NRAS is going to be 10 Years Old!

It’s hard to believe that next year we will be celebrating our 10th Birthday - what a fantastic milestone to have reached and what a good opportunity to celebrate all that we have achieved and look forward to what we will achieve in the next 10 years.

In January we will launch the NRAS 10 Year Appeal with the aim of securing 10,000 donations during the year – a tall order but one we hope we will succeed in reaching. Whilst we are very proud of what we have achieved since our formation in October 2001, we can do so much more and so next year we hope to raise as much as we can to help us take the charity forward.

Could you, or someone you know, be part of Team 10 NRAS? We are looking for team members to take part in various challenge events during the year.

How about the ultimate challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro in late September or perhaps a little more sedate, the Yorkshire 3 Peaks or Hadrian’s Wall? Or if running is your thing, we have charity places in the Great North Run in September and the Great South Run and Royal Parks Half Marathon in October. Next year Ailsa will be pushed round the Great North Run course in her wheelchair by a team of 5 of our medical advisers so watch this space for more information. Earlier in the year, we will be holding our own NRAS 10K in the grounds of Hughenden Manor in West Wycombe so if you haven’t run before this could be the one to get you started!

Or if all of that sounds a bit too active, how about skydiving? In May we will be holding a Team 10 NRAS skydive at RAF Weston in Bicester. We already have 8 victims confirmed but would love lots more!

Throughout the year we are asking people to take part in Tea for 10, by inviting 10 or more friends, neighbours or colleagues to a tea party to help raise funds for NRAS. It’s a great way of getting together and having some fun while raising money for a great cause so please do think about helping us if you can. From January you will be able to register online to take part and download handy hints and tips for making your tea party a great success.

The main event of the year will be a celebratory lunch in late June to mark this special birthday, which we are in the process of organising. We will let everyone know as soon as we have the date and venue confirmed and I hope that we will see as many of you there as possible. It will be in the central England area, probably Birmingham or nearby, which is well served by road and rail so should be relatively straightforward to get to wherever you are in the country.

I hope that you will all join us in one way or another to mark our 10th Birthday and a huge thank you to all of you who have supported us in the last 10 years. From all the fundraising team, we wish you a very happy Christmas and New Year and look forward to speaking to as many of you as we can in 2011.

Tracey

Fundraising Manager