Issue 333 – town has A heart of gold

Generous people in and around Frome have proved what a big heart the town has when it comes to giving to charity. Local people are taking on more challenges to raise funds for their favourite cause, both overseas and closer to home. And they are receiving lots of support from the town despite the economic downturn and purse strings being pulled tighter.
Frome teenager, Blake Lloyd, 17, who suffers from a heart condition himself, has recently raised money for British Heart Foundation after completing a 14 hour, 118 mile bike ride from Frome to Weymouth. with friend and Frome College student Sam Griffiths, aged 15.
Mike Fletcher, from East Knoyle, has also completed an epic cycle ride of 200 miles in one day for Openstorytellers, a Frome based charity helping people with learning disabilities.
With national attention on the plight of famine victims in East Africa, and desperate to raise funds to help suffering children, Giles Ford’s auction of artwork will raise funds for UNICEF on Friday 19th August at Rook Lane Chapel. His father, Aubrey Ford, will also be raising money for Smile Train – the leading cleft repair charity.
In a quest to help a local charity, a team of five walkers will be taking on the Mendip Challenge – walking from Uphill, Weston-Super-Mare to Frome, raising money for the local charity, Harry’s Hydro Appeal, on 20th and 21st August.
Frome’s Pub Cricket Club is gearing up to play two charity cricket matches raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. The matches, which will be played at Frome Cricket Club, will be played on Sunday 21st August and Sunday 28th August.
Over August Bank Holiday weekend, Nigel Arbury will be running 125 miles (200 kilometre) to raise money for the Frome charity Positive Action on Cancer (PAC). The run will start in Chipping Camden along the Cotswold Way to Bath, and then along a newly devised route of 25 miles from Bath to Frome, which has been called the PAC Way in honour of the charity.
Frome Carnival, which each year raises money for local charities, is holding a new fundraising day on 9th September. Carnival fundraisers will be out and about in the town asking local businesses and their customers to dig deep into their pockets to help them continue helping local charities.
A charity dinner event, organised by The Italian in Palmer Street, Frome, will raise funds for the NSPCC and ChildLine. The five-course charity dinner with champagne reception will be held on Thursday 15th of September.
As local arts groups and venues struggle for funds following the cut in arts grants, actors Philip Glenister, Dean Andrews and Mark McGann are helping Frome’s Merlin Theatre with a black tie charity fundraising auction at Marston House on Friday 23rd September. Memorabilia from the hit BBC drama ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Ashes to Ashes’ will go under the hammer for the Merlin Theatre’s coffers.

Full information on all these events can be found on pages 9 and 10.