Charities

""Morson International Charities Committee is delighted to have DebRA and St. Ann's Hospice as our chosen charities for the year 2008. Both are incredibly worthy causes and I would ask you to take a quick look at their websites (Debra - www.debra.org.uk and St. Ann's www.sah.org.uk) to get an idea of the fantastic work they do. 2007 was a fantastic year for Morson's Charities Committee with £43,692 raised for our two nominated charities, Henshaws Society for Blind People (HSBP) and the Wood Street Mission.

This year we intend to do even better than ever with more events and fundraising opportunities planned. I do hope you will join us in working on a number of fundraising initiatives throughout the year and I look forward to reporting all the events and money raised".".

Paul Moogan – Charity Committee Chair

Events

BUPA Great Manchester 10K Run - Sunday 18th May

Morson will have 50 runners in the race completing the 6 ¼ mile course. This will be the sixth staging of what has become Britain's premier 10k running event and one of the biggest in the world.

For more information contact Leanne Tomkins 0161 777 4000

Coast-to-Coast - 13th-16th June 2008 (provisional dates)

Morson riders will be tackling the coast-2-coast (140 miles) bike ride this summer with all proceeds going to the Morson Group's nominated charities. Further information can be found on the ride: www.c2c-guide.co.uk.

For more information contact Andy Hassall 0161 777 4000

Morson International Charity Summer Ball - 5th July 2008

To be held at the Mere Golf and Country Club

For more information contact Jason Ferguson of Aztec Event Management on 0161 929 4884

Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride - 13th July 2008

Morson will again have riders tackling the 58 mile Manchester to Blackpool bike ride, the biggest bike event in the North West.

For more information contact Karen Bradley 0161 707 1516

Supporters & Sponsors

Our Charities

DEBRA

Debra is the national charity working on behalf of people in the UK with the genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). The charity was founded in 1978 by a group of parents whose children were affected by EB. At this time only some 200 people with EB were known to health professionals in the UK. The original aims of the charity were to stimulate knowledge of, and interest in, EB for the benefit of those with the condition and their families and to fund medical research into EB. From these humble origins DebRA has grown significantly with DebRA Groups now having been established in 32 countries around the world.

In the UK DebRA is the main funder of specialist EB treatment and research facilities at national or regional level. People affected by EB therefore not only rely very heavily on DebRA funded research to provide a long term answer to the illness, but are also almost entirely dependent on the range of specialist support services provided by the charity. These include travelling nurses able to visit children and adults in their homes, clinics, , equipment provision and respite holiday accommodation for families under severe pressure.

ST ANNS HOSPICE

St Ann's Hospice cares for thousands of patients with life-threatening illnesses, while supporting their families and carers in Greater Manchester.. We depend on the generosity of the local community to raise £6 million a year from voluntary contributions to maintain this service free of charge to our patients, as we receive only 35% funding from the NHS.

St Ann's hold a number of events during the year including the Manchester Midnight Walk, more details of which can be found at http://www.manchestermidnightwalk.org.uk/

Volunteering Opportunities

St Ann's Hospice and DebRA also have a number of volunteering opportunities and would be delighted to hear from people who are able to volunteer their time and skills.