Our Charity 2019

Beads of Courage has been picked as The Village Turners Charity 2019

 

For those that haven’t heard of them or what they do read on.

 

Beads of Courage started on the USA enlisting the help of many glass makers and modellers to make beads for the kids to collect. Sponsorship by corporations and individuals help to pay for the beads. Each bead stands for a procedure, operation, nights away from home, physiotherapy etc to build up a timeline story of what each child has gone through during their illness mainly Cancers and Brain injuries but other long term illness are also included.

In the UK the kids get cloth drawstring bags to hold their bead strings but in the USA woodturners across the country make and donate bead pots. In Atlanta this year a symposium for woodturners have set themselves a target of 750 pots.

One of our Members Bill Elmore has a grandson Rhys who has a brain tumour. Two operations later he is now paralyzed down the right hand side of his body and is currently away from home learning to walk and use his right arm and hand again.

For anyone who’d like to make a pot and give to Bill who will take it to the hospital there are guidelines to be followed posted in the hut entrance.

 

Guidelines here.

The Club's Beads of Courage box comeptition

To support Beads of Courage the Club asked members to make their own Beads of Courage box for a competition. The idea being that these would then be given to the Beads of Courage organisation for distribution to children who were in need of one.

Dave Shaer was the winner of the advanced competition group, his piece being an American football. You can see the competition results here which happened on June 15th this year.

Dave's box was given to Jack Lines who has had 3 brain tumours and around 600 beads. He was thrilled to receive this - and Dave was thrilled that his endeavours have not only helped, but are being enjoyed as well.

Here is Jack with his beads and ball, and his letter to Dave:

    Dave Shaer
    Fwd: Bead box
    13 Jul 2019 at 13:25:06

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Sara Lines
Date: 8 July 2019 at 22:07:28 BST

Subiect: Bead box

Hello Dave

Yesterday I was chosen to receive the special bead box that you made.
Thank you so much.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself.

My name is Jack and in eight days time l will be 10 years old. I have a twin
sister called Katie and an older brother and sister called James & Victoria

When I was l8 months old I had a brain tumour ( it was the size of a apricot) I
had a 10 hour operation to remove it then just over a year of chemotherapy.
Last year 2 more tumours grew back in the same place, so I had more
surgery to remove them, this time no chemotherapy. lnstead I had to go to
America for 2 months of proton therapy.
I worry that they will come back again. But every 3 months I have MRI's to
check.

I have about 600 beads of courage and they have filled my box to the top. I
keep it beside my bed. I think I'm very lucky to have been chosen. Thank
you.