charity

Thank you so much!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Throughout December we ran another online advent calendar of offers, raffles, lucky dips and ‘blind’ auctions – many to raise vital funds for our 2024 charity, Actors’ Benevolent Fund. We’re still finalising the figures, but it looks like you’ve already exceeded last year’s charity fundraising total – well into four figures! We’ll publish the final figure in FAB Express 106 in the spring.

Thanks so much to our generous donors and everyone who bought raffle tickets, charity items or bid in the auctions!

We’ll start mailing the various prizes and auction lots next week.

Remember that we still have a range of items available in return for a donation to our charity. As a reminder, here’s a reminder of what was in our Advent Calendar:

24th – Charity Add-on International Concerto soundtrack

23rd – Charity Auction – Duchess of Royston figurine (highest bidder Robert Hill)

22nd – Charity Raffle – Space Precinct shirts (won by Stephen Carson, Larry Peterson and Christian Tarpey)

21st – Charity Auction – Fanderson 82 convention brochure (highest bidder Keith Campbell)

20th – Charity Add-on – Great Themes From Thunderbirds mini album

19th – Charity Raffle – Robert Harrop Zero X (won by Robert Hill)

18th – Charity Auction – Takara Tomy Pod Builder (highest bidder Ian Haworth)

17th – Free Lucky Dip – Thunderbirds movie book (won by Jentsje Veenstra)

16th – Charity Auction – Four Feather Falls soundtrack (highest bidder Alex Bulgo)

15th – Free Lucky Dip – Robert Harrop Sidewinder (won by Martin Ashworth

14th – Charity Raffle – Thunderbirds Are Go notebook (won by Stephen Bushell)

13th – Charity Auction – Bond & Beyond brochure (highest bidder Keith Campbell)

12th – Charity Item – Supercar and Fireball XL5 soundtrack (still available)

11th – Free Lucky Dip – Thunderbirds DVDs (won by Christopher Coombs)

10th – Charity Auction – Robert Harrop UFO (highest bidder Robert Hill)

9th – Charity Add-on – Sleeping Astronauts soundtrack sampler

8th – Charity Auction – Thunderbirds movies soundtrack (highest bidder Keith Jones)

7th – Free Lucky Dip – 100 Thunderbirds postcards (won by Patricia Caminada)

6th – Charity Item – Space City window sticker (still available)

5th – Charity Auctions – five Space Precinct uniform shirts (highest bidders Stephen Bushell, David Sisson and Christian Tarpey)

4th – Charity Add-on – Journey To The Moon mini album

3rd – Charity Raffle – Thunderbirds Monopoly (won by Stephen Bushell)

2nd – Charity Auction – Robert Harrop Parker (highest bidder Robert Hill)

1st – Charity Raffle – Scalextric FAB 1 (won by LM Jones)

An heroic deed indeed!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Over the last 12 months Fanderson members have helped to raise £750 for Hearing Dogs For Deaf People, from activities including 2022 advent calendar, Easter Egg Hunt and special items available for a donation to the charity.

Fire control expert Jason Smith, just back from his latest assignment, graciously accepted a cheque from Fanderson on behalf of the charity before he was called away to an incident at an oil rig in the Middle East. Before leaving he thanked the club and its members and wished everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Sarah Squirrell, of Hearing Dogs, said:

“Thanks to everyone at Fanderson for the kind gift of £750.

Your special gift will help train life-changing hearing dogs and allow us to provide long-term support for our hearing dog partnerships.

At Hearing Dogs, the training and support we provide does not end when the dog is placed with their partner. We provide ongoing help and further training to deal with life changes whether they are planned or unexpected.

Starting university is a huge change for anyone but as a deaf student with a hearing dog, there were some extra things Ana had to think about, including some additional training for her hearing dog, Valley. Together with a Hearing Dogs trainer, Valley was gradually introduced to lecture theatres and labs and learnt how to settle under Ana’s chair during lectures. Ana has now been invited to train with the England Deaf Women’s football team and, as for Valley, she is loving all the extra attention from Ana’s teammates!

Once again, we would like to thank you very much for your support.”

Fanderson has a great reputation for supporting worthwhile causes, and over the club’s 42 years members have raised in excess of £50,000 for the likes of Alzheimers Society, Baby Lifeline, Children In Need, Diabetes UK, The Film And TV Charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, Orchid, Silverline, Terrence Higgins Trust, Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal and many more. To the left of Jason in the photo is our statue of SHADO, from our funding of a guide dog for the blind in 1996.

Our 2023/4 fundraising is in aid of Actors’ Benevolent Fund. Remember that the 2023 Advent Calendar is still running with most offers valid until 31st December.

Easter Egg Hunt auction and raffle winners

Posted on by Parker

Thanks to everyone who enjoyed the freebies and offers in our Easter Egg Hunt over the last couple of weeks, and to everyone who bid in the charity auction, or bought tickets in the charity raffle.

We’re delighted to report that Kouichi Miyazaki bid the highest for the Terrahawks soundtrack CD, and Mrs LM Jones has won the Thunderbirds ‘Hackenbacker’ watch.

Both prizes will be on their way to the lucky winners in the next few days.

Captain Scarlet to run London Marathon!

Posted on by Parker

Captain Scarlet, AKA Lloyd Scott, from Theydon Bois, Essex, will run the London Marathon on 23rd April.

Lloyd, who famously took six days to complete the London Marathon in a deep sea diving suit, said he chose the ‘indestructible’ hero from his childhood after twice beating cancer – in 1989 and 2022. “To me, cancer is a menacing unseen threat, like the Mysterons,” he says.

The prolific fundraiser, who has raised more than £5m in five decades of charity runs, challenges and feats, said the race will be his last. His other costumes have included The Iron Giant, Indiana Jones, Brian the snail from The Magic Roundabout. Lloyd was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma in April 2021 and underwent radiotherapy that summer. The cancer returned in June 2022 and he endured an operation lasting more than 13 hours – and emergency follow-up surgery in August, which he described as a “close-run thing”. He’s also survived leukaemia after a diagnosis in 1987, and a bone marrow transplant in 1989.

“The costume has a personal connection because I used to watch Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons when I was a kid, who would always take part in various missions,” Lloyd says. “I feel kind of like him because I’ve sort of done different missions through the marathons, despite things that I have gone through as well – so he definitely struck a chord with me.”

‘Tis the season for giving…

Posted on by Parker

Christmas is a time for giving, so from 1st December we’ll be giving club members special offers each day in our online advent calendar, right up to Christmas Eve, and raising money for charity.

Some items have been donated by our generous friends, and we’ve been checking our storage units, cupboards (even down the back of the sofa!) to collect some great offers for Fanderson members. We’ll have product discounts, charity raffles, freebies, lucky dips, charity auctions, and you’ll be able to get some items in return for a donation to our advent charity – Hearing Dogs For Deaf People.

Come back on 1st December to open the first window!

 

Give Or Take £8,000

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Thanks to Fanderson members, International Rescue’s Virgil Tracy recently delivered a cheque for £8,023 to The Silver Line, the club’s donation from the recent Supercelebration convention.

This fantastic donation means that over 1,600 more people will be able to phone The Silver Line if they’re feeling lonely – for help, advice, or even just for a chat. Loneliness amongst older people can lead to depression, leave people vulnerable to abuse and even affect the onset of dementia. The Silver Line operates the only confidential, free helpline for older people across the UK that’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Having just helped the children of Coralville Children’s Hospital (see Give Or Take A Million), it’s great that International Rescue have been able to also now help older people.