show me the money
by nigel davies
It’s been a really frustrating time being on the sidelines for a few months which has hampered our ATFV fundraising efforts, but despite this we have still delivered for Jason Bowen, Llys Nini and the Children’s Wards…
Bowen closes in on 150
It was a slow start to the Bang ‘Em In For Bowen campaign thanks to the Duff first third of the season – it’s still rather patchy with goals and points being hard to come by, and of course main striker Yates has been more “Jerry Can’t” than “Jerry Can for a £5 bonus”.
Still, as sporadic as it’s been we are now closing on the £150 milestone, and after paying up to the Watford fixture we stand at a total of £140.
Remember that we are raising money to help former Jack winger Bowen pay for crucial physiotherapy as he fights to keep the awful effects of Motor Neurone Disease at bay.
I’m really unhappy with the low amount ATFV has raised for Jason so far (much of which is due to my documented health issues) but I’m determined that we will play a far bigger and better part over the rest of this season and beyond.
Indeed, we have something very special lined up which will make a huge difference to our fundraising for Jason and you will get to see that in the next issue.
Meantime, I’ll continue to cough up for every League goal and point for the Swans over the rest of the season, so let’s hope for plenty of both for Bowen!!
If you want to make a donation to our Bang ‘Em In For Bowen Campaign then simply click the button below for our JustGiving Page in aid of the former Swans star!
tops, toys and dancing dinos
In our last issue I provided details of a £400 donation of bubbleguns and light cubes and advised we were on the verge of supplying new uniform tops for the play nurses. Alas things went a little wrong with the tops (complications everywhere!!) and then to compound matters I fell ill and was unable to do the annual Christmas toy shopping trip to restock the playroom.
Sad times 😢
But wait!!
This update is an unbelievably positive one as our efforts to support Morriston Hospital’s Children’s Wards have continued and indeed accelerated the last couple of weeks (with my return to fitness).
For a start, the new uniform tops are indeed on the verge of being completed after the £500 purchase of a batch of acceptableUnisex smock tops that are just awaiting the finishing touches with our sponsor Simply Print Wales.
And the efforts of friends (you all know who you are!!) made sure that the annual thousand pound Christmas was not only met but surpassed – and so we have £1,200 to spend on new toys when we go shopping on the 4th April.
What’s more, we have also spent £130 to buy the dinosaur costume that the play nurses desperately wanted so that they could create a new mascot for the Children’s Wards – and I’ve already seen for myself just how much of a difference this donation will make…
…the day I delivered the costume the hospital’s Comms team came to cover the story; the Comms Manager decided he wanted some photos of the mascot and nurses outside. So there we were, three play nurses, the Comms guy and me, escorting a volunteer inside a costume in which she couldn’t see along miles of hospital corridor to get outside.
We hadn’t got far though when we heard a huge shout of “THERE’S A DINOSAUR – look mum, THERE’S A DINOSAUR!”
About 40 yards behind us in the corridor, one of the young patients, a little boy about 5 years old, was stretching his legs, walking hand in hand with his mother, when he spotted us and cried out in joy. Back we went to see said little boy…and I just move the Hell out of the way and allowed the play nurses to do their work with their new “tool”. The sheer joy on the little boy’s face as he met the as yet unnamed dino mascot was something to behold.
You can see for yourself how the young children react to Swans mascots Cyril & Sybil – well, thanks to ATFV fundraising the play nurses have the same sort of powerful tool at their disposal…
…and that, ladies and gentlemen, is priceless!
Scooby-Doo leads to kennel sponsorship
In our last issue we advertised our Scooby-Doo themed Halloween event that was set up to raise a small amount of cash for the Llys-Nini Animal Rescue Centre.
A fine evening was had – and it was my own last night of fun before contracting the dreaded Covid or whatever – as we raised a respectable £200.
This money has been put to good use with one of the Centre’s ‘Safe Haven’ kennels now sponsored by ATFV.
We’re hoping to do another event before the end of the season so that we can keep our kennel fully furnished for the four legged residents!
Running total £2,570
