I just want to say to everyone on the Glitz and Glamour Ball Committee what an excellent job they are all doing and although at times it may seem time consuming and hard work we must never forget the reason behind the Ball and the satisfaction we will get when our guests on November 17th have a fantastic night and we reach our £10,000 target. Having recently joined the committee I feel honoured to be part of this team and am encouraged by the enthusiam of everyone. Liz.

It's all starting to get exciting now, last week I sent out letters to friends and family to tell them all about the Glitz and Glamour ball, and to date have got at least five tables full. So today at the school gates everyone was talking about who was going on who's table and how many rooms do we need to book. It seems along way off but it will be here before we know it. So hurry up and get your tickets bought!!

Fundraising Fun

Launch of Sam’s Campaign
It was with some misgivings that Tony and I accepted an invitation to the launch of Sam’s Campaign, a reception held at the House of Commons on Tuesday 6th March. We were uncertain if the event would prove too emotional being less than 8 months since Claire died. However, we are glad that we decided to go as it was a privilege to be present and feel the strength of emotion that will carry SDBTT on to even greater achievements. We were also very pleased the Philip Hollobone, MP for Kettering, was able to join us for the reception and to lend his support.
The event received good publicity; it was covered by Channel 4. Our local paper, Kettering Evening Telegraph, also ran an article.

Tea Party
To tie in with Tumour Awareness Month in March, SDBTT invited everyone to ‘Put the kettle on for Sam’s Campaign’. I am not known for my organisational abilities, but I thought that even I could manage cups of tea and cakes. So, having roped in some willing helpers, I invited friends and neighbours to join me one Saturday afternoon to help raise money for SDBTT.
We were blessed with a lovely spring day, which meant that the younger (livelier!) visitors were encouraged to be outside. A steady stream of people arrived bearing a marvellous selection of delicious cakes for the cake stall and an amazing array of books for the book stall.
Helen organised a quiz for those with a sweet tooth – all the answers being types of confectionery- with a delicious edible prize donated by Marks & Spencer.
It was wonderful to see local friends, school friends, work friends and friends of friends! As we are usually rushing around most of the time it was great to catch up with people over a cup of tea. Also, it was lovely to see Peter and Claire’s friends joining in the fun.
Over 60 people visited during the afternoon and between us we raised over £370. As someone said: not bad for tea and cakes!
So a huge thank-you to everyone who joined in and helped to make it such a successful afternoon.

London Marathon
Philip Greenfield, a colleague of Tony’s, is preparing to run the London Marathon on Sunday 22nd April to raise money for SDBTT.
He is running in memory of Claire and is therefore running dressed as a pink pig as shown in this very fetching photo of him on his Justgiving web page : www.justgiving.com/phil-londonmarathon07
We can’t make it to London, but we shall be watching the coverage to see if we can catch a glimpse of this special pink piggy.

Publicity

There has been lots going on over the months that Natalie got us together and we formed the Glitz and the Glamour Ball Committee to raise awareness and much needed funds for the SDBTT. I was put in charge of press and publicity.
I was delighted when the Evening Telegraph took up the gauntlet and travelled to London with Tony and Julie Rowland to cover the 10th anniversary story of the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust. The ET reporter has become great friends of Julie and Tony and we are grateful to the newspaper for their regular articles.

Our next fund raiser is the Waendel Walk which takes place over the weekend of 11th, 12th and 13th May. We are hoping to get as many of Claire's friends as we can to get themselves sponsored and take part in the event. We have hit a bit of a brick wall with this at the moment mainly due to the school holidays, but they are all back to school on Monday 16th April so we must now go for the big push.
I get a real thrill when I see articles in the local press but then feel guilty. I find the only way I can help is by treating the fund raising as a job otherwise its just all too sad. When I have a quiet moment, I sit and listen to one of the hymns that was sung at Claire's funeral, Here I Am Lord. I downloaded it after the funeral. I am not that religious but it is such a lovely song and the words say it all I think I have a few tears and think of Claire and then I can carry on because if something good can come out of something so terribly sad then I must do something to help raise awareness and funds. Claire was such a lovely little girl who had so much to live for. She also had a loving and supportive family and how they bear their loss with such dignity and carry on with their day to day life needs such strength of character.
Anyway thats the sad stuff done and my heart on my sleeve, moving swiftly on. I was over the moon that the Wellingborough Carnival agreed to support the SDBTT - Claire Rowland Fund as their 2007 Charity. Carnival Day is on Saturday 7th July so lets hope for a good day.
Other success stories so far have been an article in the Barton Today so thanks to Colin for that.
I intend to keep drip feeding the press on a monthly basis with articles until the summer months when I will go into overdrive to push the ticket sales.
I have bombarded the local websites with information on the Glitz and Glamour Ball and hope to get some articles in the local glossy magazines. So watch this space!
My next task is to spread the word about the Glitz and Glamour Ball outside Northamptonshire.
Just before I sign off I am thrilled that Stephanie Benson who is an International Cabaret star will be performing at the Ball. I heard her sing at a Convention I went to with work she is fantastic. I thought it was Diana Ross walking in she sang and looked just like her in her early years. I can't wait!We are listening to a band on the 18th April so fingers crossed they will fit the bill and we will have our line up for the night. Sue B. 14.4.07