Sunshine Spooktacular!

Column 8th October 2021

Hi Sunshine news readers

Well autumn arrived with a bang this week didn't it? Were you caught in the heavy rain on

Tuesday? I was out and about at a series of meetings and unfortunately chose that day to wear my new boots.... As the heavy rainfall brought chaos and disruption to our region, we are pleased to say it didn't effect our work providing 121 support for local families and we have still managed to prepare for next weeks equipment round which is proving to be one of our biggest ever. The panel will meet on Tuesday and if you have made an application for support, Our Families Coordinator Bev will be in touch with you later in the week.

What a week its been here at Sunshine HQ as we prepare for our busiest autumn yet! Not only do we have our fabulous Noche Del Sol ball just around the corner we cant wait to tell you about a spooktacular event that we are hosting in partnership with our friends at Stagecoach North East!

On Sunday on 7th November, 12 Stagecoach North East bus drivers from two deptos Newcastle based depots, will be facing their fears at the world renounced Chillingham Castle in Northumberland. The castle which has been dubbed “A Paranormal Paradise” and has featured on popular ghost hunting shows such as “Most Haunted” is a well known landmark in our region for its picturesque location and grandeur however, its dark past and spooky goings on make it a prime location for our team of brave drivers to have a good old fashioned ghost hunt. I visited John and Shaun from the Slatyford Depot in Newcastle for the live draw earlier this week to choose our 12 lucky (Is that the right word?!) participants. Over the coming weeks we will introduce you to our gallant ghost hunters and we will be broadcasting live from the event on the night across our social media channels so you can see how they are getting on. You can even sponsor them to show your support which will help us continue our charitable work in your

region.

This week, I had a lovely cuppa and a catch up with our Noche Del Sol ball host, BBC Radio Newcastle’s very own Anna Foster. Anna has been a friend of the Fund for many years now, hosting our ball, Sunshine Run and Glass Slipper Awards and has a real love of our charity and an appreciation of the impact we have in our region. We cant wait to work with Anna again on our first live fundraising event in almost two years!

Stay safe and well readers!

Siobhan