K Opens its Doors!
Twice recently
K has played host to 2 relatively new ventures, both aimed at increasing local awareness of, and involvement with, the Project.
Sale of Local School Benefits Local Youth
The 10th of August 2005 saw the first in a series of activity days organised jointly by the Parish Churches of Ulpha, Duddon, Seathwaite,
Woodland and Broughton. Following several meetings involving leaders responsible for the young people in the area, it was decided to combine
forces in a concentrated, joint effort, aimed at organising regular events for the young people of these parishes. Asuggestion by the Pastoral Lay
Minister; that the ideal venue lay on their immediate doorstep, led to the subsequent involvement of
K.
The wherewithal to finance the practical application of these ideas would come from 2 sources:
K is subsidising these activity days as part of our commitment to promote social and physical inclusion, in a Christian setting,
When Ulpha School finally closed and the building was sold, the proceeds were used to establish a Trust Fund, which stipulates that grants be
used to promote the religious education of the young people living in the afore-mentioned 5 Parishes.
I Wandered Lonely
as a Cloud . . .
Peter Sanders and I recently attended a Charity Awards
Evening, at the invitation of the Keswick to Barrow Walk
Committee. The purpose? To collect, on behalf of
K, a
generous donation from the proceeds of the K2B 2005
sponsored walk - a 40 mile sponsored stroll (!!) through
some of the country's finest landscapes.
The idea for the walk originated in 1966, as the first Polaris
Submarine was being built in Barrow. The initiative was
taken and a team, consisting of Vicker's staff and Polaris
crew, took up the challenge of walking from Keswick to
Barrow, on 1st April 1967. Several other local firms also
joined in and the race was on.
K was one of 147 charities benifiting from this year's
distribution of a staggering £101,000, raised by a
record-breaking 1212 walkers.
The total raised since that first walk is £951,274. 2006 will
be the 40th Anniversary of the K2B Walk and the original
target of raising £1 million seems set to be well and truly
exceeded.
How about participating in this 40th Anniversary Walk on
K's behalf? Joanne & Natalie Sweet have already volunteered.
Interested in walking or sponsoring someone else to do
the leg-work? Contact us, or log on to
www.keswick2barrow.co.uk for more details.
by Frances Couch
"Awesome!"
. . . was the word used by my 15 year old son to describe a day of activities
at
K on the 10th August this year. This seemed, also, to be the consensus of
opinion among his peer group. They had begun the day getting soaked to the
skin whilst ghyll scrambling and ended it with a rock climbing and abseiling
session near Coniston Water.
In fact, the whole day was a great success, with almost 60 young people
aged from 6 to 16, enjoying the various challenging and exciting activities that
K has to offer.
This was the first in a series of activity days organised to introduce the young
people of the area to the idea of a Parish Youth Group. The aim being to
provide them with the opportunity to socialise and participate together.
Hannah, my daughter, aged 13 at the time, surprised herself with a new found
archery skill; even hitting the bull's-eye on one occasion. Daniel, who is 8,
was delighted that he managed to ring the bell at the top of the 100ft climbing
tree!!
Stephen, my youngest son and aged 5, was a little disappointed that he was
too young to join in. However, the second session on the 15th October was a
Family Fun Day, open to all ages. He was determined not to miss out!
It was wonderful to see so many families joining together; having such fun, as
they tackled the various challenges and activities.
We can't wait for the next one!!!
by Debbie Leighton
