Following a really strong year of fundraising in 2016. The committee is delighted to announce details of the 2017 Charities we will raise funds for this year.

The following is written by the Chapter’s secretary, Cedric Auchere:

“Hi 12’s,

This is one of the reasons why being part of a chapter is so much bigger than just watching some football at some ungodly hours in the middle of the night!

As many of you will be aware, Armed Forces related charities had always been special to Ian’s heart and his passing has but made this cause a special one in all of ours. So this year we will be raising money for the SSAFA – the Armed Forces Charity https://www.ssafa.org.uk/

This year, as well as SSAFA, the committee has unanimously agreed to back a charity run by one of our very own members; Dean Carless. I leave to him to introduce “Archie’s Smile” in his own words:

“Archie’s Smile was founded in 2014 to support young children with Down syndrome and their families. The charity was inspired by my son Archie Carless who was born in 2013 in Coventry. Following Archie’s birth we looked for a support group in the area, only to find that there wasn’t one. Rather than being discouraged we decided to create our own! Fast-forward three years and Archie’s Smile is a thriving charity which supports children from birth to the age of 5 who have Down syndrome from across the Midlands. We offer members weekly stay and play sessions, support and advice for parents, provide speech and language therapy for the children, organise day trips, and provide information packs for parents of newborns with Down syndrome via local hospitals.”

So we will be raising money for those great causes though 2017. Because that’s also what being a 12 is all about.”

So there you have it. Thanks to Dean for sharing the story of Archie’s Smile. Keep an eye on the website, Chapter Twitter (@SeahawkersUK) and other social media platforms for news and details on fundraising efforts for these two great causes!

For more information on both, follow these two links:

SSAFA: https://www.ssafa.org.uk/
Archie’s Smile: https://www.facebook.com/archiessmile/