THE ACORNS Coventry Fundraising Group has celebrated its 25th anniversary.
In the last year, the charity has cared for 23 children up to the age of 18 and provided support to 33 families from the Coventry area, including those who were bebrieved.
Since its launch it has raised well in excess of £750,000 for Acorns – each year the group aims to make £50,000.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, the group are holding a black-tie dinner at Coombe Abbey Hotel on November 21.
Every year Acorns must raise close to £9million to continue to provide its services and relies on the public for the majority of this amount.
Martin Banbury, 62, from Leamington, is founder of the Acorns Coventry Fundraising Group which is kept afloat by a group of dedicated volunteers.
The money is used to provide specialist palliative care to life-limited and life-threatened children and young people and emotional and practical support to the whole family.
Martin launched the group after hearing about Acorns at one of his children’s school parents evening. He was approached by the headmistress who at the time had a connection with the charity.
“The headmistress had heard I was in business locally and asked me very straightforwardly if there was anything I could do to help support Acorns, which at the time had only been open at Selly Oak for a couple of years,” he said.
“I said I would see what I could do, and arranged to visit Acorns hospice in Selly Oak, Birmingham.”
During the visit, Martin met some of the staff and children and the saw the work of the charity first hand – something which had a lasting effect.
“I decided there and then I wanted to get involved and initially joined a support group in Leamington, before deciding to form my own group – that’s how the Coventry Fundraising Group was born,” he said.
Martin said over the years they’d had a fairly constant committee made up of six volunteers members from the area who organised events and helped raise money.
He added: “We know our efforts have helped Acorns continue its work and directly benefited the children and their families in Coventry and the surrounding areas.
“Acorns offers such a vital service to help these families cope with the challenges they face every day, so we’re incredibly proud to mark such a significant milestone.”
Call 0121 248 4850 for more.
