An evening of motivating and inspirational stories of his adventures, his travels and his life experiences, with great enthusiasm and humour,whilst demonstrating that ability lies within us all.

Stuart Boreham has led an extraordinary life. Born with cerebral palsy which affects his legs and his mobility, Stuart has achieved some remarkable feats.

He travelled from John O’Groats to Land’s End on ride-on-lawnmower - a first.

Following this journey, Stuart became a member of the first yacht crew made up entirely of people with a disability, or who had overcome a life threatening illness, to race around the world. He and his crewmates were competitors in the 1996-97 BT Global Challenge Yacht Race. They were runners up in the YJA Yachtsman of the Year awards.

Stuart then became the first physically disabled person in the world to row an ocean. He achieved this amazing feat when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the Canaries to Barbados in his rowing boat. He covered 3341 miles solo, unassisted and unsupported in 109 days 12 hours and 9 minutes. He took up horse riding to train for the row.

His feat was recognised by the organising committee of the Olympic Games who honoured him by asking him to carry the torch in London on its journey to Athens. Stuart also won the prestigious Central ITV ‘Courageous Midlander of the Year 2004’ award for his outstanding achievement in rowing the Atlantic solo.

Drinks and Canapes at 7pm, Lecture at 7:30pm

Location: Princess Alexandra Hall, Royal Over-Seas League, Over-Seas House,

Park Place, St James’s Street, London SW1A 1LR

Cost: £40 per person to include wine and canapés on arrival.

for tickets please contact Sarah Wilson on 07831 558752 or via email sbwizz@thededans.co.uk

Daredevil water workers have taken fundraising to another level with a charity abseil.

Seven employees from Northumbrian Water scaled the dizzy heights of Kielder reservoir’s valve tower on Friday 18 November 2011, to raise money for youth charity, the Prince’s Trust and Calvert Trust Kielder.

At 230 feet (70 metres) from its base on the reservoir floor, the valve tower is taller than Nelson’s column and as high as a 23 storey building.

The event was organised by billing services team supervisor, Louise Morris.

In recent months the team have organised a variety of fundraisers, including a masquerade ball, but opted for a sky-high sponsored abseil for their latest event as team chairman, Darren Walker, has a fear of heights.

Eight members of Northumbrian Water’s senior leadership team were also “roped in” to the sponsored abseil, and took the plunge inside the tower in festive Santa costumes.

Company CEO, Heidi Mottram, was first to take on the challenge. She said:

“The valve tower’s usual purpose is to release water from Kielder reservoir, so it was a fantastic opportunity to be able to freefall more than 200 feet from the top. It was an exhilarating experience and a great team effort.”

Pete Coulson, Head of Activities at Calvert Trust Kielder helped to make the challenge possible by providing the specilist equipment and expertise to abseil the team safely down the tower.

Darren Walker, Northumbrian Water, who had to face his fear of heights for the challenge, said:

“The worst part was going over the edge to start the abseil, but I made it to the bottom thanks to the encouragement from the Calvert Trust Kielder experts.

I’ve come a long way to conquering my fear of heights but I’m not looking to repeat the abseil any time soon. I felt a great sense of relief once my feet were back on the ground.”

The challenge raised over £1,000 for Calvert Trust Kielder which will make a huge difference to our work with disabled children and adults.  We would like to thank everyone at Northumbrian Water for their support.

15 Staff from Calvert Trust Exmoor have today completed a four day Makaton training course, all ready for our first visitors of 2012, who are arriving this weekend.

Lynn, a regional Makaton tutor, has been staying on site with us, and has delivered a superb course, with loads of practical application to the fantastic adventurous activities we offer here at Calvert Trust Exmoor.

Makaton is a language programme using signs and symbols to help people communicate. It is designed to support spoken language and the signs and symbols are used with speech in spoken word order. The Makaton Charity is responsible for developing and sharing the Makaton language programme.

After the success of the MS taster weekends hosted last year, Calvert Trust Kielder are now offering 3 nights for the price of 2 on a MS Young Persons weekend in February 2012.

Calvert Trust Kielder will work with the MS Society to host the weekend to give young people with MS the opportunity to experience adventurous outdoor activities. 

The weekend includes a range of exciting activities as well as the opportunity to meet new friends and take away lasting holiday memories.

There are still spaces available so pick up the phone and make your booking before you miss out.

This fully catered special weekend includes accommodation, a structured programme of activities and evening entertainment. Also included are tips on life skills for living with Parkinson’s and help on finding ways to participate in active sports in your local area, all for just £275 per person.

Click here for more information, or on the logo below to download a flyer.

Sailing is one of the most popular activities at Calvert Trust Kielder and when the need arose for a new sailing boat to enable more visitors to experience the thrill of sailing on Kielder Water, the fundraising team at the centre contacted The Sylvia Adams Trust to ask for help to fund a new vessel. Following a visit to the centre on the shores of Kielder Water, Jane Young Director of the Trust, was happy to endorse the application and the trustees allocated a grant of £24,511 to buy a Drascombe Gig. 

Peter Cockerill, CEO of Calvert Trust said:

“We are very grateful to Sylvia Adams Trust for their generosity and support. Without their help, we would not have been able to buy the boat in the foreseeable future.”

The new boat has been named ‘Sylvia Adams’ and some guests, staying at the centre on a respite break, were thrilled to take part in her inaugural sail on the lake.

The gig is a powerful and exhilarating sailing boat that will accommodate 10 people but can be sailed single-handedly by an experienced skipper.  Designed as a training vessel, this would replace two smaller 20 year old Drascombe Longboats and complement the one Gig already in service at Calvert Trust Kielder.

Experience has shown that the size, stability and ease of sailing of the Drascombe Gig makes it most suited to Calvert Trust Kielder activities.

“People are often nervous about getting into a boat, but when we demonstrate the stability of the gig, they relax and thoroughly enjoy their trip on the water.” James, activity instructor.

The Gig is easier for novice sailors to learn to sail, giving them a real sense of achievement.  

Large groups can take to the water together and the crew area is more flexible and comfortable for less mobile users, allowing for modifications such as supportive seating. With a bigger platform the Gig is able to cope with more challenging sailing conditions while maintaining comfort and stability and this in turn helps boost confidence in those sailing for the first time.

Pat Cardew, from Blackpool, first visited the trust’s Riding Centre in Keswick with daughter Penny in 2009.

During the stay horse lover Penny booked her disabled mother a riding session using a specially adapted wheelchair accessible carriage.

She enjoyed it so much that they booked to come back and have another go – after which Pat was hooked.

On returning home Penny started looking for a suitable driving pony for her mum.

After they found Billie, the Calvert Trust agreed to lend Pat an adapted carriage they no longer used. Having a new hobby gave her much pleasure during the final years of her life and, when she sadly passed away recently, after a prolonged illness, her dying wish was to donate Billie to the Keswick Riding Centre.

The horse is now in Cumbria and will soon be helping other disabled visitors.

Staff say they will always be grateful to Pat for her gift and will always remember her as they put the carriage on to Billie for a drive out.

His arrival came at the perfect time for the centre following the retirement of two of its long-serving horses.

Situated at Old Windebrowe, the Lake District Calvert Trust Riding Centre provides horse riding and carriage driving sessions for people with disabilities. As well as those on residential holidays, local people with disabilities and community riders can also use the facilities.

After the retirement of two of its horses, Bob and Bruno, staff were faced with the prospect of finding two new animals to carry on their good work.

The horses and ponies at the Calvert Trust are carefully chosen for their temperament and patience. They undergo a period of adjustment, schooling and assessment before they are used on riding sessions.

Staff say they were very fortunate to find Kirby, a 15.2 hh ride and drive, eight-year-old mare that fitted their job description perfectly.

The trust was then given Billie, a 14.2hh ride and drive 10-year-old gelding on permanent loan.

First published at 11:28, Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Thanks also to the Right Reverend Peter Maurice, Bishop of Taunton, who led the the service, and to Janine Roebuck, internationally recognised mezzo-soprano, who sang during the service.

The service also included Pilgrim, Calvert Trust Exmoor's miniature Shetland pony, and his friend Emily the show-sheep!

A big thank you also to Heny Cumming for allowing us to use his excellent photos.

More photos from the service can be found here:  

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.302286859811231.75878.194989400540978&type=1&l=8ce7562ad2

On Saturday 19 November the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead provided a spectacular backdrop for the finals of the second Great North East Care Awards.

Suited, booted, polished and preened, members of the Care Team scrubbed up a treat and excitedly prepared for the evening.  Following a tasty three course dinner, entertainment was provided by our hosts for the evening, Hardeep Singh and GBCA Compere Steve Walls, who incidentally compered the Calvert Ball earlier in the year.

Our category was announced:

‘This award will be presented to the team who are able to best demonstrate a shared vision and agreed goals. The team should have a leader whose role is known and accepted and who takes personal responsibility for their tasks. Teams should have an excellent communication process and each member’s skills should be recognised within the team.  Demonstrating a commitment to dignity and privacy for clients and also respect for team members is paramount.’

Competition was tough, with several other care providers also nominated in the same category.  Sadly, we did not pick up the 1st Prize; however we were thrilled to be in the running and took great pride in collecting our ‘Finalist’ trophy. 

After all the awards had been presented, it was time to roll up our sleeves and hit the dance floor;  dancing until our feet hurt and unleashing some classic ‘Calvert disco moves’ was a highlight of the evening.

The next day the whole team was very proud to bring home the trophy.  It has been a lovely boost to team morale and has shown that our work is really appreciated by those who count the most, the people who come and use our services.

We are delighted that we are succeeding in meeting our core values and that this has been noticed by others.  On behalf of all the Care Team we would like to say a huge THANK YOU. 

A big thank you also to the Garfield Weston Foundation, (http://www.garfieldweston.org/) who have match funded the donations.

In total we have raised £44,282.60 through this 3 day Big Give event, which is a fantastic sum, your support really will enable us to make a huge difference to the lives of our many disabled visitors.

Thank you all for your ongoing support for Calvert Trust Exmoor; we really couldn’t do what we do without you.

The two categories are:

We won't find out until the awards ceremony on the 6th February 2012  whether we are Bronze, Silver or Gold winners, and we can't wait! 

(Follow this link for more info about our Visit Devon Award):http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/about-us/latest-news/post/85-calvert-trust-exmoor-win-visit-devon-tourism-award/

Hexham based company EGGER presented Calvert Trust Kielder with a cheque for £5,000 to purchase a brand new golf buggy.

Throughout the year Hexham employees organise numerous fundraising events ranging from bike rides and golf days through to bowling nights and raffles to raise money for local causes.

Nick McClughin, Marketing Manager and member of the Egger Charity Committee said:

“Each year the EGGER family and company provides a significant charitable donation to each plant in the Group and it is this generous donation along with the efforts of our Hexham employees which has enabled us to present the cheque to Calvert Trust Kielder. 

At EGGER we believe it is very important to give something back to the Tynedale community.  Calvert Trust Kielder provide invaluable help and support to the area and I am delighted to present this cheque to enable them to continue their good work.”

Hazel Munro, Corporate & Events Fundraiser at Calvert Trust Kielder said:

“We are delighted to receive such a generous donation for a second year from EGGER UK Ltd, to support our provision of adventurous outdoor activities to children and adults with disabilities. The money raised through EGGER’s charity fund in 2011 has enabled us to purchase this golf buggy, which will be used to take our visitors along the nature trails and paths around Kielder Water and into Kielder Forest.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Nick and the team at Egger for making this donation possible."

We are thrilled to announce that with the help of our amazing supporters Calvert Trust Kielder has won £6,275 from NatWest Community Force.

The award will be used to encourage young carers, some as young as 10 years old, to enjoy a short break at the centre, where they can relinquish the responsibility of caring for their disabled mum or dad for a few days and just be a kid.  However, for some the anxiety of leaving their cared for person for even a day is too much, so mum or dad can come along too. Our resident carers will be there to support them and they can take part in the activities alongside their son or daughter.

We would like to thank all of the people who registered and voted on the NatWest Community Force website for our project. We couldn't have done it without you.  We would also like to thank NatWest for running the campaign.

We were paticularily pleased with the judges comments;

"An outstanding venue in all aspects, specialising in giving people with a disability, their family and friends, the active holiday of a lifetime. A role model to every business in tourism."

Calvert Trust Kielder recently hosted two hugely successful taster weekends for people with MS, their families and friends.  Following their popularity, plans have already begun for a MS Adventure Weekend next April.

The first weekend was held in October and attracted 36 people, but due to massive demand a second one was quickly arranged in November by Sally Hemingbrough (Team Leader Respite Care) and Tara Martin (Team Leader Business Development).

The weekends were developed to give an opportunity to experience what Calvert Trust Kielder has to offer, including motor boating on Kielder Water, an exhilarating ride on the King Swing and a climbing session on our indoor wall. For those who wanted to sample something less strenuous, the hydrotherapy pool, sauna, sensory room and aromatherapy treatments were available.

Everyone loved Whisper the Barn Owl, who took centre stage when Ray Lowden from Kielder Water Birds of Prey Centre, brought some of his feathered friends to visit.

One guest from the October weekend said:

“It was wonderful to be involved in everything; my abilities were more important than any impairments I have – a positive environment with positive attitudes – really enjoyed it and so did my PA, instead of being in the background she was able to have fun too, thank you”.

The weekend was heavily subsidised by a generous benefactor and people came from all over the country including Fife, Edinburgh and York, to enjoy the break.  The MS Society helped to promote the weekends and were really keen to help Calvert Trust Kielder to realise their objectives for the event.

Tara Martin said:

"We wanted to do something that would encourage people to come and have a go at what we do; we hope to encourage people to realise - it’s what you can do that counts.  The weekends gave our guests the opportunity to get out in the countryside and take part in activities they may not have thought possible.”

CTK and the MS Society are busy working on the MS Adventure Weekend in April 2012.  The dates are 27 – 30 April and the price is £309 per person or £440 for anyone who would like to come and stay on our Adult Respite Care package.  Accommodation will comprise of 4 star lodges sleeping up to 7 people in each and twin, triple or single rooms in the main centre.

Sally Hemingbrough said:

"There is a huge demand for what we do; we can make a massive difference to peoples’ lives and we are keen to work with the MS Society again to provide another weekend next year."

The visitors in the centre this week,HighfieldSchool(West Yorkshire) andAshleySchool(Cheshire) were able to meet the Countess personally and even show her their newly acquired rock climbing skills.

Robin Burgess, Chairman of The Lake District Calvert Trust said:

 “Our residential visitors and local community are thrilled with our brand new high spec facilities. Throughout the day local groups, families & community members use the pool and on evenings our residential groups enjoy the hydrotherapy features of the pool and sauna, after a full day of outdoor activities.

“Our supporters have enabled not only a significant expansion to Calvert Trust but are improving the lives of our visitors. We are indebted to all who have contributed”

Once again the Lake District Calvert Trust would like to thank everybody who helped make the development possible and look forward to many more visitors using the new facilities in the future.

 Please Support the Calvert Trust Exmoor 
Monday 5th – Wednesday 7th December

Every donation made online from Monday 5th to Wednesday 7th December will be matched £1 for £1 through the Garfield Weston Big Give Challenge.    

1.  Make a Pledge today; whether you can help with £5 or £25 or any sum you can afford, your gift is invaluable to us and will be doubled.

2. Please circulate this round your friends or colleagues;   they too may wish to make a personal donation, and make their gift go twice as far.

Please help us now and email Rachel on fundraisingexmoor@calvert-trust.org.uk, or Alison at project@calvert-trust.org.uk to make a pledge, we will then add you to our reminder list. More details about what your gift will fund can be found on the Big Give Website where you can watch our DVD.

If you have any questions please contact Rachel on fundraisingexmoor@calvert-trust.org.uk, or Alison on project@calvert-trust.org.uk or 07966 015956. 

We have are finalists in the 'Best Tourism Activity, Sport and Experience of the Year' category.

you can find more information on the Awards here:http://www.devontourismawards.org.uk/

The awards take place on the 23rd of November, we can't wait to find out if we have won!

The Friends of Calvert Trust Exmoor have organised a Christmas Carol Service, in aid of Calvert Trust Exmoor, on the 10th of December 2011, from 6pm, at St Mary Magdalene Church, Exford.

The service is being led by the Right Reverend Peter Maurice, Bishop of Taunton, and there will be mince pies & mulled wine after the service.

A collection will be taken during the service, in aid of Calvert Trust Exmoor.

More information on St Mary Magdalene Church can be found here;

http://www.achurchnearyou.com/exford-st-mary-magdalene/

Fancy dress challengers took on the North East's highest abseil on Sunday to raise cash for Calvert Trust Kielder.

The fancy dress abseil took place from the roof of the Vermont Hotel in Newcastle City Centre.

Taking part in the challenge was Steve Erdal from Newcastle University who abseiled dressed as Chewbacca and Dr Frank N Furter.

"In an attempt to encourage sponsorship, I stupidly let my sponsors choose my costume. My so-called friends had great fun with this opportunity, and in the end it was a dead heat between Chewbacca and Dr Frank N Furter, so I did the abseil top half Chewy, bottom half Frank.

The abseil was a challenge, but not nearly as terrifying as walking down Grey Street in fishnets and a Wookie mask on a Sunday afternoon. But it was a great event for a wonderful cause, and I hope to be able to participate Calvert Trust Kielder challenges again in future (but hopefully in a more comfortable outfit!)"

Steve has raised over £500 which is a fantastic achievement.

We would like to thank all of our abseilers for taking on this brave challenge to raise money for the centre. 

For further information on our fundraising events visit our events pages or contact Hazel Munro on 01434 250232 to see how you can get involved.