LOCAL NEWS 12 Hospice Hopes for Spr<strong>in</strong>g Cycle Event St Giles Hospice is hop<strong>in</strong>g to relaunch its programme of summer fundrais<strong>in</strong>g events start<strong>in</strong>g with Cycle Spr<strong>in</strong>g which is planned to take place on Sunday 23rd May, with COVIDcompliant measures <strong>in</strong> place. This year’s event, which will be start<strong>in</strong>g from St Giles Hospice <strong>in</strong> Whitt<strong>in</strong>gton for the first time, <strong>in</strong>troduces three new routes through the beautiful Staffordshire countryside with vary<strong>in</strong>g degrees of difficulty. The 27-mile route is open to all cyclists aged 10 and above and the more challeng<strong>in</strong>g 52-mile and 76-mile routes are open to riders aged 16 and over. Arrival times will be staggered from 7.30am to ensure that social distanc<strong>in</strong>g can be complied with, and book<strong>in</strong>gs are restricted to a maximum of six people from the same household or support bubble. Cyclists book<strong>in</strong>g a place before midnight on Wednesday 31st March can enjoy an early bird offer of £25 (<strong>in</strong>stead of £27) with entries clos<strong>in</strong>g at midday on Thursday 20th May. To sign up, or for further details, visit www.stgileshospice.com/cyclespr<strong>in</strong>g. ....................................................................................... Double-Whammy for Fundraiser Gladys Crowe, 78, is a long-term supporter of St Giles Hospice and has helped raise funds for more than 20 years. Like many other people dur<strong>in</strong>g the pandemic, Gladys has been shield<strong>in</strong>g and every day activities have had to be put on hold. Unhappy about not be<strong>in</strong>g able to fundraise Gladys decided to take up the #GiveItUp4StGiles challenge <strong>in</strong> February and have a ‘dry’ (no-alcohol) month. However, not content with this, Gladys also jo<strong>in</strong>ed the #Miles4StGiles challenge and set herself a personal target of walk<strong>in</strong>g a m<strong>in</strong>imum of five miles every day dur<strong>in</strong>g February! Each morn<strong>in</strong>g Gladys donned her trusty boots and set out, encounter<strong>in</strong>g snow, gales, ra<strong>in</strong>, fog and, eventually, some sunsh<strong>in</strong>e on her walks around the local countryside. Gladys walked an amaz<strong>in</strong>g 320 miles over the month (an average of 11 miles per day) and smashed her orig<strong>in</strong>al target of rais<strong>in</strong>g £1,000, <strong>in</strong>stead br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> more than £3,000 for the cause. Her family would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported and sponsored Gladys along her way. ....................................................................................... Free Survive Service Launches A free countywide service for Staffordshire is help<strong>in</strong>g victims of sexual assault and abuse – and their family members and partners – recover from the impact of the crime and cope with the harm they have experienced. Survive, the Sexual Assault and Sexual Abuse Service, provides free tailored, confidential and effective support for victims, from report<strong>in</strong>g the crime or recognis<strong>in</strong>g they need support, to exit<strong>in</strong>g the service. Victims can seek support whether they report the crime to the police or not. Services <strong>in</strong>clude a local helpl<strong>in</strong>e, counsell<strong>in</strong>g and a specialist support and advocacy service for victims, as well as support for close family members and significant others. The service will operate across Staffordshire (not <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Stoke-on-Trent) for two years, with an opportunity for a further two 12- month extensions after this. If you would like to talk to someone about access<strong>in</strong>g the Survive service, or would like to make a referral, please call the 24-hour helpl<strong>in</strong>e on 0300 330 5959 or email referrals@staffordshirewomensaid.org. ....................................................................................... Council Grant Scheme for Start-Ups <strong>Lichfield</strong> District Council is offer<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess start-up grants of £3,000 to local residents who have been made redundant or are out of work and plann<strong>in</strong>g to start a bus<strong>in</strong>ess over the next year. In total the council has set aside £200,000 from the Additional Restrictions Grant fund<strong>in</strong>g it received from the Government, to <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong> new local bus<strong>in</strong>esses. To be considered for support, prospective applicants must first go on a start-up masterclass workshop provided by Enterprise for Success before apply<strong>in</strong>g for a grant. This two-day <strong>in</strong>teractive session will be a useful way to get expert advice to help create a sound bus<strong>in</strong>ess plan. The four applications rounds are: 28th May, 27th August, 26th November and 28th January 2022. The scheme will run until January 2022, or when all the fund<strong>in</strong>g has been allocated. To f<strong>in</strong>d out more visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/startupgrants. ....................................................................................... In Memory of Mark Farrant Mark Farrant died peacefully at home on Thursday 18th February <strong>2021</strong> aged 94. Much loved husband of his late wife Ela<strong>in</strong>e Farrant (nee Price Evans). He was very much loved and will be sadly missed by his nieces, nephew, great nieces, great nephews and friends. Mark was a devoted member of <strong>Lichfield</strong> Cathedral for over 50 years and dur<strong>in</strong>g that time he was a regular attendee, got married there, volunteered there, was a speaker, donor, and a member of the Guild of Cathedral Welcomers. He and his wife Ela<strong>in</strong>e were also actively <strong>in</strong>volved with the annual <strong>Lichfield</strong> Festival. Donations if desired to SSAFA may be sent to F M & J Wait Funeral Directors, 25 Bird Street, <strong>Lichfield</strong>, Staffordshire, WS14 6PW. ....................................................................................... Local Beauty Spots Receive Fund<strong>in</strong>g Cannock Chase and Chasewater Country Park are set to receive £450,000 fund<strong>in</strong>g to improve and develop facilities, enhance the visitor experience and <strong>in</strong>crease tourism to the area. The fund<strong>in</strong>g comes after Staffordshire County Council allocated fund<strong>in</strong>g from the EU’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and committed money raised from car park<strong>in</strong>g fees at the two local parks. <strong>Lichfield</strong> District Council is also contribut<strong>in</strong>g towards improvements at Chasewater Country Park. Amongst the developments, there will be new areas for children to play plus excit<strong>in</strong>g new walk<strong>in</strong>g, path improvements and upgrades to the visitors’ centres. The country parks will also see new <strong>in</strong>terpretation panels, multi-media displays <strong>in</strong>side the visitors’ centres and a new walk<strong>in</strong>g route l<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g the two.
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