Sunday the 22nd marked the evening where we danced, ate, celebrated and socialised our way to fundraising bliss. The Runners at Orchard Care, supported by the entire staff team, were selling tickets to the event and raffle tickets by the dozen to raise money for the children's mobility charity Whizz-Kidz, a grand total of £1915.60 on the evening itself, with further donations coming in topping £2000!!

The night began with a few quiet drinks and gentle conversation. as the DJ began to raise the music and the crowds arrived, the atmosphere became charged with fun and laughter. With constant chatter and happy giggles all evening, Namaste brought the food out for us to enjoy. The dishes served were terrific and catered for everyone from the 'English' taste to  more traditional dishes of amazing colour and flavour. As we ate our fill we were enchanted by the elegant Jewels of the East belly dance group who wowed the crowd and added a touch of something special to the evening.

The raffle prize draw had contributions from many of the local businesses and became a bit of an Alladins cave of gifts and trinkets, from illuminated Buddha's to bottles of wine to a weeks holiday. Of special note, Moderno furniture must be fore-fronted for their publicity, support, donations, energy and coercion of other local businesses to come and join in the fun! The raffle itself raised over £300 and was a huge success in terms of fun to be had as well.

All in all it was a huge success with lots of smiles and good times had, all in the name of a good cause. Every one enjoyed it so much that we've already been asked several times when our next event is and even whether people can donate and run in the event with us! Our response? OF COURSE! If you are interested in getting involved, please do get in touch and find out how you can play a part in these exciting and worthwhile times.
Again, a HUGE thank-you to Namaste for supporting us and being so amazingly generous; we couldn't have hoped to find a better partner.

Well it's an exciting day! Amy from Whizz-Kidz has sent our running vests and sweatbands through. As you can see, they're pretty striking! It seems the Whizz-Kidz recent re-brand is rolling out well and making sufficient impact on the world. We're excited to have them as the day draws closer, its one of those exciting little moments to revitalise a little of the atmosphere around doing the run as a team and raising money for such an amazing cause. Speaking of which there is a video below sent to us via Whizz-Kidz from one of the young people whose lives will be improved by the money we raise, beautiful! Thanks Shanon!

With approximately TEN weeks to go to the big day, its time to dig in and get on with some real training to make sure race day goes well! The popular saying 'All work and no play..." is one we're comfortable with, so in that light we've decided to begin running together one night per week or ("Magic Wednesdays" as they're now known!)  to add a little play time into our regimes.

We've only got a couple of routes so far, ranging from 3 miles to 6; but have plenty of room to roam along the old railway tracks that cut seamlessly through the north east's rolling countryside. The scenery is certainly beautiful and with good banter and a bit of team bonding, it seems to be going well so far.

We've popped some pictures below  to give a feel of what we're up to, but we'll see if we can get some more that include Robin who sadly missed the session with a sore throat (or developed a little camera-phobia ;o) )

Again, thanks to everyone who reads and supports us, and please remember to donate!

www.justgiving.com/orchardcare

Well, we want to keep you posted on our training and the hard work we're putting into raising money for the wonderful causes we are dedicated to supporting.

We've already had two amazing days out - a parachute jump and a large team entry to the Sport Relief Mile. We raised lots of money for Whizz-Kidz and Sport Relief and had a great time doing it. Hopefully we can get a report on the events for you to read and share the day.

But first, I'd like to highlight that we're going to run the Great North Run this year! Phill, Robin, Paul and Marc are already signed up and we have a few more people wondering whether to make the leap. There's murmurs that training has already begun and even the idea that we will start running after work one day per week as a group to make the training a little more interesting! I'm sure the office banter will reflect the fun we're having getting ready for the run. Needless to say, we're all looking forward to it.

So why are we putting ourselves through this? Well, we wanted to do something to support the charity Whizz-Kidz. They are based in London and help young people all over the UK to become more mobile by providing specialist equipment that will improve their quality of life. As an agency that has a specialism in working with disabled young people, we simply found supporting their cause irresistible and are eager to help. Please visit the Whizz-Kidz website and also take a look at the video we've posted below. Its a marvellous little production that shows the fun and vibrance that we'd like to think we reflect and simply adds to the pleasure of working with them whilst powerfully communicating the amazing difference that is made to the lives of young people, by older people as daft as us to simply run 13 miles.

Oh, and you can sponsor us through the just giving link below :o)