Past Events 2008

6th December 2008

Royal British Legion Rock On

Derith and John Rolfe, together with Lorna and Ray Perry, organised a Rock Concert with the band Mission Impossible at the Royal British Legion in Ferndown.

The evening was a brilliant success with £500 made on the raffle and a signed John Terry England shirt raising an additional £200. In total, the JTYAF will benefit from a total of £1,500.

Many thanks to the Rolfe and Perry families who worked extremely hard to make the evening a real boost for the JTYAF.

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30th November 2008

Liverpool Victoria Help the Cause

During the week commencing 24th November, Amber O'Dea and her colleagues from Liverpool Victoria spent a week fundraising for the Charity.

Activities included a Tuck Shop, Quiz, Cake sale grand draw and a mufti day.

The winning tickets for the grand draw were picked by Pete Thornton and he was able to thank personally all involved and to receive a cheque for a magnificent £1,028.35.

Liverpool Victoria will be adding another £500 to this, showing their support for local charities.

You can read more about Liverpool Victoria at their corporate website www.lv.com

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25th October 2008

Walk This Way

Thank you to Karen Portnell, who raised nearly £400 for the JTYAF by successfully walking 26.2 miles as part of the Beachy Head Marathon, Eastbourne, on 25th October.

Thanks Karen, and a big well done from all at the JTYAF.

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19th October 2008

Yvonne and Team Raise Soccer Cash

Thank you to Yvonne Rogers for organising a 5-a-side football tournament at Ferndown Leisure Centre on Sunday 19th October.

The event raised £150 for the JTYAF and BIG, BIG 'Thank You' must go to Ed Rogers who sponsored the cost of the hall.

We mustn't forget the players, as without them it wouldn't have been possible. Thanks guys.

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6th October 2008

On Top of The World

On 6th October, three of John's friends from Ferndown; Ashley Ruane (Ferndown Air Cadet Civilian Instructor, Qualified Junior Leader and ex-Ferndown Upper School pupil), Josh Williamson (Ferndown Air Cadet Flight Sergeant and Qualified Junior Leader) and Heather Cox (ex-Ferndown Air Cadet Sergeant) began their three week trip to trek in Nepal aiming to raise over £1,500 for JTYAF.

They sent the following report for our News page:

"The aim of the trip was to climb together to Everest Base Camp (EBC). Going to Nepal to climb to EBC was the chance of a lifetime. Trekking commenced on 10th October from Lukla, we were excited and apprehensive as we landed on a tiny runway facing into the mountain face.

Trekking through the Khumbu Valley to Base Camp was incredible and the scenery was second to none. We met some of the kindest, most genuine people and always felt welcomed by the Nepalese people. The ascent took seven days; five days covering the distance with two days on steep acclimatisation walks. The trip threw many difficult challenges at us, from altitude sickness to food poisoning, but good humour, the motivation to raise money for JT's charity and John's memory inspired us to continue.

We stood together on the 'Roof of the world' at Everest Base Camp, twenty two and a half thousand feet above sea level. Looking down at the Himalayan Mountains in the Khumbu Valley we had climbed as high as we could dream, it felt amazing as we began to descend and realise what we had managed to achieve together."

A very big well done on a trip that was truly in the spirit of what JT stood for, and thank you for the tremendous amount raised from such an adventure.

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5th October 2008

Angel of the North

Richard Millman has completed the 2008 Great North Run in aid of the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation.

Richard has recently joined the charity as an ambassador for the north of the country, and will help raise awareness of the charity's profile in that part of the UK.

"My aim was to finish the run, beat my time for last year's race and raise as much money as I could for the JTYAF.", said Richard.

Richard completed the half marathon in 1hr 58 minutes and 7 seconds and raised over £1,800 for the John Thornton Foundation. A brilliant effort!

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3rd October 2008

Swing Low, Sweet Windmill Band

No, nothing to do with rugby singing, but a different type of music raised thousands for the JTYAF.

A Swing Band Concert hosted by the Bournemouth Red Arrows Association featuring The Windmill Swing Band and vocalist Jan Press, raised over £2,000 for the JTYAF.

Alina Jenkins, from BBC Radio Solent, introduced the evening and Terry Trevett worked hard to ensure that the event was a big success.

A big thank you to everyone who attended, and an equal well done to all who helped organise this very popular event in JT's home town.

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29th August 2008

Kick-off Event Flies High

Friday 29th August saw the main kick-off event to launch the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation as part of the Bournemouth Air Festival.

Hosted by De Havilland Aviation (DHA) of Bournemouth Airport, business leaders and VIPs from around the area, and beyond, attended a superb day to raise money for this very worthwhile cause.

DHA had arranged the Corporate Hospitality Day to celebrate the launch of their newly-restored former Red Arrow jet, G-NATY, but wanted to add on a charity element to help raise awareness and funds to get the new Foundation off to a flying start.

After three years of work to restore Gnaty, as she is known, the guests at this prestigious event were treated to both a solo flying display by former Red Arrow pilot Justin Hughes, followed a unique flypast of the current red Arrows team leading Justin in a tribute to the RAF's 90 birthday and their former lead aircraft. Gnaty was also the plane that was flown at JT's funeral by Lt Cdr Matt Whitfield RN, in tribute to his flight with the Red Arrows when John won the Top Student on the Junior Leader course in 2004.

Attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bournemouth, guests enjoyed a first-class lunch after introductions from the Daily Echo editor, Mr Neal Butterworth, and a short reading by Air Commodore Dickie Duckett, the last leader of the Red Arrows who flew Gnaty as his lead aircraft.

The Hospitality Day was organised by one of the Foundation's Trustees, Geoff Beck who is MD of De Havilland Aviation and was attended by John's parents, Peter and Linda, his brother Graham and his sister-in-law Lisa, and his grandparents, together with John and Sarah Fay. John, the Founder of the Junior Leaders is a Trustee of the Foundation and travelled down from Cheshire to attend this special day.

Peter Thornton gave a short talk to the invited guests on the aims and purpose of the new Foundation, and his rallying call didn't go unheeded. Around £5,000 was raised in a short time on auction lots ranging from a specially-commissioned painting of Gnaty with the Red Arrows, to a hosted visit to RAF Scampton, home of the famous team, very kindly donated by the Red Arrows themselves.

Well-known local businesswoman Liz Bath, very kindly donated a new Cartier watch which was put into a 'tenner-in-an-envelope' lottery, and this raised over £1,300 alone.

All in all, a superb day to celebrate two events getting off the ground, and proof that such events can easily raise money for these sort of good causes.

If you are interested in organising, or hosting, an event in aid of the Foundation, please email enquiries@jtyaf.org where the Trustees will be more than pleased to assist you.

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