Courtyard Christmas Appeal 2009

 

This year, The Courtyard Centre for the Arts is joining forces with the Mayor of Hereford's two charities, the Little Princess Trust and Noah's Ark Trust, to bring festive cheer into the lives of young people and their families this Christmas.  This year's annual appeal will run alongside the pantomime Beauty and the Beast (27 November 2009 to 9 January 2010) and will raise money to support all three important charities.

 

The Little Princess Trust is a local charity that supplies real hair wigs to children that have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment or other illnesses.  It is hoped that the funds raised through the Appeal will help the Trust cut the waiting time for wigs down to just one week!  Co-founder Wendy Tarplee, who lost her own young daughter to to cancer in 2005, commented: "We are delighted that The Courtyard is helping us with our Appeal. The service that we offer makes a huge difference to the children we help.  We could not achieve this or even exist without the generous support of the local community."

 

Noah's Ark Trust  provides a bereavement support service to local children and their families who have suffered the loss of a close family member or friend.  Noah's Ark does not receive any government support for their work so support from the local community is vital.  With money raised by the Appeal, the charity hopes to set up a series of workshops across the county in 2010.

 

The Courtyard Centre for the Arts is a registered charity, with a growing education and outreach department which is always in need of additional funds  It is our current aim to work more with older people and a range of disadvantaged groups in the future, and without raising further funding this may prove impossible.  The Courtyard will be using its half of the donated funds to continue to support new and ongoing projects here at Edgar Street and throughout Herefordshire.

 

Thanks to the huge generosity and community spirit of the people of Herefordshire, over £20,000 has been donated by visitors to The Courtyard during the last two Appeals.  We are hoping to raise over £10,000 during this year's Appeal.

 

Throughout the run of the pantomime, visitors to The Courtyard will have the chance to donate money to the three charities in a variety of ways:

• Collection boxes posted around the building
• Additional voluntary donation when booking tickets over the phone or in person
• Collection by the Beauty and the Beast cast at the end of every performance

You can also Gift Aid yor donations: please download a Gift Aid form from this website (under "Gift Aid") or ask a member of staff for assistance.

 

Help us to help three deserving local charities this festive season through your generous donations.

 

Merry Christmas and a happy 2010!