Saras Hope Foundation - Smiles, Hopes and Precious Memories

Saras Walk of Hope - Sunday 2nd August 2009
Taking place on Sunday 2nd August 2009 at 12 noon, we will be walking 4 miles from St Mary´s Lighthouse, Whitley Bay, to Percy Park Rugby Club in North Shields. The Walk is to promote ´HOPE´ for children and their families who face a life threatening illness.
Lots of fun for all the family, live music at the start and the opening ceremony will be performed by a special guest. Bouncy castles, face painting, BBQ, live entertainment, design your own t-shirt and lots more fun at Percy Park. Everyone welcome...the more buggies and prams the better...
Registration is £5 per person - everyone who takes part will receive a complimentary "I walked for Sara"
t-shirt, a car sticker, a drink and a gift for all the children.

UPDATE We are delighted that the registration forms are coming in fast and we are well on target to reach our target of 500 people !!! We can now confirm that we have the following acts performing at the Percy Park after the Walk
The fabulous Toxic Pixies, MTV´s Bittersweet Poetry and one of the North Easts most exciting vocalists Rachel Green.
We also have a massive childrens slide and lots more surprises ...watch this space for the next update.

Saras Walk of Hope Update - 10th Aug 2009
Saras Walk of Hope was a fantastic success, the weather was perfect and everyone had a great day. The turn out was amazing and we estimate that we reached our target of 500 people, this was more than double the number who took part last year. There were so many unfamiliar faces so we are delighted that the word is spreading fast. There was a real community spirit and a lot of the local pubs were there in numbers, The Fat Ox, Monkeseaton Arms, Rockliffe Arms and members from the Rising Sun Pub came along. There were so many buggies and there really was a very special family atmosphere.
Julie and I were so proud to see so many people wearing their Saras Walk of Hope t-shirts. The highlight for us was when Caitlin, aged 10, and Georgia, aged 9, arrived in the stretched limo – they thoroughly deserved the thunderous ovation. It was a very special and emotional sight, both girls had been so brave and the day really gave them a boost.
This year we were extremely lucky to have the support of so many local businesses. Paul Irwin, owner of Eastcoast Taxis, sponsored the t-shirts and car stickers, he also helped us organise the live bands and actually supplied a mini bus to take the people back to collect their cars, he´s a great guy and has already volunteered to sponsor the Saras Walk of Hope 2010. Deleval Ices from Whitley Bay donated the ice cream, Whitley Bay Bouncy Castle Hire supplied the bouncy castle, Claire Mitchelson and her friends at Stocksigns helped our with the car stickers, North Tyneside Butchers donated the meat for the bbq, Greggs of Gosforth donated the bread buns and Silver Star limos gave us the stretched limo for Caitlin and Georgia free of charge. It really was a community effort and so many individuals gave up their time to help on the day. A sincere thank you to each and everyone who did a sterling job on the day.
The Percy Park was the perfect venue to hold the event and it was so nice to see so many smiling faces. People stayed much longer this year and enjoyed the childrens activities and the live entertainment.
The Billy Mitchell band went down a storm and it was great and very nostalgic to hear so many classics. The Lindisfarne favourite ´Meet Me On The Corner´ ended with a standing ovation. The Toxic Pixies were also absolutely brilliant, the bands ages range from 12-14 and they are one of the North East´s youngest and most talented bands.
It was a fab day.