Smisby Day Nursery has always had an ethos that we are all so fortunate ourselves. We feel it is important to give something back to good causes and so every year host a number of charitable events to benefit those, especially children, who do not have the confort in their lives that we all take for granted.
2008
Race for life
Staff entered all sorts of events this year all over the area. Sheila and her daughter Laura walked in the Cambridge event with Ian's Sister and Mother, both sufferers of Cancer this year. Between them all they raised £320.
Sports Relief
Teddy Bear's Picnic was the theme for Sport's Relief. The nursery was bursting with teddies old and new, including Ian's one which was 45 years old! £122 raised.
Children in Need
Superheroes everywhere! All we can say is thank goodness that Ian did not wear his underpants on the outside or put tights on - it would not have been a pleasant sight! We raised a grand total of £136.
The Children’s Society
Holy Trinity church in Ashby, and especially The Reverend Tim and his wife Sarah welcomed us again this year, and it now seems to be a permanent fixture on our calenday. As usual the church was full and the magic of seeing the children's faces all lit by the Christingles was an absolute wonder. This years nativity was "Born in Bethlehem" and the staff worked miracles in getting the children to learn everything. As per usual the children sang their hearts out. We raised a total of £219 for the Children's Society.
Total for the year: £797
2007
Comic Relief
What a day! All the staff came as film stars or rock stars so we had the Jackson 5, Spicegirls, The Vicar of Dibley and a special guest star appearance by Twiggy! £106 raised
Children in Need
Spots! Spots! Spots! We were all covered in them - no, not a disease but spotty clothes for Children in Need. We raised a grand total of £104
The Children’s Society
Once again this year Tim, the Vicar of Holy Trinity, and his wife Sarah made us welcome in Holy Trinity Church in Ashby because last year was so succesful and once again the church was full. This year we did a short play called "The Toy Shop" and the staff worked so hard in making costumes and teaching the children, and yet again the children sang their hearts out. We raised a total of £240 for the children's Society and again a special thanks to Tim for making us so welcome and for adding the collection to the money we raised.
Total for the year: £451
2006
Comic Relief
We don't have any photo's to show you of what we did this year but we did raise £247!
Children in Need
The theme was Gnomes and Fairies this year and once again everyone made a huge effort to get dressed up. The staff got really into the theme this year and had a whale of a time. We raised £265.
The Children’s Society
This year we had to move our Christingle Service to Holy Trinity Church in Ashby because Smisby Church was just too small for us to get everyone in. As it was we had to lay out more chairs for people as the church was so full. The children sang their hearts out and put on a wonderful nativity for the parents and the collection was added to the money for the Children’s Society meaning we raised a fantastic £368. A special thanks to Tim, the Vicar of Holy Trinity, and his wife Sarah for making us so welcome and for adding the collection to the money we raised.
Total for the year: £880
2005
Tsunami Appeal
The theme was White and Blue and all the children got dressed up and the staff had to come in School Uniform. We raised £148 in total and the whole day was fun. If you need to see some more pictures of the day ask Ian if you want to see the best ones!
Race for life
On a scorching hot Sunday in July “Smisybusybees” made their debut as our very own running/walking team!! They entered the 5km Race for Life and raised £797 for Cancer Research. They completed the course in 45 mins, which gave them time to read some of the messages people had written on the back of their shirts naming the people they were walking on behalf of. It was a moving occasion in many ways. Thanks goes to Bev at Office Depot for supplying us with the transfer sheets for our T shirts.
Yummy Mummy
September 16th was the opening of our very own coffee shop for “Yummy Mummy” week.
Organised by Bev Butcher, many staff gave up a few hours of their time to help her with the venture. They set up our coffee shop in Smisby Village Hall for 2 hours a day, selling a wide selection of homemade cakes, hot drinks and homemade preserves and invited everyone in the local community to come in and visit us. Many people came in and had a cup of coffee and a chat. The children at nursery paid £1 to wear blue or pink. We had a raffle and drawing competition. The proceeds were £204, which were donated to Clic Sargent, a charity which provides care and support for children and families dealing with childhood cancer.
Children in need
This year it was a Hawaiian theme, "Grass skirts and Hawaiian shirts", and once again the staff and children did us proud by getting dressed for the occasion. Many of the parents laughed their coconuts off at the staff!!! We raised £237 this time.
Operation Christmas Child
Once again we ran the shoebox campaign. Nikki and Katie were the co-ordinators and we collected 40 shoeboxes this year.
The Children’s Society
This year Smisby Church was packed out and there was no more room at the Inn. We even ran out of floor space for people to stand. It was so good to see so many people involved in the service once again and we managed to raise £276.
Total for the year: £1662
2004
Comic Relief
We ran a competition for the children to design a new hair do for ‘Miss Hoolie’. There was a winner for each age group and all the winners received an Easter egg. We raised a total of £80.
Children in Need
The staff had to wear their pyjamas for the day and we raised £107
The Children’s Society
Our first Christingle Service at the beautiful church in Smisby was packed out and a very moving occasion which raised £211 in total
Operation Christmas Child
Katie organised our first Christmas present collection for Operation Christmas Child and we managed to gather over 30 boxes for children in Eastern Europe.
Total for the Year: £398
