Support request: Tea on the Lawn Concert – 21 July 2013
Adults £10.00. Children (under the age of 14) £5.00 (Free for children under 2 years old)
Garden opens at 13:30 Concert starts at 16:00-19:00
Tickets available to purchase online at http://sanctus-home.com/products-page/events/tea-on-the-lawn/
The Chelmsford based homeless charity Sanctus (I’ve included further informationabout our activities below) are holding a fundraising concert on Sunday 21 July 2013titled Tea on The Lawn (http://sanctus-home.com/products-page/events/tea-onthe-lawn/). The event should be of wide appeal across a range of ages and musicaltastes (from opera to jazz to rock) and whilst catering to families, singletons andcouples alike it’s the perfect opportunity for pampering – the venue is a beautifulgarden and catering will range from champagne, canapés, strawberries & cream to beer, cider and BBQ. If you’re able to help please contact us at your earliest convenience at
info@sanctus-home.com or on 07436 810332.
How you can help us:
Although our preparations are coming along well we’re hoping that local businesses will help us reach our goal of ‘sourcing locally where possible’ to showcase the quality and generosity of the businesses and products in this area. And naturally we’re also hoping to reduce our costs to improve our fundraising potential (crucial aswe’re currently completely self funded)! Some of you (you know who you are) have already been incredibly generous in providing items for our catering and auction however we’re hoping to attract at least 200 visitors (and ideally 400) so very much in need of further contributions and promotion to help boost our ticket sales. I fully appreciate that this may not be possible – I’m sure you’re already stretched for time and resources and deluged with requests for charitable assistance on a regular basis. So I’m very sorry to ask but can honestly say it’s a wonderful local cause and any assistance with the following would be greatly appreciated:
• Donating an item for our charity auction and/or raffle: And please feel free to think outside the box. We’re aiming to offer a range of goodies to cover all tastes from dining, leisure, fashion and pampering to seasonal items (like picnic baskets), foodie hampers, household gadgets and ornaments. Do you have and unsold stock that would make a nice addition to our raffle? A gift card for a lesson/course will advertise the fact that you offer this activity and could be the incentive people need to start a new hobby (and come to you for assistance).
• Donating products for catering the event (or offering a generous discount that enables you to cover your costs): We’re open to any offering but in line with the theme of the event we’re particularly interested in securing more canapes, scones, sandwiches, BBQ items, artisan jam and condiments, fresh fruit (pineapple, grapes, melon, berries), cream (double and clotted), icecream. And for drinks…wine, champagne, beer (both kegs and bottle), cider, smoothies, juices, bottled water, fine quality tea and coffee… and of course ice! Or are you able to man a stand at our event to showcase your own products (for example a mobile barista machine or running the BBQ)?
• Loaning equipment (or providing a generous discount for hire): For example, hot water boiler (for making tea), coffee machine, crockery/ glassware/ cutlery (for environmental reasons we’d prefer to avoid using high quality disposables), a display fridge, marquee or lawn games e.g. croquet, giant jenga. (We can arrange for to collect and return larger items).
• Helping us promote the event. Please spread the word to customers and friends who might be interested in attending (or add the event to your webpage and/or facebook). If you’re not doing so already, are you able to display our poster or flyers in your business (a copy of which is on our event webpage)?
• Volunteering your skills for the day. We would love to create a garden party atmosphere between 13.30 (when we open) and 16.00 (when the concert starts). My dream would be to have some roaming performers (like magician, circus skills or caricature artiste), alternative entertainments (e.g. live classical music or casino) and something to occupy the little ones (e.g. craft workshop, bouncy castle or story telling). As it’s a fundraising event we’re unable to pay you but as a small gesture to thank you for your time we’d be delighted for you to join us for the concert (16.00-19.00).
How we will thank our donors:
Aside from personal gratitude we will try to promote each business. We will add the company name and website/Facebook URL to the event sponsor listing on our website. We have widely advertised our event using flyers, posters and online events listing so we have plenty of online traffic to our website. I have also submitted article proposals to three local newspapers. The Essex Chronicle produced the first article (highlighting the charity and promoting our event) in the 4 July issue (page 6). The reporter is pending editorial approval to run the follow up piece including the names of our business supporters to highlight their generosity.
More information about Sanctus:
Sanctus is a completely self funded charity running a soup kitchen for homeless at Nicole's Cafe (28 Broomfield Road, Chelmsford). The majority of the service users (18-28 per day) are incredibly ordinary people (including ex business owners), who from a series of unfortunate events (that could happen to any one of us) have found themselves without a roof over their head. Many have travelled from other areas of Essex to Chelmsford because other towns have no appropriate provision. Just yesterday I met 2 people from Grays, 1 from Southend and 1 from Pitsea. (Single able bodied males are particularly hardest hit as they are minimum priority on waiting lists for council accommodation). CHESS provides homeless shelters but unfortunately close during the hours of 9am and 7pm. Even with appointments for medical and benefit claims and job hunting it's incredibly difficult to fill these hours, especially when you have little to no money. 6 days a week the Sanctus run cafe opens it doors 9am-4pm providing a place to rest, good company and free snacks and drinks throughout the day and a hot freshly cooked lunch. It's literally a life line.
Sincerest thanks for your time and consideration.
Best wishes
Vicky (Sanctus Volunteer)
