​Fund Raising & Awareness Raising Activities

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​If you are planning an event to raise funds in the Mid Kent area, please do let us know so that we can publicise/support your event as much as possible.  We really are grateful to everyone who takes the time to hold fund raising events. 

For details of future events, please take a look at our Diary Dates page

Past Events​

January 2022
COVID - Many of our fundraising events were cancelled during the pandemic - we are delighted that in-person events are looking likely to start up again and we are grateful to everyone who organises fundraising events to support the Branch.
November 2021
We had another fantastically successful Christmas Bazaar at Princes Hall, Rochester.  The Bazaar attracted many visitors, and we were glad to see some old faces - especially after not having been able to hold in-person events for so long.  The Mayor of Rochester, Jan Aldous and her consort (husband) Tony, visited every stall and encouraged people outside to come in and spend money with us.  We raised a fabulous £1,500 - thanks to everyone who came along.  See you again next year!!  Who knows who will join Father Christmas and the polar bear next year!
August 2021
Our tombola stand did a roaring trade at the Doddington Village Fete on August Bank Holiday Sunday.  ​The sun shone, local musicians played, beer (and tea!) flowed and the tea tent ran out of cake before 3 o’clock! There were children’s races and games, local craft stalls and a bouncy castle.  Thank you to everyone who came along to support us!
August 2020
There are some fabulous people out there doing some amazing things to raise funds for the MNDA!!!  We like to try and highlight these wherever possible.

James is running the London Marathon because his mum Wendy was diagnosed with MND in 2015.  Good luck James - we really appreciate all you're doing to support our work.

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=JamesGibbons13&pageUrl=1
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Our huge thanks go to Medway Roller Dance Club for a fantastic fundraising event.  Medway Roller Dance Club held a skatathon and covered 246 miles between them.  The club had aimed to skate 100 miles at Betteshanger Country Park in Deal for MND Association's 5000 Mission challenge which calls on people to help cover 5,000 miles for the 5,000 people with MND in the UK. But members, who usually meet at Woodlands Community Sports Centre in Gillingham, soon increased their target to 250 miles.  Unfortunately the weather was against them, and the group of 17 skaters had to call it a day at 246 miles.  They have raised almost £1,000 - which is absolutely amazing!!!  Thank you to all those who took part - every penny really does make a difference!! 

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/it-is-devastating-252301/?fbclid=IwAR23cYIt_CV4XvThZmaTvX2MejvLP2Rqt0JDaX0phHsV5TAp1iQUdP0IVGw​​
June 2020
One of our fantastic supporters, Dave, has set up a BuyMeACoffee page - where any donations made to 'buy a coffee' will come to our Branch.  If you fancy 'buying us a coffee' - please do visit Dave's page - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MNDA4MidKent

November 2019
There's an easy way to raise funds for the Branch.  If you do any shopping online, all you have to do is shop via the easyfundraising website and you are donating without it costing you a single penny more!!! As we start thinking about Christmas shopping and raise money for the Mid Kent Branch at the same time ! It’s such an easy way to support us so please check it out! 

Visit: http://efraising.org/JseVt7BzZD
September 2019
On a bright and sunny first day of September, we were so lucky to see another Walk to D'Feet take place in Shorne Country Park, in memory of a very lovely lady Brenda Sheridan.  Brenda's family kindly put a lot of hard work each year into organising the walk and this year was the best yet!  Over 50 supporters turned up, of all ages and including some four-legged friends and set off into the sunshine.  The family raised an amazing £1,000 (and still counting) which made all the hard work worthwhile.  Thank you to all of the family for continuing to support the Branch.  The family are already planning next year's walk to keep an eye on the website for more news on this next year!
June 2019


​Joyce and I had a happy and successful day at Borstal Village Summer Fair. If you look VERY carefully you can see Joyce behind the plants! 
 
If you missed us on Saturday, we shall be having another Plant Stall (in aid of Mid Kent) at the Wisdom Hospice Summer Fete on Saturday 13th July, 11am – 3pm. 
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We were delighted to see so many of you at our annual quiz night at Bower Grove School.  Colin, our superb Quiz Master, came up trumps yet again with a fine selection of trivia, which left many of us scratching our heads and chewing our pens!  It is always an informal, light-hearted and enjoyable evening and we hope that all of you who came along, enjoyed the evening.  Thank you to Colin and Sheila for all their hard work - far more than we probably realise! And thank you to all those donated and bought raffle prizes and tickets.  We raised over £600 which is a fabulous result from a thoroughly enjoyable event! Finally, a big WELL DONE to the winning team!
March 2019
We were lucky enough to receive a fabulous donation at our recent AGM from Wendy Clark and her family who have been fundraising for the MNDA.  Wendy has raised an amazing £15,000 through their 'Paint, Post, Donate' fundraiser which involves painting a toe or fingernail, posting a picture and donating to MNDA.  Wendy's son Lucas has continued to raise funds through a run organised at his university, stopping at the end of each lap to have a nail painted!!  You can donate via Wendy's Justgiving page ​https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paintpostdonate   
​Thank you so much Wendy, John and all your supporters - you are enabling us to continue to support others diagnosed with MND in the local area. 
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Wendy & John Clark presenting their cheque to our President, Professor David Oliver, with our Treasurer Lynne Eldred supervising!
Thanks to all those who came along to our AGM on 16th March 2019.  We were delighted to have our President, Professor David Oliver, with us providing an update on research news from the latest MND/ALS international symposium.  We had a fantastic turnout and if we didn't get a chance to make contact with you and you would like to speak to one of our AVs, please do get in touch.  We had a delicious Afternoon Tea, thanks to Tea in the Weald and it was good to see everyone chatting and enjoying some social time together.  If there is anything you would like to see being covered at future AGMs, please let us know - we aim to please!
February 2019
On Friday 1st February 2019, Corpus Christi House at Maidstone Grammar School held a charities day in support of the Branch. Maidstone Grammar School students and teachers have been helped by the Branch in dealing with the loss of loved ones from MND.  There were two main events on the day, the first being the staff and teachers 80’s band in the Big Hall, with Anarchy in the UK and Survivor being played. This was very popular.   The second main event was three ‘Supercars of London’ arriving at school by Paul Wallace and friends.  There was a racing Porsche, Lamborghini and a Ferrari at school with the chance to get a photo for £1! This was immensely popular and Paul Wallace and his friends kindly brought these cars down all the way from London.   

Along with many other activities held at the school, an amazing sum of £2,821 was raised (the largest amount ever raised at one of the school's charity days!)

Our huge thanks go to Scarlett Grindle, Bianka Babrian, all in Corpus Christi House and all the staff and pupils for giving so much support to this event.
January 2019
We were delighted to hear that we received £1,000 from the Tesco Blue Token scheme in their Lunsford Park/Larkfield stores, during November/December.  This is a wonderful sum that will help us to support people living with MND and their families/carers.  
Our thanks to Pearson Whiffin who raised a fantastic £5,000 for the East Kent, Mid Kent and North Kent Branches of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.  Representatives from each of the Branches were presented with the cheque and were able to pass on their thanks for all the hard work that Pearson Whiffin put into raising this wonderful sum!  
December 2018
Thanks Connor!

​Fabulous fundraising by Connor who swam 5km in 1hr 45 minutes and raised over £555 for the Branch, in memory of his Grandad.  Thanks Connor - wish we had all that energy!!!
Our huge thanks to Omi, Abi, Ava and Lois from 1st Leybourne Brownies who planned and organised a "Funfair" for all the Brownies to celebrate their time in Brownies as they were leaving.   The girls sold popcorn and candyfloss and had the MNDA collecting bucket and raised a fantastic £50 for the Branch.  Thanks girls - we really appreciate all your hard work!
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​November 2018

St Mary's Island Community Christmas Fair

Our thanks to all who supported the Medway Neurological Network stall at the St Mary's Island Community Christmas Fair.  It is always good to work in partnership with the other charities involved with Medway Neurological Network.  It was a great day and definitely a chance to begin to feel the festive spirit!

​Fish and Chip Fundraising

Any excuse to scoff fish and chips!!!  Our huge thanks to Liz Presley and supporters of the fish and chip quiz fundraising event organised in memory of Liz's friend, Pauline.  The proceeds from the event were split between Blood Wise and the Branch.
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​Fabulous Fund Raising

We are very grateful to the family of Geoff Felstead who have been generously raising funds for the Branch through, amongst other things, marathon running in New York.  Sonia and Sue presented a cheque for £1,120 to our President at a recent ‘patient and carers’ meeting, bringing the total raised by the family to over an amazing £2,000.  Our heartfelt thanks to Sonia, Sue and Anita for all their hard efforts in raising funds for us - we are so grateful
November and December 2018 - Tesco Lunsford Park and Tesco Larkfield Express
We were very lucky to have been nominated for Tesco Lunsford Park and Tesco Larkfield Express (Esso) blue token 'Bags of Help' scheme during the period from 1st November to 31st December.    Customers were able to choose our Branch by placing the blue token given at the tills, in the 'Bags of Help' voting unit in-store.  There is a 1st prize of £4,000, 2nd prize of £2,000 and 3rd prize of £1,000 (or lower amounts if requested) and we await news of how much we will receive!

We are committed to providing access for people with MND and their carers, to support group meetings, family days out and home visits by therapists at a time when social isolation and financial pressure is so often an issue.  Funds from schemes such as 'Bags of Help' enable us to be able to continue to offer that support.​
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Christmas Bazaar - Saturday 3 November 2018

Huge thanks to all those who helped out at and supported our annual Christmas Bazaar at the Princes Hall, Rochester.  As in previous years, there was a fine array of stalls including the delicious cakes, the tombola, gifts, raffle, to name but a few.  And even though it was only early November, we still had an early visit from the man himself!  This fabulous event raise just over £1,327 so well worth all the hard work and effort that went into it.  Thank you to Joan for co-ordinating it and to all those who gave their time.
September 2018
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​Shorne Country Park - Walk to D'feet MND

It was great to have a 'repeat' of the previous week's walk in memory of Brenda Sheridan.  A number of supporters who were unable to make the first walk, met up and raised an additional £125 towards Brenda's walk.  We are grateful to all of you who were able to come along and support both walks!  We were grateful to the weather on both occasions too!!
Beginners 2 Runners - Leybourne

We would like to give huge thanks to the organisers and participants of the Beginners 2 Runners 50K Virtual Run which took part during August.  This raised a fantastic £257!  Huge thanks to the family of Paul Eldred who enabled this event to take place - Paul was a passionate runner and we are sure would have been thrilled with all the miles notched up by you all!  
Brenda Sheridan Memorial Walk to D'feet MND - September 2018

It was a lovely, sunny morning for this year's walk organised by the family of Brenda Sheridan.  There was a fantastic turnout and lots of passing interest from the public.  It really is a great event - keep it in mind for your diaries next year!  Thank you to Brenda's family for organising this annual event which raises much-needed funds for the Branch.
Car washing fund-raising event - September 2018

The sunshine was out and so were the firefighters from Rainham Fire Station working hard at Rainham Shopping Centre for a day of car washing!  We are so grateful to Jack Staunch, the lovely family of Denise Whitelock, and all the firefighters for all their hard work.  Organising an event like this takes a lot of time and effort and it is always much appreciated.  There was a huge turnout and the people of Rainham were incredibly generous.  Thank you to all!​
August 2018

Golders Green Foundation

We are extremely fortunate to have received a donation from the trustees of the Golders Green Foundation.   Their generous donation means that, as a Branch, we are able to continue to support people diagnosed with MND, and their families at a time when help is needed the most.  
Waitrose - Allington : Green Token Scheme - August 2018

We were very lucky to have been nominated for Waitrose Allington's green token scheme again this year.  Customers chose between three local charities and it was great to see so many customers choosing to support the Branch.

We were thrilled to receive a cheque for £470 from the Allington Branch - thank you to all the staff and customers for their ongoing support!
July 2018

​Co-Op Store - Lenham

We are lucky enough to be the Lenham Co-Op's chosen charity partner for the current year and we recently held a bucket collection at the store.  It was great to see the staff wearing MNDA t-shirts and really supporting the bucket collectors.  We raised £127.63 which is a great amount!!  Thank you to all the staff and customers at Co-Op for their support!

Support MNDA by taking on this virtual run during August 2018
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Carl who lost his dad to MND is the youngest team leader for "Beginners 2 Runners at Leybourne" and together with other B2R clubs in the county, Leybourne are supporting Carl, his family and local people by raising money for Mid Kent MNDA. 
This virtual run is open to anyone who would like to run or walk 50k during the month of August, get a bit fitter and get rewarded with a lovely Trophy at the end. No sponsorship to collect, no special place to have to complete your run or walk, take your time, do a bit every day or over a period of a few days, whichever suits you. Take the dog for a 1.6-1.7K walk every day or run 10K once a week, break it down however you like. 

Follow the link to enter, then achieve 50k of running or walking during August and bag yourself a trophy! Record all your distances on an app/watch/whatever and submit your evidence to [email protected] when you’re done.

https://www.riderhq.com/…/79…/b2r-50k-august-ultra-challenge


​Dragon Boat Race - Mote Park

On Sunday 1st July MNDA Mid Kent Branch entered a team in KM Charity Dragon boat race held in Mote Park.

Our team were ultra competitive and had the fastest time of day beating 38 other teams. Unfortunately they weren't able to secure 1st place in the final and come home with the trophy!

Annette ran a tombola stall which raised £154.  Thank you Annette.

Thank you to everyone who gave their time and we'll finish collecting sponser money then give our total raised.

The team's already planning next year....1st Sunday in July....so book it in your diaries! It really is a fun day out!
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June 2018


​Darent Valley Hospital

We are grateful to the Community Neuro-Rehabilitation Team and their colleagues at Darent Valley Hospital for organising and hosting a successful awareness raising event (and raising funds by selling some rather yummy cakes!).  Thank you to all who supported the event.
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Medway Neurological Network

The Branch is a member of the Medway Neurological Network - a group working to represent people affected by neurological conditions in Medway.  

As part of Volunteers Week, MNN held an afternoon tea at Rochester Castle where volunteers were invited to go along to meet other volunteers and share their experiences.  


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Pearson Whiffin Football Tournament

The Kent branches of the MNDA are very lucky to have been chosen by Pearson Whiffin Recruitment Ltd for their charity for the year.  The 7th annual Pearson Whiffin Charity 5-a-side football tournament took place on Saturday 2nd June 2018 at KSports Cobdown in Ditton, Aylesford.  48 teams battled it out for the coveted Champions Cup!  The event was a roaring success and raised over £5,000 for MNDA, which was a fantastic result!  Thanks to Rob, Paul, Emily and all those involved in organising the event and for all the teams who took part.