Well, I bet none of us expected 2022 to be the year that it has been! Following two long pandemic years, who knew what this year would hold for us all; and to be honest, it hasn’t been the best on a National and international level!
But here at The Fizz Hut, we are always trying to keep spirits high by keeping it local and focusing on projects close to our Hartlepool community, as well as the North East. We have supported so many charities, organisations and fundraisers this year, so here’s a little throwback to a few of the projects we’ve supported in 2022.
Bradley Lowery caught the hearts of the entire world with his battle against Neuroblastoma. The Bradley Lowery Foundation reached out to us to ask if we can support one of their many fundraisers they hold throughout the year. Due to COVID-19, their fundraising and donations dropped significantly, so they were holding online tombolas and raffles to support. Bradley’s story totally had us at the heart strings as he only lived down the road from us, and we prayed every day for that little warrior, so for the foundation to reach out to us was more of an honour to us! To this day, they still continue to support the fight against Cancer and help families around the world.
Warrior Park Care Home was lucky enough to receive the proceeds from a fundraising night in memory of Madeleine Dawkins. The Fizz Hut team were proud to support this local event which ensured proceeds were given back to an amazing organisation whose care team offers residential care for those who need help with daily tasks, and nursing care for people who have complex medical needs. They also provide both residential dementia care and 24-hour nursing dementia care for residents who require it. A real heart warmer!
Seaton Carew Panthers is a newly formed grassroots girls U7’s football team, located right here in Hartlepool. One of our long-time and very loyal customers reached out to us to ask if we can donate something towards their fundraiser to raise money for the club. As we have young children ourselves, the opportunities that local organisations in Hartlepool provide are phenomenal and this is one we couldn’t turn down. Seaton Carew FC are a charter standard club who offer football for all. A mixture of teams competing in many local leagues that include juniors, seniors, PAN Ability and Walking football. The club have fantastic facilities and offer a fun and safe environment for all of their members, and are also part of a wider multi sport club that is also a registered charity. Well done and thank you Seaton Carew FC!
Next up is the main outpatients department at North Tees University Hospital. Now although this is outside of Hartlepool, it is the local hospital for the residents of Hartlepool. This year, we were asked to support fundraising for the department. Due to COVID-19, infection control took away all of their festive decorations, Christmas trees, lights etc. They were seeking support for their fundraiser raffle to replace these and provide a more welcoming area for patients and staff of all ages. We all know how valuable the NHS and their whole staff body are to us all, so how could we not support this?! We donated a voucher that could be raffled off and used by the winner in the hope that we could help spread some festive joy in what has been a difficult year for us all!
Finally, a fundraiser that is very close to us here at The Fizz Hut was for the Neurosurgical Department of James Cook University Hospital. One of our truly amazing customers suffers from a brain tumour and her fabulous Mum (who is also a very loyal customer of The Fizz Hut) reached out to us and asked if we can support with their fundraising efforts. The staff there provide a wide-range of healthcare expertise for outpatients, inpatients and adult patients who come into hospital as an emergency. Once again, we can all forget the immense work that goes into our NHS by amazing staff in all departments, so this one was one that we felt very proud to support.
As well as the above, we have provided products, hampers and gifts to other local fundraising initiatives, including our final one of the year this evening which is a retirement fundraiser on behalf of Danny’s Legacy and Ehlers Danlos Support. And as we head into 2023, we will continue to support as many charities as we can to ensure the community spirit is kept high during the darkest of days!
We thank you all for your continued support this year, because without your custom, we wouldn’t be able to do any of the above. Sending you our love and warmest wishes as we enter 2023.
Sammy & Glenn x