NEWS

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

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!"

SANTA RUN

Thank you to everyone who took part in the 5k Santa Run, in Greenwich Park on the 6th December. It was a huge success with over 40 Santas running for Momentum and a total of 2,000 running for other charities. An incredible sight to see so many red Santa suits and all moving at such speed! We have had nothing but positive feedback from our runners about how much fun they had and we are hoping to collect over £4,000 from the event. All in all, a very fit start to the festive season!

SANTA'S GROTTO

On Saturday 12th December, Santa visited the Momentum Children’s Garden at Kingston Hospital, to meet the children, find out about their Christmas lists and to give them some special presents. Our Santa’s Grotto was designed by a very creative elf called Amanda Leggatt and these lovely photos were taken by her sister Hannah Leggatt. (Thank you also to Santa’s alter ego, Momentum Trustee, Ian Ashpitel.)

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.

MAGICAL HALLOWE’EN FOR MOMENTUM CHILDREN

This Hallowe'en, several children who have been treated for cancer in the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital, were treated to a special night out at Chessington World of Adventures. These children are all either progressing well with their treatment or have finished treatment, so they were definitely in a mood to celebrate with their families.

The spooky night out was organised for the children by Steve Edwards, who works for OSL, the company which organises the patient transport for Kingston hospital. He works with sick children every day and was keen to bring a bit of magic into their lives. He approached Bianca Effemey, Chair of Trustees for Momentum and asked whether some of their children would be interested in a special outing. Bianca knew that when children are at a critical stage in their treatment, these sort of outings are exactly what they have to miss. She said: "It is fantastic to see their excitement once they are feeling better and can enjoy special treats and do all the active things that children love."

Together, OSL and Momentum applied for tickets from Merlin's Magic Wand, the group which runs Chessington World of adventures. Once they had been allotted the tickets, Momentum opened an invitation to all their children and families and within 20 minutes, all the spots had been filled.

Many thanks to Merlin's Magic Wand and of course to OSL and Steve Edwards on behalf of the families who had a magical night out.

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.

MOMENTUM CHRISTMAS CARDS

This year, Momentum invited the children of families whom we support, to enter a Christmas card competition. We asked the children to design a card and then our Patron, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, chose her six favourites. These winning designs were made into cards for Momentum to sell and the winners also received a £20 token to spend in WH Smith.

Well done to Hannah Johns, Katie Johns, Rachel Johns, Nikolai Gibbins, Daniel Zolinsky and James Dawson who were our winners this year.

Please see the order form on our Merchandising page if you would like to order some Christmas cards.

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)