run for Momentum! Unfortunately the online ballot for the 2011 Virgin London Marathon is now closed but if you already entered for a space to run, you should hear back in early October as to whether you were successful or not.

We are always very keen to get involved with the Marathon, so if you do manage to grab a spot then please consider us and help to support our local hospitals and children!

HAVE FUN FUNDRAISING IN 2010

There are lots of ways to raise funds for charity, by challenging yourself to try the things you have always dreamed of and then getting your friends and family to sponsor you. If you would like to have a go at skydiving, taking a trek abroad or even climbing a mountain, please contact us. We can give you lots of ideas on how to fundraise for MOMENTUM and can put you in touch with companies who can give you all the advice you need and can even make the necessary arrangements for you.

To Find out more, please speak to Kristie Higgens in the Momentum Office on 020 8974 5931 or email Kristie@moment-um.org

HANNAH JOHNS

Over the last two years Momentum had the pleasure of working with a wonderful teenager called Hannah Johns, who sadly passed away on Thursday 25th February. Hannah became quite famous at Momentum fundraising events for her wonderful talks and she also presented the dvd about Momentum, just like a professional!

Bianca Effemey said: 'Hannah was a vibrant, warm and inspirational young woman. Our charity was proud to support her through her difficult illness ,which she dealt with incredibly courageously. Whatever we were able to do for Hannah, she gave us all so much in return. We miss her enormously, but her spirit lives on through her two wonderful younger sisters, Katie and Rachel.'

KINGSTON HOSPITAL

Our latest project in the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital is a'sensory room', in which children who are unable to see or hear, or have a learning disability, can use sensory equipment in a peaceful, relaxing environment. In order to make best use of space, this room will also have a dual purpose as a 'quiet room', where medical staff can have confidential talks to patients and where bereaved parents, or parents of very sick children, can have private time alone.

Our sensory room has been designed by Amanda Leggatt, an artist who works on the Harry Potter films.

Amanda also creates murals and paintings for children's bedrooms and playrooms. She says: 'My aim is to provide unique and uplifting environments for children and to encourage them to use their imaginations!' www.muraltales.com

ST GEORGE'S HOSPITAL, TOOTING

We have recently begun fundraising for the Paediatric Department of St George’s Hospital in Tooting. Our first project will be the Momentum Children’s Garden, similar to the one we opened at Kingston Hospital in October 2007. The garden will be located close to the Lanesborough Wing in the hospital and will be for the use of all children attending the hospital, as well as oncology patients. The garden will incorporate areas for play, rest, animals and water and it will have an educational element. It is hoped that construction will begin later this year.

MOMENTUM SWING BAND POSTER COMPETITION

Sixth form students from Kingston College, recently ran a competition to design a poster for our Swing Band event. The standard of design was very high and it was extremely difficult to choose a winner. However, after much deliberation, the Momentum could not resist this fabulous poster, with hand drawn characters, by Catherine Wiltshire. She will receive a £50 prize, donated by Sally Young.

SUPERHERO FUNDRAISING RUN

This could be your chance to be a Superhero and raise money for Momentum at the same time! On Sunday 13th June, there will be a 5K charity run in Greenwich Park, South East London.

All runners will be given a free Superhero costume.

To register or to receive a free information pack, please call the Momentum office on 020 8974 5931 or register online visit www.doitforcharity.com

ORLA BORLA!

This is the story of a remarkable little girl and her parents who are raising money for Momentum in lieu of gifts for their wedding. A huge thank you to them and all the friends and family for such a fantastic contribution. We wish them every happiness for the future.

If you'd like to donate to Katie and Dinesh, please visit their Virgin Money Giving page uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/dandk

Orla was born on 2nd Dec 2008 at a healthy 8lbs, after a fairly horrific 24 hours of labour. But she was so perfect and gorgeous and seemed fine, so the pain was quickly forgotten. However, we had no idea what a terrible year lay ahead of us.

I struggled to feed Orla from day one, she didn't seem to feed for long, would fight against latching on and just cried and cried and hardly slept. She got her nickname Orla Borla very early on as she just 'balled' all the time. When we got her weighed after the first 3 weeks she had lost over a pound in weight and had started being sick at lot. We ended up in A&E just after New Year's Eve as she was taking such little milk and being sick constantly. This was our first stay on Sunshine Ward at Kingston Hospital and she was closely monitored, weighed everyday and diagnosed with severe reflux and started on various meds.

She didn't improve and after 2 weeks and more weight loss she had an NG tube inserted and we went home. The next 8 months were a total blur of sleeplessness, worry about lack of weight gain, crying (all of us) trying to get as much milk down her as possible and puking. Orla puked for Britain - sometimes up to 40 times a day, all over the carpet, sofa, the walls, the car, our bed, into the fruit and veg in waitrose - it was horrific and I could hardly keep on top of the washing.

We spent a lot of time at Kingston hospital having various tests, xrays, MRI scans, genetic blood tests, PH probes and other investigations often staying for up to 10 days at a time when she was really ill. The nurses, doctors, dieticians, PONT team and feeding specialists at Kingston were amazing and became my total lifeline in times of total despair and worry. I spent a lot of time in the parents room heating up yet another microwave meal and staring out of the window thinking "why me?".

Orla is now 15 months old and you can see from the 2 pictures that she is a different baby. She has since been diagnosed with a gastric condition called Eosinophillic Duodenitis and is on various anti-histamine medication and has recently had a gastrostomy at GOSH. She is still sick about twice a day but is now gaining weight and walking. She still won't eat anything but with the help of the dieticians and feeding specialist we will get there one day.

She's now a delightful little girl who is extremely vocal and loves nothing better than to pull daddies nose and empty out the cupboards like any other baby. We still have a long way to go but I am now back at work and sometimes she even sleeps through the night!

I am sure that there will still be many more visits and appointments at Kingston Hospital and it's good to know that we are in such good hands.

Dinesh and I are getting married on the 20th March and wanted to raise money for Momentum to help other families. It's a frightening experience to have to spend so much time in hospital with a new baby and anything that can be done to make it vaguely pleasant is a good thing.

BIG KISSES TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS ON VALENTINE'S DAY!

The day before Valentine's Day, Ann Brown and a group of volunteers, set up a stand in Eden Walk Kingston and started the huge task of inflating 2,000 heart shaped balloons. Romantically- inclined shoppers were then offered these, in return for a donation to Momentum! It was a very cold day, but we like to think that a bit of warmth and romance was generated by our wonderful volunteers on behalf of our charity. Many thanks to Ann for organizing the event and to Eden Walk Shopping Centre for giving us the 'pitch'.

NICOLE'S SKYDIVE

A huge congratulations to Nicole Field, a pupil at Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston upon Thames. In December she successfully completed a skydive, to raise funds for Momentum, in honour of her best friend Hannah Johns.

Here's how it went:

"After having my skydive postponed originally, I finally got to complete it on Sunday 20th December, at Headcorn Parachute Club. It was an absolutely amazing experience with breathtaking views, made even better by the snow. I jumped out of the plane at 120,000 feet and the temperature was minus twenty four degrees! In total I raised over £3,000 for this incredible charity. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me!"

BIG YELLOW THANKS

A huge thank you to 'Big Yellow Self Storage' in Kingston for their generosity in providing two self storage units for Momentum.

MOMENTUM HELPS PAEDIATRIC TEACHING PROGRAMME

Momentum recently agreed to help fund the NHS teaching programme in the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital. We will be doing this by supplying book tokens as an honorarium for external speakers, this is something the NHS have always funded but are now struggling to meet the cost, so Momentum have agreed to pay for six months.

GALA OPERA EVENING

On Sunday 1st November we staged our fifth Gala Opera evening at the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington.

A wonderful programme was devised by Musical Director Stephen Harris and the event was put together with the expert help of Christine Thompson and Rosa Mannion.

Our soloists this year were Sophie Bevan, (Soprano), Catherine Wyn-Davies (Mezzo-Soprano) and William Dazeley (Baritone). The Three Other Tenors from Welsh National Opera, Philip Lloyd Holtam, Michael Clifton-Thompson and Howard Kirk, were also in great voice and kindly stepped in to sing the parts of the tenor Jonathan Stoughton, who unfortunately was taken sick and was unable to take part in the evening’s performance.

The wonderful Belladonna group, Lyn Cook, Judith Douglas and Jane Powell sang in their own trio and were also part of the chorus, which comprised members of top opera companies such as ENO and WNO.

The singers for this special evening were accompanied by the inexhaustible Russell Moreton on piano! Many, many thanks to everyone involved, who generously gave their time, free of charge to support Momentum. The atmosphere as the audience left the beautiful Gothic church was truly charged. A great evening was enjoyed by all.

If you missed this year’s opera, put a date in your diary for 2010, when we will be staging another opera evening on Sunday 3rd October.

RAILWAY ARMS PUB QUIZ RAISES £1,300

On Saturday 17 October, members of 'Ashes To Ashes' and 'Life On Mars' fan site, 'The Railway Arms', held their annual meet-up in London. 'The Railway Arms' (so named after the pub where Gene Hunt and his CID team used to drink in Sam Tyler's Manchester) is the largest and longest running Mars/Ashes fan forum on the web with many thousands of members worldwide.

The annual get together gives members from all over the world the opportunity to meet up in person, chat about both shows, test their knowledge in a special pub quiz and take part in a charity raffle and auction. We were particularly delighted this year that the 'Ashes To Ashes' cast took time out from their hectic filming schedule to record a special message for our event.

From its launch in March 2006 'The Railway Arms'
(www.railwayarms.com) has received fantastic support from the cast, crew and writers of both shows and this year we wanted to thank them for their on-going commitment by donating all monies raised from the raffle and auction to the principal cast's nominated charities. We are thus delighted that we are able to help Momentum and its patron Phil Glenister by donating £1,300 of the total raised on the night to such an important and worthwhile charity.

HANNAH’S BEDROOM MAKEOVER

Momentum recently organized a fantastic bedroom makeover for 17 year old Hannah Johns. This was designed and installed by the wonderful designer Amanda Leggatt, whose day job is working on the Harry Potter films!

These are the letters which Momentum received from Hannah and her sister Katie (whom she shares the bedroom with). Momentum would particularly like to thank the people involved with our Charity Golf Day earlier this year, the proceeds from which went towards Hannah’s bedroom makeover.

Dear Momentum,

Thank you so much for the most incredible bedroom makeover. Coming home from hospital to such a beautiful room was magical, I can't help but smile every time I walk into the room. My room is now peaceful and tranquil and I love being able to relax in there with all the fairy lights glimmering. Every detail has been thought of, making the room have an aura of perfection. The dressing table and chairs are ideal and fit with the room beautifully. I love just sitting at the dressing table in the evenings and becoming completely absorbed by the lights around the mirror and all the pretty extras that give the room that "wow"! The wardrobes are gorgeous and I find having so much space wonderful. Being able to store all my clutter is fabulous and makes the room so much more grown up. The bedside table is much better than before and the orchid on the tray was a lovely touch. All the extra bits and pieces are just amazing and I am busy filling my photo holder with bits and bobs. The paint colour is gorgeous and the whole room has been painted to perfection. The carpet is just what I wanted, soft and neutral. I couldn't be happier with how stunning the room looks and I'm loving all the wonderful comments I am getting from everyone, one friend even described it as "like a palace".

You have given me my dream bedroom and made me incredibly happy, I can't stop beaming!

Lots of love Hannah xxx

Dear Momentum,

I will never forget the feeling of absolute delight when I walked into our new bedroom, because I still feel it every day. Thank you so so so much. It is difficult to believe that it is the same room. everything in the room is more than I ever could have hoped for. It is so beautiful and has become a calming place to sit and relax. The colours are so tranquil, and the lights are so pretty and mesmerising.

I have always wanted a pretty white room, and now I have the most amazing pretty white room ever - I'm never going to move out! The wardrobes are gorgeous and the whole room oozes chicness. I particularly loved watching everyone carry them upstairs!! It is especially amazing to have furniture from the actual Harry Potter set in our bedroom and the fact that it works so well makes it like a dream. The dressing table is super with it's beautiful upholstered chairs, the pretty pink vase with the huge flowers and lights in is so gorgeous and so many people have commented on how it is such a good idea. Your attention to detail is absolutely fantastic and I particularly love the orchid and all the beautiful lights. The beanbags are so comfy, and I can't understand how I've ever lived without them! All the pretty pink boxes are perfect for putting 'bits' in, so now it is clutter free and an amazing room. The carpet is just what I wanted and so soft.

I cannot begin to thank you enough so thank you, thank you, thank you.

Loads and loads of love
Katie Xx

MAYOR OF HOUNSLOW

We are delighted to announce that Momentum have been chosen as one of the charities of the year (2009/10) to be supported by the Mayor of Hounslow, Councillor Paul Lynch.

MORE MARVELLOUS MOMENTUM MAGIC

On Saturday 3rd October we held a Magic Show at Kingston Grammar School Theatre to commemorate our 5th anniversary and also to mark the National Day of Magic 2009. Impresario Richard Leigh was the mastermind behind the show and he assembled a fine cast of top magicians to thrill our family audience.

The line-up included comedy juggler and escapologist, Humphrey James, illusionist Oliver Tabor, mind-reader Kieron Kirkland, close-up magicians Paul Brown and David Major, unique and whacky bell-ringer Benson and crazy Fakir Darren and the vanishing monkey who performed with Richard Leigh himself.

Many of our Momentum families were able to join in the fun and the evening was a huge success. Our thanks go to Richard Leigh who donates his time and hard work completely free of charge to Momentum.

MILL FEST 2009

A HUGE THANK YOU from Nicola Preston, organiser of Millfest 2009, to all the wonderful people who helped out or came along to enjoy the fun at their Street Party on 5th September. The weather was kind on the day and revelers enjoyed Bands to Bric a Brac, Burgers to Beer, Face painting to Ferrari rides, Flowers, Sweets, Cakes and Tarot Cards. Best of all, the Millfest street party generated £1,950 for Momentum, so a huge thank you to them from all of us.

HANNAH AT THE ZOO

Hannah Johns has been out and about again! This time she went on a visit to London Zoo to fulfil a lifetime ambition to handle a meercat.

Hannah wrote us the following report about her visit: “As Momentum know, I adore meerkats, so I was ecstatic when they organised a trip to London Zoo for me, so I could meet two baby meerkats. They were adorable and so soft. It was a dream come true having the meerkats scamper all over me, and being able to hold and cuddle them. I loved it. That however was just the start of my day.

I was taken into the nocturnal room, where I was introduced to a rare species called a kinkajou. It was beautiful and curled up on me just like a baby. I was then privileged enough to feed the giraffes! It was amazing being up close to such huge and elegant creatures and I was astounded by the force at which they stripped the branches of leaves, almost lifting me off my feet. It was an incredible experience. After that I fed some tiny golden tamarin monkeys. They were equally as gorgeous and snatched the food out of your hand faster than you could blink. It was really funny watching them spit out the grape skins!

My favourite part of the day, was feeding the ring-tailed lemurs, and they have become my new favourite animal. At one stage I had one lemur on my shoulder and another climbing up my leg. They were so gentle and caring, actually eating the food off the palm of your hand. It is something I will never forget.

My VIP visit to London Zoo was a most amazing day and I can't believe how lucky I was, meeting such beautiful animals. Thank you Momentum - it was fantastic!”

YOUNG CLIMBERS SCALE SCAFELL PIKE

On Wednesday 15th July, four young climbers from Ibstock Place School in Roehampton, completed the 3,206 ft climb of Scafell Pike in the Lake District, which is the highest Mountain in England. Sasha Gibbins, Andrew Fleming, Oliver Itkin and Sean Ritchie were led by David Killick, who is a qualified mountain climber.

Sasha Gibbins said: “On the day of the climb, the weather was fine, although we had a light shower part of the way up the mountain. We completed the climb in 2 hours and 10 minutes, which David Killick said was very respectable for 14/15 years olds. We ate our lunch at the summit with an amazing view. It was tough going down, but we all felt jubilant!

Sasha, Andrew, Oliver and Sean have raised an incredible £1,980 for Momentum via their webpage on Just Giving www.justgiving.com/scafellclimbers

WONDERFUL NEWS FROM WIMBLEDON

Very many thanks from us to Helen Preston and the ladies who make up the Wimbledon Independent Fundraisers. They have raised over £4,000 for Momentum this year with their bridge lunches and teas.

MOMENTUM GOLF DAY RAISES £7,000

On Friday 19th June, Momentum held a fundraising Celebrity Golf Day at the beautiful Richmond Golf Club in Surrey. This event was organized on our behalf by actor Ian Ashpitel and hosted by our Patron Phil Glenister (‘Life on Mars’, ‘Ashes to Ashes’). 18 teams took part and some of the other celebrities who joined us for the day included Sir Tom Courtenay, Jason Isaacs and Peter Fleming.

Each team of four players were allowed to buy two ‘Mulligans’ per player, at £10 apiece, to use in lieu of any bad shots! The players all met up by the steps of the Clubhouse for their team photographs, taken by Chris Ryan. Then it was off for a challenging round, played to Stapleford rules.

The winning team was ‘OJO Images’ headed up by Chris Ryan with Robin Harvey and David Copeman as guests and Sir Tom Courtenay as their celebrity. They were each presented with a putter in an awards ceremony after lunch. Prizes for the event were sponsored by American Golf’s Kingston upon Thames branch.

Our thanks to Richmond Golf Club for all their help in hosting this event. Thanks also to Andy Butcher of the Hardelot Golf Club in Northern France for sponsoring a ‘Nearest the pin’ competition and to Stuart Jupp and Will Hewitt for donating four-ball golf days at Celtic Manor Golf Club for our auction.

The Momentum Celebrity Golf Day raised over £7,000 which will put towards our latest project in the Paediatric Department at Kingston Hospital, which is to provide a ‘quiet room’ where medical staff can have confidential talks to patients and where bereaved parents, or parents of very sick children, can have private time alone. In order to make the best use of space, this room will also have a dual purpose as a ‘sensory room’ so that children who are unable to see or hear, or have a learning disability, can use sensory equipment in a peaceful, relaxing environment. We have already briefed Amanda Leggatt, an artist who works on the Harry Potter films, to start working on designs for the room.

We have a date in the diary for our Celebrity Golf Day next year, which is Friday 25th June. Please contact us if you would like to book a team slot (020 8974 5931).

MAMMA MIA!

On Monday 15th June, Momentum organized for Hannah Johns to fulfill a special wish. She and her family went on an outing to the West End to see Mamma Mia! – by fire engine! Here’s a photo of Hannah in her fireman’s helmet on her way to the show.

NEWMAN’S OWN DONATION

You may have heard of the Newman’s Own Foundation, which was set up by the late actor Paul Newman to benefit charities worldwide. What started as something of a joke in the basement of his home, turned into a highly-respected, multi-million dollar a year, food company. And true to form, he shared this good fortune by donating all the profits and royalties he earned to thousands of charities around the world, a total which now exceeds US$250 million.

While his philanthropic interests and donations were wide-ranging, he was especially committed to the thousands of children with life-threatening conditions served by the Hole in the Wall Camps, which he helped start over 20 years ago. Today, there are 11 Camps around the world, with additional programs in Africa and Vietnam. Through the Camps, well over 135,000 children have had the chance to experience what childhood was meant to be.

This year Momentum was selected by Newman’s Own to receive a donation and on 28th May, Momentum Trustee Fiona Loveless and PR and Events Manager, Natalie Harvey, attended a reception at No. 1 Aldwych hotel to receive an extremely generous cheque for $20,000.

Momentum would like to thank the Newman’s Own Foundation for their support, which will benefit children with cancer and life limiting conditions in Surrey.

SUPPORT FROM OUR OVERSEAS FRIENDS – THE AMERICAN LADIES OF SURREY

A huge 'thank-you' to all The American Ladies of Surrey who have raised £8,000 for Momentum this year. The money will be spent on two different projects: The "Sleepover" project which presents each new Momentum patient with a "Sleepover" bag and the Sensory Room/Education Area project which will see the provision of special sensory equipment for the Quiet Room and the Education Area in the paediatric department at Kingston hospital. Speaking on behalf of AWS, Karen Barnes, Chair of the Philanthropic Committee, says: "We are delighted to be able to help such a worthwhile cause and to be welcomed into the community where we can help make a difference to the Momentum children and their families". With all their loyal support, the lovely ladies of the AWS certainly have made a difference!

We are also delighted to announce that for the second year running Momentum has been nominated as one of three recipients for the annual charity slate for 2010 too!

CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB'S 'UNDER 21' TEAM VISIT TO SEE MOMENTUM'S WORK

There were smiles all round in Dolphin and Sunshine wards at the Paediatric unit of Kingston hospital when the Chelsea Under 21 Youth team visited recently. An array of blue was seen on the backs of the players and some young supporters who are currently receiving treatment at hospital. Led by Gerry Harvey, Chelsea’s Under 21’s Education Officer, the players spent time with the young supporters and patients chatting about Chelsea and their hopes to become the next Premiership players.

The enthusiastic young audience welcomed the players wholeheartedly and were firing on all cylinders with a wealth of questions about their beloved team!

TIFFIN GIRLS SCHOOL TREK FOR MOMENTUM

Over 500 pupils and members of staff from Tiffin Girls’ School in Kingston upon Thames, will be trekking round an 8 mile course in Richmond Park on 26 June, to raise money for their house charities, one of which is Momentum. We wish them luck.

SPECTACULAR SUCCESS

On Sunday 3rd May, 230 guests attended our 5th anniversary fundraising event at the Café de Paris in London's Piccadilly. And what a night it was! The guests were welcomed with a specially created Momentum cocktail and then ushered into the stunning two-tiered dining room to be seated for a three-course dinner and show. 'Spectacular, Spectacular' was written and directed for this one-off event by Dominic Symonds and produced by our Trustee, Humphrey McDermott, all on behalf of Momentum.

Everyone felt as though they had been transported back in time to the heyday of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, as the show (inspired by the Baz Luhrmann movie), began. The wonderful cast included David Erik, Amy Hill, Michael Simkins, Charlie Bull, Kieran Jae and our Patron, Kim Ismay. Everybody was on fantastic form and they all sounded incredible. The audience could not believe their eyes as the show unfolded and every corner of the Café de Paris came alive in a riot of colour.

After the main course and a film about the charity made by the Media Trust, auctioneer Simon Osborne had the audience in his hands, with 10 fantastic lots up for grabs. Our audience were extremely generous and the auction raised over £12,000.

Then came the final, incredible, act of the show and the cast and orchestra were applauded to the rafters with a standing ovation.

Momentum would like to say a special thank you to Humphrey McDermott and all of the 72 people involved in this amazing production. Their hard work, professionalism enthusiasm and generosity are hugely appreciated and we cannot imagine that our 5th anniversary could have been marked in any more fabulous way than this.

Finally, we would also like to thank our sponsors for 'Spectacular, Spectacular' who were Waitrose, Coutts Bank and The Taylor Family Foundation.

We are delighted to announce that the absolutely spectacular figure raised by this fundraising evening was over £42,000 – our biggest event total to date!

JO BRAND RAISES THE ROOF AT THE ROSE

On Sunday 22nd March, the inimitable Jo Brand performed her one-woman show at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, on behalf of Momentum.  The evening was a sell-out and a huge success.  Members of the audience said that they hadn’t laughed so much in ages and it was lovely to see many of Kingston Hospital’s lovely Paediatric nursing staff having such a good night out.

A huge thank you from Momentum to Jo Brand, for raising over £13,000 on our behalf that night.

STAINED GLASS WINDOW

Simone Kay (www.stainedglass-artists.co.uk) is currently working with some of her students on a beautiful stained glass panel for the Dolphin Ward in the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital.

Momentum are paying for the materials for this project but Simone and her students are creating the panel free of charge.  Hopefully this will be finished and installed by this summer.

Here are some of Simone’s students with their handiwork. 

DENTSPLY QUIZ NIGHT

Teresa Parker of Dentsply recently organised a quiz night with 55 members of staff.  They had a fun-filled evening which was also very profitable, as they raised £850 for Momentum.  Many thanks to them

VALENTINE’S SUCCESS

On Friday 13th and Saturday 14th February, the Bentall Centre in Kingston upon Thames (www.thebentallcentre-shopping.com) organised a fundraising Valentine’s event on behalf of Momentum.  Shoppers were offered heart-shaped balloons in return for a small donation to our charity.  With Valentine’s Day this year actually falling on a Saturday, the town was bursting with people and romance was obviously on their minds!

Ali Trigg and Jacqui Coppellotti organised the Friday event and Ann Brown, the Saturday. Many thanks to them and all our fantastic volunteers, who pumped up and handed out literally thousands of balloons.  The Kingston branch of Snappy Snaps  (www.snappysnaps.kingston.co.uk) were also on hand to take free photos of romantic shoppers with our ‘living statues’ of cupid.

A big thank you also to Ian and Jan Moor who collected and counted up every last penny of the donations.  We are delighted to say that the grand total was a magnificent £4,973.97!  This will put towards Momentum’s ongoing projects in the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital.

HOLLY AND KIERAN TAKE A DREAMFLIGHT

Last Autumn, Holly and Kieran, two children who have been closely connected with Momentum, were selected to take a magical trip to Florida.  This was organised by Dreamflight (www.dreamflight.org) a charity whose purpose is to send seriously ill children on the holiday of a lifetime.

Here are some pictures of Holly meeting Mickey Mouse and Kieran swimming with a dolphin.  This was a trip that neither of them will ever forget. 

"Last summer, one day after school, Mummy took me up to the hospital where I found out that I was going on Dreamflight. Rosie and Bianca gave me and  Kieran a box with clues, to try and guess where we were going. When I found out I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. The next day when I was telling all my friends that I was going to Disneyland for 10 days! They were very jealous. They kept on saying: “You are so lucky” and I would say: “ I know!”. On our first day we went to the Magic Kingdom where my favourite ride was Space Mountain. The next day we went to Universal Studios where my favourite rides were The Revenge of the Mummy , Shrek in 4-D, (that was cool) and Jaws. When we got back to the hotel we had a swim in the swimming pool which was very warm. The next day I had breakfast with all my new friends and then we went to Sea World. It had two rides one called The Kraken which was cool and one called Journey to Atlantis which I was too scared to go on! We watched some animal shows then went back to the hotel as we had a Hawaiian night with Hawaiian food, Hawaiian dancers and dressing up clothes for us to wear. Every day for 10 days we went somewhere different and had a brilliant time. Dreamflight is one of the best holidays I have ever had. My dream came true when I swam with dolphins. It was also fun not having any parents with us and I made lots of new friends. With thanks to Ian and Jan and Momentum and Dreamflight for making my dreams come true."

(Holly, age 10)


"When I found out that I was going to Florida I couldn’t put it into words how excited I was. I remember it seeming ages away when I was told back in July, but the time to arrive at Heathrow came very quickly. The party at the hotel the night before we left for Florida was amazing with many celebrities there, including my favourite characters from The Bill. Walking toward the huge 747 plane with Dreamflight painted on the side and 100s of people cheering you off, with the Welsh Royal Guards was incredible.
Stepping off the plane to see many people welcoming us it was really exciting especially the Police in the hot sun.  Over the next few days we went to many different theme parks and I had the time of my life by going on all the roller coasters and rides. My favourite day was Discovery Cove where I swam with dolphins and other tropical fish which was the best experience of my life. I will always remember Dreamflight 2008 and never forget the friends I have made."

(Kieran, age 14)