Fundraising in Greater London, East Anglia and Kent
John Parker knows from first hand experience how EB affects lives, as he was born with EB simplex.
He is therefore extremely passionate about his job of regional fundraising manager for Greater London, Kent and East Anglia, helping to raise vital funds for DebRA.
John's region stretches from Oxford in the west to the Norfolk and Kent coastlines in the east, taking in the whole of London.
John is always willing to support groups who wish to organise their own events but if you would like an alternative way to support DebRA then why not volunteer to be a collector - John would love to hear from you!
Can you help, please?
Collection boxes across the country can raise many thousands of pounds for DebRA. Do you know of a local shop, pub or club that would have one of our boxes? If so, perhaps you could let me know and we can arrange for one to be put in the post - and perhaps you'd be kind enough to look after it for us. Payroll Giving is a wonderfully easy way to support DebRA. Regular donations can be taken from your pay before tax thereby enabling your donation to cost you less - it's almost magic! Please contact me if you'd like to know more about giving this way.
We do need some help with raising awareness though, so if your club, school, company or church would like me to come along to one of your meetings to tell you more about DebRA and EB, please let me know. I look forward to the possibility of meeting you before too long!
Call him on 01707 879887 or email john.parker@debra.org.uk
Forthcoming events
Mannington Hall, Saxthorpe (Norfolk)
5th September
Mannington Hall and Gardens, owned by Lord and Lady Walpole, will be open to the public with all proceeds from the day to be donated to DebRA. The Hall was built in the 15th Century and mentioned as a substantial property in the Domesday Book. There are two different parts to Mannington Hall, one a park and the other a garden. The park sits in about 20 acres and has seen considerable tree planting in the last 30 years. The gardens surround this medieval moated manor house and feature more than 1500 varieties of rose.
For more information contact John Parker on 01707 879887 or email: john.parker@debra.org.uk
Bidborough School dragon boat team
11th September
A team of energetic mums and dads will be racing at the Bewl Water Dragon Boat Festival in Lamberhurst, Kent. They are raising funds for Bidborough School and DebRA. Make a donation on their Just Giving page.
Champagne tea in aid of DebRA and in Memory of Max Boyle
12th September - Reigate Hill Golf Club (Surrey) from 2-5pm
Contact Sophie Muncaster on 07515 370665 or Louise Shepherd on 07956 916310.
Download further details.
Thames River race
25th September
DebRA supporters Richard Grose and colleagues at IOC have entered a Viking long boat in the Thames River Race.
LK Bennett (Kings Road Chelsea)
29th September
LK Bennett (162 Kings Road, Chelsea) is kindly holding a DebRA charity evening from 5.00pm - 9.00pm.
This will include a 10% discount; 10% donation to DebRA of all items purchased and glass of Champagne. For more details please contact Connie Johnson 07900 667000 or John Parker on 07786 575513.
Collection - Waterloo Station
1st October (7.00am - 7.00pm)
If you could help (even for just a couple of hours) with the bucket collection please contact John Parker on 07786 575513. Thanks!
Collection - Kew Retail Park
1st - 3rd October
Connie Johnson has arranged a bucket collection over 3 days at Kew Retail Park from 7.00am - 6.00pm. Connie is looking for volunteers - please contact her on 07900 667000 if you can spare some time.
Fulham Broadway Shopping Centre
5th October
Connie Johnson has arranged a bucket collection at Fulham Shopping Centre from 7.00am - 6.00pm. Connie is looking for volunteers - please contact her on 07900 667000 if you can spare some time.
Collection - Liverpool St Station
25th November (7.00am - 7.00pm)
If you could help (even for just a couple of hours) with the bucket collection please contact John Parker on 07786 575513. Thanks!
Clifford Chance 17th December
Dick Weller is kindly arranging a coffee morning for DebRA.
Nicola Riley's events for 2010
Big Fun Run at Crystal Palace 11th Sept. To support Nicola please visit www.justgiving.com/Nicol-Riley1
Thank you
Waitrose - Motcomb Street
Gina and Amy from Waitrose, Motcomb Street, Belgravia presented Connie Johnson with a cheque of £455 as part of their Community Matters In-store fundraising. Thank you!
Fulham Broadway - Starbucks
With the help and generosity of Starbucks/Fulham Broadway and its customers we raised a fantastic £1074.41. Let's not forget the amazing support from Gil, manager of Boots; Gary, manager of the Fulham Broadway centre; Nick @Pizza Express; Kennzo @Joy; Ben the owner of David Deyong; Vue cinema; HMV; Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe; Brendon @Tony and Guy; John from Evan Cycle Many thanks to Chris for his generous support and we wish him good luck with his charity project in Peru!
Elthorne & Hillingdon Rotary Club
Thank you to David (President) and Terry and Tom (Tournament Organisers) for holding a golf day for DebRA and raising £9,750. Also a thank you to the 48 volunteers who helped make it a wonderful day.
Penta Consulting Ltd
Thank you to Penta Consulting (Clare Francis) for organising a family fun day in Wallington and raising £2853.51 for DebRA. Pictured: Richard and Paul who own the company together with DebRA members Matt and Aliza Boyle with daughter Erin.
Connie Johnson
Well done and thank you to Connie Johnson on being personally congratulated by DebRA President Michael Portillo on achieving her latest goal of raising £10k for her nurses appeal.
Clifford Chance- London to Brighton Bike ride
Thank you to Dick Weller (organiser) and all staff at Clifford Chance who took part in the London to Brighton Bike ride and raised £10k (including a donation from Clifford Chance) for DebRA.
Waitrose - Waltham Cross
Thank you to Waitrose Waltham Cross for taking DebRA on as their charity of the year. (Thank you to Donna for nominating DebRa - her Mum Julie works in the Cheshunt shop) Pictured: shop staff including Dean Andersen raising money outside the store by way of a jewellery sale.
Pam Wheeler & Lynda Bodell
Thank you for walking 9 miles and raising over £757 for DebRA.
High Spirit Variety Group
Thank you to Gill Levett and the High Spirit Variety Group for raising £1,200 through their show. The photo includes DebRA member Maisy who attended to say thank you on behalf of DebRA.
Nicola Riley
Thank you to Nicola Riley for raising £69.74 at Meadow Park.
Starbucks Parsons Green
A big thank you goes to all the staff and customers of Starbucks in Parsons Green, London who helped Connie Johnson raise £867.32 by buying raffle tickets and making donations. Pictured are manager Milan and two of his wonderful team. Congratulations also goes to raffle winner - Rosie
Sainsbury's Putney
Thank you to the management team at Putney Sainsbury i.e. John, Lennie, Ede, Mark and all the staff who helped to make this collection Possible. Also thank you to Troy Murphy, Julie Panayiotou and Duncan for helping with the bucket collection. £632.21 was raised for DebRA.
Francis Holland School
Thank you to Francis Holland School for raising £150 for DebRA. DebRA was nominated by Olivia (pictured in the white top)
Tesco - Kew
Tesco in Kew Village has raised an amazing £1341.83 with the help and support of the fantastic Tesco team: Maureen, Sunny, Sanket, Damu, Vipin, Mozzafar and all the others. Thank you!
Mango & Silk DebRA charity dinner
A very enjoyable evening was had by everyone at the DebRA charity dinner held at Mango & Silk. £1,100 was raised for DebRA. Connie Johnson who arranged the dinner including raffle and quiz would like to thank the following: Mango & Silk, Saudrine Chocolates, East Sheen, Isabella Flowers, Tolley & Partner, Mr & Mrs Bradbury, Laurel S, Pandemonium, Danielli Ice Cream, Party Palace, Body Toning Studio, Bastiaan Florists, Starbucks Hammersmith & Fulham Broadway, Richmond Academy of Dance.
Richmond Station Bucket collection 
On the 28th May 2010 a bucket collection was undertaken by Connie Johnson and Duncan Copplestone at Richmond station. £563 was raised for DebRA. Well done and thank you both.
LK Bennett - Chelsea
Thank you for holding a charity shopping evening for DebRA which, together with the raffle, raised which £320.
Jessica Beagley
Thank you for raising £149 for DebRA by way of sponsorred walk. (Jessica is second from right on picture)
Nicola Riley
Thank you to Nicola for raising £101.08 dressed as Bugs Bunny at Borehamwood shopping parade. The costume was donated by Masquerades Fancy Dress Costume Hire, Hadley Road, Barnet.
Starbucks - King's Road
Thank you to Vicky, David, Herly, Beatriz and Panos the team from the King's Road Starbucks for raising £1189.52 for DebRA.
The Cuffley Players
Thank you to The Cuffley Players for choosing DebRA as their charity for the production of Roleplay by Alan Ayckbourn.
Starbucks Fulham Road
Thank you to Starbucks at Fulham road for raising £1088.47 for DebRA. The picture shows: Miss Venezuela, Alison (manageress), Betty and Leonardo who not only serve coffee with a smile but have chosen DebRA as their charity and give huge support.
Holbeach Rotary
Thank you to Lesley Fisher, President of Holbeach Rotary Club, for the cheque for £1,000 for DebRA raised at the President's Ball.
Tesco - Kew Village
Thank you to Maureen and her team and the supportive customers for raising £1040.
Intercontinental Hotels Group
Thank you to the Sports and Social section (nominated by Fiona Merwood nee Shave who worked for DebRA 7/8 years ago doing PR) for raising £169
A special thank you to Starbucks from Connie Johnson
Click here to view Connie's poster.
Cock and Hen - Fulham
Thank you to the Cock and Hen in Fulham for holding a Star Wars evening and raising £144.
Susan Wicks
Thank you to Susan Wicks for raising over £1,000 for DebRA in memory of her son Calvin, who was tragically killed in a car accident. Susan held a disco and buffet with a very welcome visit from Santa!
D R Response Ltd
A big thank you to Charlene and all at D R Response for their fundraising activities which raised £220.11 for DebRA.
Starbucks - Kew
Thank you to Andrew (District Manager) and Luca (Store Manager) and staff at Starbucks Kew for organising a raffle and raising £528.20 for DebRA.
Congratulations to Connie Johnson
Well done and congratulations to Connie on reaching her fundraising target of £20k for her New Zealand trek. Connie would like to say thank you everyone who gave her support. See below for Connie's account.
Trekking in the Coromandel ~ New Zealand December 2008
Leaving the UK on the 2nd December 2008 to start trekking through the Coromandel Forest to raise £20k for a specialist nurse in the UK and to raise awareness for the charity was a challenge.
Starting point was Thames, to follow the Kauaeranga Kauri Trail, which traverses very steep and rugged rainforest terrain. Crossing rivers which are not bridged made it to the Billygoat landing where one has a breathtaking view of the Falls as well as seeing evidence of the incline, a masterpiece of engineering which bypassed the falls and made it possible to extract the remaining kauri in the Billygoat Basin.
At higher altitude the vegetation has been reduced by repeated fires to shrubland with pockets of taller forest in gullies. Making it up to Hydrocamp was therefore not as slippery however extremely steep and exposed to the merciless heat.
Continuing to the Pinnacles Hut, the only hut which now stands in the Coromandel what an experience, just don't expect to find a Starbucks there.
We continued up the Pinnacles, from the summit are amazing views of the bush, mountains and coastline of southern Coromandel. Climbing up was not the main problem, even though the water bottle, strapped to the front, decided to seperate from the owner and fall hundreds of metres somewhere into the bush; which reminded me of my fear of heights. We made it to the top, took photos and admired the view. On the descend it was another matter... I was clinging to one of the monkey bars, which are positioned in the rock formation, all of a sudden I found myself overtaken with fear- unable to extend my arm to the next bar one arm length away; my fear of heights took over, I found myself clinging to the rocks tears streaming down my face. Had it not been for Natalie, I would have remained up there, I think ...
During that night I saw a shooting star and made a wish... Let us all pull together and find a cure for EB in the not so distant future.
Our trek took us to Te Puru, Coromandel Town, Cathedral Cove which has the most stunning rock formations and beaches and finally to Hot Water Beach where one can dig its own spa pool into the sand, after all the peacefulness in the forest range it was quite a shock to the system to be faced with so many tourists.
Not a single blister to report even though I trekked for two days in wet shoes, then discovered the importance of swingbridges, but a lot of sunburn and aching limbs.
Unable to walk for two days after the trek .... I can only say it was awesome, the best experience ever and it was worth it. I would do it again - double the sponsorship money. All of the money raised goes to DebRA! No agency was involved, hence nothing was taken away from the sponsorship money.
I am extremely thankful to Dr Natalie Griffiths, for her tireless efforts, stamina and support for the charity and myself, as without her this would not have been possible, as well as Ingrid, Kim and Dan in Auckland.
The following businesses provided us with generous prizes for auction and they continue to show their support for the cause:
Starbucks Teams in Richmond and Hammersmith; Fulham Broadway and Putney as well as Ash the district manager; Belushi's Fulham Broadway and Hammersmith;Youngs Brewery; Dan and his team at the White Horse in Parson's Green; Ania and the team at the Hop Poles in Hammersmith; Prince of Wales in Putney; Andy who organises the best quizzes around; the fab quiz master Alex, Addy, Sarita and Andrew who volunteered with the Sainsbury collection; Tom at the RED COW; Tom at the Fox in Twickenham, the team at The Bear in Twickenham; the staff at the Cabbage Patch in Twickenham; Rachel and the team at the PRINCESS HEAD in Richmond; Mike and Amy at White Stuff in Richmond; House of Chocolates; Feather and Stitch; Pauls Partisserie; Enchanted Forest; Creative Toys; Sophoclies Alexiou; Tolley and Partner; ESJ Jeweller; Oddbins; Body Toning Studio; The Party Palace; Sheen Sports; ;Flower Yard in Putney and all the other shops, restaurants and individuals who have supported DebRA through direct and indirect sponsorship.
If you are not one of the mentioned above, please go to www.justgiving.com/conniejohnson1 and make a difference... today
Read Connie's blog at http://connieandlyn.blogspot.com
DECADES quiz nights and London city tours
DebRA supporter Stevie Dixon is offering to run special DECADES Quiz Nights in London (in locations close to Underground stations) to raise funds for DebRA.
You choose a decade - 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s etc - and Stevie will produce a quiz comprising of questions from that era, including TV, Movies, Music, News and Trivia from the chosen decade.
The quiz night can also be combined with a disco playing music from your selected decade - and guests are encouraged to get in the party mood by donning the Fancy Dress of that decade.
Stevie's quiz nights are no ordinary quiz nights! He utilises various audio visual systems, including music, picture and video rounds.
If anyone in the London area would like to hold a fundraising event for DebRA then please contact Stevie Dixon on 07952 589516 or email Stevie at GREATBRITTONS@aol.com(ensuring you write Stevie's Trivia Challenge Night for DebRA in the Subject block at the head of the email).
Stevie also conducts Free Guided Walking Tours of the city for visitors to London YHA hostels, with all donations from the tours going to DebRA.
Anyone who is planning to visit the city who would like an entertaining and interesting tour of the city, should please get in touch with Stevie using the email address above.
Stevie's tours range from general tours such as Royal London, Beatles London, Old City Tours, and for the fearless even a Jack The Ripper Tour. There are also the Pirates, Pioneers and Pilgrims Tour, Historic Inns and Taverns Tour, the Infamous Murders Tour and Rock Legends Tour.
All donations for tours will go to DebRA.
For more information, please contact John Parker.