Friendship Group
In 2005 The Friendship Group was set up by Kate Cramp and Joan Warwick. Sundays are not always a good day for people who live alone. It is a pop in and have a chat on a Sunday afternoon. The Group meets on the lst and 3rd Sunday each month from 1pm to 3pm in the Phillip Farrant Centre at Darent Valley Hospital. The Group has become very involved with Stride 4 Life, coming along on the day to help with stalls, taking part in the sponsored walks and raising sponsorship money.
Kate Cramp has walked every year since Stride 4 Life begin in 2004 and has raised £2626.15 for the Cancer Fighting Fund. She also helps on the stalls at the Funday after her walk.
Pauline Peach has walked since 2004, Pauline gave up the walking in 2010, but still comes along to register our walkers at Stride. Pauline then helps out on the stalls.
Joy Diprose makes her own jewellery, which she’s sells amongst members of the Friendship Group, on her stall at Stride 4 Life and at our Pamper Evenings. She gives all the proceeds to the Cancer Fighting Fund.
Several ladies from the group coming along an run various stalls. Gillian, Harry, Kay and Ken regularly come into help with mailing and selling draw tickets. Barbara Cruttenden kindly, opened up her garden for an afternoon tea (all provided by Barbara) to raise funds for the Stride 4 Life event. Barbara raised an amazing £478 from her afternoon tea.
Swanley WI
Shirley Simms is a hospital volunteer, she does a lot of work raising money for the Cancer Fighting Fund. In 2009 Shirley offered to help us with a Tea and Cakes stall at Stride. This has been a stall which we had tried to get going without success since 2004. She got together a team of ladies from her WI to help her.
The ladies bring all their own equipment, they set themselves up and make sure everyone who comes along to Stride is sure of a nice cup of tea and a piece of homemade cake. We are grateful to Shirley and the Swanley WI.
Bromley Job Centre
Colleagues of Joan Warwick at the Job Centre have supported Stride since 2004. They have helped to make Stride 4 Life such a success.
They started off by taking part in the sponsored walks, then went on to running stalls, helping to set up in the morning (including roping in their family members). They raise funds for their stalls, Jackies Dormer organises Christmas Raffles and Christmas Card Collections and Carryn Brewer run coffee mornings.
Since 2004 Gill and Ian McNulty have come along with their family to run Ian’s Drinks Tombola stall. Ian does the 5 mile walk while Gill and Family get his stall ready.
Jackie having raised the funds buys all the items for her New Prize Tombola and along with Wendy they run the stall on the day.
Julie, who herself has had breast cancer, bakes cakes along with Paula and Carryn, all 3 working on the cake stall on the day.
Sarah Oakwell
In November 2010 Sarah Oakwell aged 35 was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Sarah, who lives in Chadwell St Mary, Essex, choose to be treated at Darent Valley Hospital. This was because she had given birth to her daughter Rosie, now aged 4 years, at Darent Valley Hospital. She was so pleased with the way she was treated at the hospital that she decided that was where she wanted to come and have her Cancer treatment.
While she was on one of her visits to the hospital she picked up a leaflet about Stride 4 Life. Which is the Hospital’s annual charity fundraising event that raises monies for their Cancer Fighting Fund. Whilst Sarah was not well enough to take part in the sponsored walk herself her husband Scott along with her mum Linda Kelly, brother Matt and other family members took part in the sponsored walk and between them they raised £2079.
Sarah has now completed her treatment and this year she will be taking part in the Stride 4 Life walk with her husband, brother, sister-in-law and nephew Jack. Sarah said that she was given the best possible care and treatment at Darent and wanted to feel that she is giving something back to the Hospital for the marvellous care and treatment that she received throughout her illness. Sarah would like to say a special thank to Seema Seetharam, Consultant Breast Surgeon, also Sylvia who was her nurse whilst having her treatment.
