Breath of Life News

Jo got them jumping for Breath of Life

The Tandem Skydive organised by Joanne Hughes, which took place on Saturday 2nd July was a fantastic success.  The event was held at British Parachute Schools, Langar Airfield near Nottingham and so far has raised over £6000 for Breath of Life’s fund to help people with Cystic Fibrosis when they are in hospital.

Joanne and her friends and family convinced 20 people to take part in the sponsored event at which everyone taking part had a fabulous day, although for some perhaps it was more than a little scary!

Joanne, who herself has Cystic Fibrosis and was not well enough to do the jump, has now been nominated for the ‘Sentinel’ newspaper’s Our Heroes awards, as a charity champion.

So Breath of Life would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to Joanne for all the hard work she put into organising the event and to all those who took the plunge on the day and raised so much money to help Cystic Fibrosis patients locally.

Pictured above is Giles Lund during his skydive.  Giles raised an amazing £1,000!

Read more about the event and look at lots of photos taken on the day in Joanne's Blog

Well done Steph and Tom!

Twenty-one-year-old Stephanie Sutton from Milehouse, who has Cystic Fibrosis, completed the Potters 'Arf Marathon on Sunday 12th June dressed as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.  By taking part in the event, Stephanie, along with family and friends, has raised nearly £1,500 so far for the Breath of Life fund to help people with Cystic Fibrosis.

Tom Hissey also ran in the Potters ‘Arf and raised more than £650 for Breath of Life. He completed the run in an impressive 1 hour 59 minutes, although he felt that cramp prevented him from completing the race in a quicker time. Tom decided to support Breath of Life after hearing that his mother-in-law Barbara Brown, who is the Lady Captain of Wolstanton Golf Club, had chosen us as her charity of the year. Tom has our gratitude and thanks for a really marvellous effort.

Stephanie and her fellow fund-raisers joined those who opted to walk the 13-mile course by starting an hour-and-a-half before the runners.

She had been preparing for the event by doing a lot of walking, which is hard for her as she suffers from arthralgia and sometimes needs to use a wheelchair.

As someone with Cystic Fibrosis, Stephanie needs to have three hours of physiotherapy each day to help clear mucus from her lungs and needs to eat a high calorie diet as well as taking high levels of medication. So it is a constant challenge to cope with her condition.

Stephanie’s mum, Nicole, also took part, dressed as the Yellow Brick Road, together with some of Stephanie’s friends also dressed as Wizard of Oz characters.

Breath of Life is truly grateful to Stephanie for such a determined and sterling effort to raise money to help fellow sufferers with Cystic Fibrosis.  Thanks Steph and to your family and friends who also took part and supported you.

Bank helps people sleep at night

TWO new monitors have been purchased for people suffering from sleep apnoea, a condition where people repeatedly stop breathing while they are asleep.  Breath of Life has bought the monitors after a £3,000 donation from the community fund at the NatWest bank, in Burslem.

Sleep apnoea leaves sufferers often having to endure poor quality sleep and the condition can cause extreme tiredness, which can disrupt normal life and can also lead to accidents.

Jon McVey, Breath of Life appeals co-ordinator, said: "We were delighted when our local bank decided to support our work and we would like to give a massive thanks to the excellent staff for all their help, as well as the many customers who voted to support local people with breathing problems.

This equipment will make a real difference to the lives of people with sleep apnoea."

John Mcvey is pictured presenting one of the monitors to Ann Cooper of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire's Respiratory Department.

Autonet Insurance staff support Breath of Life projects

Staff at Autonet Insurance, who have their head office in Burslem, recently voted to support Breath of Life as their chosen charity. So far they have donated £1,000 to us, which was raised through staff dress down days on Fridays.   An article about our work has been put into their staff newsletter “Autonet News” and they are keen to continue to support us by raising further funds towards our projects.

John Roberts, Head of Human Resources, said “On behalf of the charity committee and all the staff here at Autonet, I would like to wish you well and all the best as you continue your work with those who suffer from breathing problems.”

We are very grateful to all the staff and charity committee at Autonet and we looking forward to working with them in the future.

Breath of Life Appeals Co-ordinator Jon McVey is pictured receiving a cheque for £1,000 from David Dulla and John Roberts from Autonet Insurance.

An enjoyable lunch date with BBC TV Antiques Expert David Barby


A delicious lunch at the Upper House, Barlaston, on Wednesday 4th May, in aid of Breath of Life was a sell out, with about 100 diners eager to hear our guest speaker David Barby.
 
David is a well known BBC antiques expert who regularly appears on shows such as "Flog It" and "Bargain Hunt".  David also runs a successful fine arts auction business. He is an enthusiast of all forms of antiques, but he particularly loves pottery and has an enormous knowledge of the history of the Potteries.

His anecdotes, full of humour and wit, recounted his life and experiences with antiques, his early collecting of Staffordshire flatbacks and Newhall pottery, as well as recalling his time as an auctioneer and his experience as a presenter on  BBC television.

The event was organised by the Breath of Life Fundraising Committee and raised over £670 towards Breath of Life projects.  Thanks to everyone who took part and to all those who worked hard to make this event so enjoyable and successful.

Race Night Raises Over £1,100

If you supported the Breath of Life Race Night at Meir Heath Village Hall on Friday 18th March we hope that you had an enjoyable evening and didn't lose too much! 

The magnificent sum of more than £1,100 was raised by the event which was voted a tremendous success by everyone taking part.

Thanks to everyone who came along; to the race sponsors for their support and to our Fundraising Committee members who organised the evening and provided and prepared the tasty supper.


Sam Plank - a Breath of Life Tribute

Many tributes have been paid to local radio presenter Sam Plank who passed away on February 11th after a long battle with cancer.

Sam was a Patron of Breath of Life and had supported us since we were formed as the North Staffordshire Respiratory Research Foundation back in 1997.

Through his enthusiasm and persona when presenting Radio Stoke’s RASCAL Appeal, over £30,000 was raised by local radio listeners for us to help to fund a research project into the causes of childhood asthma.  Sam continued to support and give air time to us whenever approached for his help.

Dr Keith Prowse, one of the founders of our charity, paid the following tribute to Sam as our contribution to the memories of Sam during his funeral service.

“On behalf of the charity "Breath of Life" I would like to pay tribute to Sam, his ebullient and enthusiastic approach to life and the tremendous time and support which he gave to us and to other charities. 

Our first contact was before Radio Stoke's  Rascal Appeal which culminated in Sam's incredible 24-hour broadcast during which he was ably supported by Verity and the team. We supplied the cakes and tea.  Sam had agreed to be a Foundation Patron of the Charity and gave us full and unstinting support in personal appearances at events and by publicity.

We shall miss him greatly.”

The thoughts of the trustees and supporters of Breath of Life are with Sam’s wife and broadcasting partner Verity and his children and family at this sad time.

See our Newsletter front page from 1999 when Sam wrote a few words about the money raised from the Radio Stoke RASCAL appeal.



Wolstanton Golf Club makes Breath of Life its Charity of 2011

The 2011 Lady Captain at Wolstanton Golf Club, Barbara Brown, together with the Club Captain, Malcolm Ankers, have chosen Breath of Life as their charity for 2011.

They have chosen Breath of Life for 3 simple reasons:
  1. It is truly local to our area.
  2. Lung disease has affected both of their families directly and tragically.
  3. The charity operates with minimal overheads, so more funds will go to the cause.
Throughout 2011, they will hold several events where they will try to raise some money for Breath of Life.

Breath of Life wins £3000 top award from the NatWest Community Fund

NatWest asked people in the Potteries to vote for the cause they would like to see benefit from its community fund.

Three North Staffordshire charities were short-listed, with Breath of Life coming out top.

The charity has now been given £3,000 and £1,000 has also been handed out to the others on the shortlist – North Staffordshire Special Olympics and the Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

Lesley Podmore, senior bank manager for NatWest said: "The NatWest Community Fund has really captured the imagination of the public and we have been overwhelmed by the volume of votes received for the good causes.

"Breath of Life was the winner, but it is great that three local good causes have benefited from this bank initiative."

The community fund was launched in August 2010 as part of the bank's community charter.

A panel of community representatives reviewed the applications submitted to NatWest before a short-list was drawn up.

Breath of Life is delighted to have been chosen to receive the top award from the NatWest Community Fund.  We plan to use the money to satisfy a number of outstanding requests for the funding of equipment and facilities (which otherwise would not be possible from available statutory funding) which help local people with lung diseases or breathing problems.

Breathing Tests at the Potteries Shopping Centre

Nearly 100 members of the public took a lung function test at the Potteries Shopping Centre.  Respiratory Department technicians from the North Staffordshire Hospital carried out the tests with consultants on hand to give advice.

Breath of Life has organised these events annually for the past few years and although a few people were advised to see their GP, most were reassured of the health of their lungs.

More recently, we organised one of these events at the Dudson pottery in Tunstall for employees and were grateful for the support of Respiratory Department technicians and consultants and for the hospitality of the Dudson company.