Throughout 2007
In the six months after Charlie’s death on 16th May 2007 at the age of 8, many fundraising events have taken place and we have managed with the help of friends to raise over £30,000.
Who knows what the next 6 months will bring?
On 24th – 28th June 2007, Mrs Randall – Charlie’s teacher – was sponsored to take part in the opening dance at “Chance to Dance” at the Sevenoaks theatre.
Along with buckets placed in the foyer each evening, Mrs Randall raised an amazing £2,000.
On 7th July Sutton-at-Hone Primary School held their summer fete and had a Balloon Release for Charlie. The balloon that went the furthest won a prize of a balloon flight, and everyone got to write a message to Charlie on their balloon tag.
The furthest balloon made it all the way to Germany which was quite amazing. The event raised £745.
On 7th August the first Tiger Cup was held at Redlibbets golf course. The day had been brilliantly arranged by our friend Colin Osborne.
The day was very hot and 50 people turned out to play in Charlie’s memory.
After the golf everyone finished with drinks and dinner, not forgetting the auction and raffle. The day raised £2145.
On 12th – 16th September, Tony (Charlie’s dad) rode from Blackheath, London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Tony and Charlie went on many a bike ride together and Tony felt this would be a fitting tribute for Charlie and took on the huge challenge.
We were all so proud of him when he arrived in Paris. He also raised a huge £10,367!!
Also on 16th September our good friend Karen Birch ran the Nottingham half marathon and raised £1195.
On 25th October, Louise Gunyon – one of the most talkative people you could meet – did a 24 hour sponsored silence. For Louise this was a huge achievement! Louise raised a total of £1100.
The final event of the year was The Tiger Ball on 3rd November, held at the Thistle Hotel, Brands Hatch and attended by 260 guests. We always called Charlie ‘Tiger’ so this seemed a fitting name for the ball.
Everyone looked amazing in their tuxedos and evening dresses and all the guests got a CRY wrist band as their table gift. The room looked amazing with CRY Balloons as the table settings.
We received some very generous donations from people such as Graham Norton, David Walliams, Arsenal Football club and Debenhams. The evening was really successful and raised a total of £12,000.
2008 looks to be just as busy. In just the first few months we have a parachute jump; local dance school holding a sponsored event; a dress down day be held by Barclays; bag-packing at Sainsbury’s; the London Marathon and of course another golf day – one in the South and one in the North; The first ‘Tiger Ride’ and The Tiger Ball 2. Who knows what 2008 will raise?
Allison Spalding
