New Hastings Charity is going swimmingly

Charity for Kids, Hastings’ newly established registered charity, is ready for every challenge in its drive to provide for the disadvantaged and poorly children in the Hastings area. So much so that they have started training for one of the ultimate endurance tests, swimming the English Channel – and back – in a 2-way relay, writes Graham Hodgson.

Less than one year ago, friends Paul Harris and Carl Denne came up with the idea of raising funds for local children after becoming involved with the life of Amber-Rose (pictured left), a local girl suffering from Central Apnea (a disease where the brain stops giving the signal to breathe). Hence the idea behind Charity for Kids was born.

Within the past year, Paul and Carl have raised enough money (and goodwill) to provide Amber with a new landscaped back garden with a large accessible decking area so that she will be able to enjoy the summer out in the fresh air.

They have also recently provided for 21 Children to take time out from the Conquest Hospital to go to the local pantomime, supported by 4 carers.

Their fundraising has been diverse, everything from car washes, race nights, half marathons to their very own 6-a-side football competition.

Forthcoming events

Projects in the pipeline (apart from the small dip in the sea!) are Paul running the Sussex Marathon and a quiz night to be held at the Kings Head Pub, Ore on Thursday 5 April at 7.30pm – all local teams welcome!

Paul says “We have always wanted to do something to help the local community but were not sure where to start! Having children ourselves who are healthy we feel very lucky! So the idea of helping children less fortunate than ours was the inspiration behind Charity for Kids.  We want to raise as much funding as possible, therefore we have set ourselves various challenges including, The 3 Peaks Challenge (June 2012) and the 2-way relay Channel swim in 2013.   As Charity for Kids grows so will the challenges!  We would love to hear from anyone who would like to get involved and help raise funds to benefit the local area.”

We would like to thank Hastings Happy Crew for their constant support along with 1066 Mascots and Hastings Kickboxing.

Website: www.charityforkids.co.uk
Email: info@charityforkids.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/charityforkids

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