Paul Francis, Chairperson of Change of Scene, has just returned from an amazing personal challenge of trekking to Base Camp at Annapurna in the Himalaya’s, Nepal.  Paul trained hard to cope with the demands of the trek, making sure he was in good physical shape to deal with the altitude, an astounding 4,130m above sea level.

Not only does Paul give his time and support as Chairperson & Trustee of Change of Scene but through his business, LFM Accountants in Alton, he provides the Charity, at no charge, with much needed financial guidance and support.

To date Paul’s wonderful effort has raised £2,700.  His target was £3,000.  Can you help him reach that peak too?  Please do so by making a donation to Change of Scene on the following link http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PaulFrancis3 because, as he’s said to those who‘ve already so kindly sponsored him, “such funds have a huge impact on the Charity’s ability to look after the children it cares for.” All the money raised will go towards the Charity’s work with children and young people of Surrey & Hampshire aged between 6 – 18 years old who come from educationally, economically and/or socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Change of Scene helps the children gain self esteem, fulfill their potential and enables them to return to sustainable education.

To prove he actually made it to base camp he has sent us this picture.

Well done and thank you to our trustee, Penny Carey, who walked 25km along the Grand Union Canal to raise money for Change of Scene. Penny raised a whopping £3000 and we are so grateful for her hard work and to everyone who donated. We hope your feet have recovered, Penny!

If you would still like to donate, you can at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PennyCarey

On the the 25th June 2014, two teams from Unilever  (24 people in total) helped us to complete 120 hours worth of work in a single day! With the materials and man/woman power they provide, plus the labour costs they save us, this is the equivalent of a donation in excess of £2,500…

… and all this began thanks to a grateful mum whose son (diagnosed with ASD) visited us at CoS, where we provided the desired outcomes of a safe haven to love; to give continuity; to improve his very low self-esteem; to enable him to stay safe because in school he ran away; at home he bashed things; at the pupil referral unit he kicked out against staff.

We are very grateful to Mark Taylor of Howzat Cricket Club and Eagle Radio! Mark nominated Change of Scene for the Eagle Radio Trust Grant, which we recieved on the Eagle Radio Love Tour 2014 in Farnham last week. Our grant will help us buy a new printer – which is very much needed! Thank you!

Eagle Radio presenter, Kim Robson presents our grant

On 13 April 2014, an invaluable member of our admin team, who this year hit 40, decided she needed a greater challenge than doing our grant applications! She was very lucky to secure a place in the celebrity start slot of the London Marathon.  Just look with whom she was rubbing shoulders!

Running with Michel Roux Jnr

She had never run further than 10k before and declares that not only was it her first but it will also be her last marathon, though she seemed to sail around it with no ill effects and in a very respectable time… what’s more, Roz also ran in the Barfield Bolt, raising even more money for CoS.

Roz at the Barfield Bolt

Roz also entered the Farnham Bike Ride on 6^th July 2014 but sadly the tag-along for her son fell apart and she had to retire to a coffee bar…hmm…! Well done Roz and thanks for all that you do.

The Barfield Bolt ran to raise funds for Change of Scene this year. Sue Weaver from Change of Scene visited Barfield School on 14th May to talk to the pupils about their valuable charity work for local children. The children were inspired by Sue’s passion and many agreed to raise extra money for the charity as they realised what a huge difference the money makes.

Barfield ran and helped fund a new mower!

The Barfield Bolt ws on 1st June 2014 in the grounds of Barfield School in Farnham and was open to all. The Bolt is swiftly becoming an increasingly popular family fun-run and is open to all. The Barfield Bolt offers 10k (age 16+) and 5k races for adults (age 14+) through attractive woodland and fields. All races start and finish in the grounds of Barfield School with the 10k course being two laps of the 5k.

The Bolt has emphasis on good, old-fashioned competitive fun for all the family, young or old. There wre plenty of Sponsors Stalls to occupy any spectators with ice-creams, cakes, refreshments and a bouncy castle. Barfield School donated 20% of the booking fee to Change of Scene, raising £1610 to fund a new mower. Thank you so much!