The theme of this edition is food allergies & intolerances and we have drawn upon the experience of local families to talk openly about this increasingly common challenge. We hope you find the information contained over the next few pages useful. For even more information, please also visit the NCT Matters website. We also have lots of exciting local branch news to tell you, including information about our forthcoming Nearly New Sale on 16th June! None of this is possible without the dedication of our volunteer local parents and we really need to find some more helpers to keep our branch and its activities continuing, do shout if you can help!
Branch News
– by Tania Bogren, Branch Coordinator
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Survive and thrive - exciting 2018 plans
We held a kick-off session in January, where we put all our energy into coming up with some plans that will not only bring some exciting events and activities to local families, but also help to ensure our branch continues to thrive. Fundraising is always critical to ensure any charity survives, so we’ll be looking to our new calendar of events to help ensure we stay afloat and available to support families throughout the local area!
See page 34 for our planned calendar of events, which we’ll continue to add to as the year progresses!
Cakes at Teenies, toast at Bumps!
We all know that the most appropriate meal for a busy parent with kids, is pretty much anything you can eat one handed whilst standing up (did someone say biscuits…?) We are here to help! For a small donation the Bumps & Babes group now has yummy toast on offer for a late breakfast, and on occasion at NCTeenies we hope to support your blood sugar lows with homemade cakes!
The Nearly New Sale is back!
This year sees the comeback of our incredibly popular Nearly New Sale, where you can pick up some amazing bargains, from clothes to toys to equipment.
The sale will take place at Magna Carta school on Saturday 16th June. Be sure to put the date in you diary! We will need volunteers to help set up the night before & to help run the day itself. Get in touch via our Branch email address or via our Facebook page if you’d be keen to support!
Family Photography event
We held our first family photo shoot this year on March 19th. The event was an amazing success - just check out our cover photo!
Families were able to book a slot at a significant discount, for a 15min shoot which included 3 digital prints & a special printing offer from our sponsors Snappy Snaps. Our lovely photographer was Megan of Megan’s Little Studio in Staines.
Thanks go to the indefatigable Debs, who arranged it all single-handedly.
Can you help?
Some of our longest running & most popular groups are at risk of closure, due to our current volunteers moving away or coming to the end of their time with the branch. Without some new faces we may have to say farewell to our NCTeenies group and our Sling library. For volunteers at any of our groups, we are happy if you bring your baby/child with you, or if they are older and you are simply interested in making a difference.
NCTeenies - Our ever popular NCTeenies group has had a fantastic start to the year. Along with the abundance of books and toys for all pre-school children, there are themed crafts every week, a singing session with bubbles and of course every child gets a sticker at the end!
But despite its popularity, Teenies is at risk of closure! We are seeking a couple of volunteers to help out on a Monday morning. It is a really enjoyable way to meet lots of other parents and grandparents and simply involves helping to get the toys & equipment out at the start and tidying things away at the end. All other tasks for the group are already covered, but without any help for these really simple actions, we won’t be able to keep the group running after the summer.
Synah hoovering
after NCTeenies!
Sling library - We are seeking volunteers to start from June/July (or earlier!), before our current librarians depart. The library runs every fortnight on a Friday morning & enables new parents to try out different slings, before hiring them to use at home. It’s incredibly popular and has been going from strength to strength since Synah and Krystyna started it a year ago.
Training will be provided and it's a great
NCT Cheeky Monkey’s
Tea Party
On Saturday 6th June 2015, the Staines, Ashford & Egham Branch hosted a Cheeky Monkey’s Tea Party which raised an incredible £470.81 for the NCT. We are so grateful to all the local families who supported us and we were lucky with a dry but breezy summer’s day where local parents brought their little ones and enjoyed a picnic, a bouncy castle, arts and crafts activities and a ride on the steam train (see photo!).
Commercial Park, in Staines, where the party took place was really busy. Many parents also helped us through baking cakes to sell, donating gifts and buying tickets for our raffle. A massive thank you must go to Sam Fowler who coordinated the organisation of the day and also the Staines Society of Model Engineers who donated all of their takings for the day to the Branch. Fingers crossed, with enough volunteers, we can replicate this fantastic day during 2016!
NCTeenies
A sad farewell was said in July to Michelle Nicklette who has run NCTeenies at Staines Congregational quam velit ac ligula. Mauris quam dolor, cursus at porta et, luctus eget purus. Nunc tempor luctus interdum. Duis libero leo, consequat ut accumsan eu, viverra et erat. Nunc rhoncus tellus in ipsum molestie et gravida tortor dignis-sim. Donec nec lorem et tellus mollis lobortis. Integer sed dolor ut leo.
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