On Wednesday 23rd March 05 Club members witnessed the presentation of the Big Lottery Fund Cheque of £23,970 to the Club Chairman, Mr Michael Lewis at the Royal Oak, Fishguard, by Mrs T Dunwoody-Kneafsey Assembly Minister for Preseli, Pembrokeshire.
Before the presentation was made the Chairman reported the very sad news Mrs Judi Chapman had died on Tuesday 22nd March 05. Judi a stalwart Committee member of the Stroke Club had not been in very good health for the past few weeks. She will be greatly missed, being a very active member and was loved by all. |
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Mr Lewis welcomed members and the various dignitaries to the presentation.
Michael informed the assembled forum that over the past four years the Club has had tremendous support not only from local businesses & organisations within Fishguard, but had also received grant support from National Charitable Organisations. In total the Club had managed to raise £50,000 to organise respite holidays for Stroke victims & their carers. He continued by saying this tremendous grant of £23,970 from the Big Lottery Fund will give the Committee that extra confidence to plan and organise respite holidays for Stroke victims & their Carers over the next 3 years, gaining advantage of competing for best package deals in England & Wales, towards the costs of Transportation, Accommodation, Insurance, etc. The Chairman emphasised that although the Club had been awarded this fantastic grant the Committee must work that much hard in fund-raising events to sustain future respite holidays.
Respite holidays are a complete tonic for these unfortunate Stroke victims and their Carers, which indeed cannot be obtained on a prescription.
The support and guidance given by Mr Tony Crotty of the Regeneration Unit, P.C.C. was second to none and his magnificent input had helped the committee to open many doors of isolation, loneliness and social exclusion of Stroke victims throughout the North Pembrokeshire District.
The Stroke Association, to which the Fishguard Stroke Club is affiliated, has portrayed statistics confirming out of the eight “Stroke associated Clubs” in Pembrokeshire (4 Dysphasia Groups & 4 Stroke Clubs) Fishguard tops the league for membership growth.
Captain A.Viv Rowles formed the Club in 1998 with just 12 members today the membership is 64 and is still climbing.
Mr Lewis gave praise to his Committee in saying how proud he was to have such a dedicated, hardworking & talented team behind him to whom he could trust & always rely upon.
Mrs Dunwoody-Kneafsey AM made the presentation of the cheque of £23,970 to the Chairman on behalf of the Big Lottery Fund and congratulated the Fishguard & District Stroke Club on their wonderful achievement.
Mr Roger Barrett-Evans, Director of Development, P.C.C. echoed the Assembly Minister Congratulations and wished Club & committee members continued success for the future.
Mr Tony Crotty, Regeneration & Development Unit, P.C.C thanked Mr Lewis for his kind words but suggested commendation must go to the three “Wise” men of the Club, namely Bryn Davies, Michael Lewis and John Palmer, not forgetting the Holiday Organiser Wendy Bindon and also the Founder of the Club Captain Viv Rowles.
An excellent finger buffet to accommodate all taste buds was supplied by the management of the Royal Oak.
A big thank you to Mr Phil Davies, assistant website manager for his photography services, of which his photos can be view on our website www.fishguardstrokeclub.co.uk as so generously sponsored by ePembs. 
Big Lottery Fund
Big Lottery Fund is the joint operating name of the New Opportunities Fund and the National Lottery Charities Board (which made grants under the name of the Community Fund). The Big Lottery Fund, launched on 1 June 2004, is distributing half of all National Lottery good cause funding across the UK.
The Big Lottery Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money. To date, the two merged Fund’s have committed more than £5 billion to initiatives with national, regional and local partners from the public, vountary, charity and private sectors, with a particular focus on disadvantage
Big Lottery Fund contact details:
Press Office
020 7211 1888
Mobile
07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line
0845 4 10 20 30
Full details of Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the web site www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
All Lottery Distributing Bodies are accessible through www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.
For more information on the Fishguard Stroke Club, please contact Michael on 01348 84082 or email us at info@FishguardStrokeClub.co.uk
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