Dear HLMT supporter,
IN THIS NEWSLETTER , SO MANY POSITIVE DEVELOMENTS TO REPORT!
The first HLMT- sponsored Liberian midwifery students graduate!
Two more midwifery students appointed to receive HLMT sponsorship
Donate to HLMT between 10th and 17th October 2024 via https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002SEXbGAAX , AND YOUR DONATION WILL DOUBLE!
British Embassy in Liberia has agreed to sponsor HLMT’s work
Upcoming events, including music nights, signed cricket bat auction and HLMT craft and plant stalls
Any leftover currency to donate to HLMT?
Recent events
Standing orders, donations and bequeaths in wills
1. First HLMT-sponsored Liberian midwifery students graduate!
At a wonderful, colourful ceremony on 31st May 2024 at the Phoebe-Esther Bacon College of Health Sciences, midwifery students Aminata Sumanie and Suah Valai received their degree certificates after four years of study. Both students achieved really good results, with Aminata receiving the Valedictorian award having gained the highest grade in the whole year! HLMT trustees Pete Loewenstein and Stella Nickolay were delighted to attend the graduation ceremony during a private visit to Liberia.
Both Aminata and Suah now plan to take the Liberian Board for Nursing and Midwifery exam later in 2024 in order to gain their licence to practice as fully-qualified midwives. Huge congratulations to both Aminata and Suah!
2. Two more Liberian midwifery students selected to receive HLMT sponsorship
In mid-June, 2024, the Phoebe-Esther Bacon College of Health Sciences held interviews to select this September’s intake of midwifery students. Abdul Bah attended the selection interviews on behalf of HLMT, to ensure that the students selected to receive HLMT grants met our criteria of being academically able but unable to undertake the course without the help of a grant to cover the stud, accommodation and basic equipment costs. Two excellent candidates were selected to receive HLMT grants, Joannah Dolo and Esther Robert. We wish Esther and Joannah well as they join the other eight HLMT-sponsored students in September.
3. Donate to HLMT between 10th and 17th October 2024 and YOUR DONATION WILL DOUBLE!
UK charity Big Give has accepted HLMT’s application to join their “Women and Girls Match Fund” (WGMF) event from 10th to 17th October 2024. If you or any HLMT supporter donates to HLMT via Big Give’s HLMT website page:
https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002SEXbGAAX, between 10th October and midday on 17th October, they will match your donation with funds from their “Champions.” (A Champion can include high-net-worth individuals, foundations, philanthropists, trusts, statutory bodies and companies.) The core message from Big Give is, “WGMF will double your donation and double your difference”.
We urge you and anyone else you know to donate to HLMT between 10th and 17th October so that HLMT will receive as much match funding as possible, up to a total of £2500. Please note that the “Donate” button will only appear on the website page https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002SEXbGAAX between 10th and midday on 17th October 2024.
4. British Embassy in Liberia sponsors HLMT work
While in Liberia, HLMT trustees Pete Loewenstein and Stella Nickolay together with Abdul Bah, had discussions with the British Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador. As a result, the British Embassy has kindly agreed to pay the study and accommodation fees of the two newly-appointed HLMT-sponsored midwifery students for the coming year, with the possibility of finding further funding in future years if its funds allow. A big vote of thanks to the British Embassy!
5. Upcoming events
* Live Music, Saturday 28th September 2024, 7.30 p.m.
Three brilliant acts:
Oldish Spice: “Nottingham’s oldest boy band – harmonious covers of popular songs from the 60’s to the 2000’s”;
Bronwyn Westacott: “a variety of songs – political, personal, poignant and amusing”;
King of Rome: “an eclectic mix of Americana, folk, English & Irish country and original material”.
The event takes place at the Main Hall, United Reformed Church, 1, Edwards Lane, Sherwood, Nottingham NG5 3AA. Bring your own drinks, glasses and snacks. Tickets £10 in advance, from:
https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DMOY or £12 on the door. Book online early to make sure you get a ticket! More details are on the poster below.
* AUCTION of a signed Blaze squad cricket bat – bid by 26th August at the latest
HLMT is auctioning an autographed cricket bat signed by The Blaze Women’s Squad 2023 at Trent Bridge, including several international players. The Blaze is the professional women’s cricket team representing the East Midlands region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women’s cricket.
BIDS MUST BE PLACED BEFORE 3.45 P.M. ON 26TH AUGUST 2024 at:
https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/auction/hlmtcricketbatauction
* HLMT Stall at Nottingham Green Festival, Sunday 8th September 2024 12.00 to 6.00
HLMT will again be selling a wide variety of indoor and outdoor plants and its range of Liberian Lapa fabric greetings cards and arts and crafts, home-made preserves and more at this ever-popular festival in Nottingham’s Arboretum. Full details are on the poster below.
* HLMT stall at Mapperley Makers and Vintage market on Saturday 19th October 2024
This is a new venue for HLMT and we are excited to be part of a really popular market in Nottingham city centre. Please come and say hello to us at the Belgrave Rooms and enjoy the market. Details are on the poster below.
* HLMT stall at Sherwood Vegan Market on Saturday 9th November 2024 (indoors)
This is always a very lively market, and we will be taking our INDOOR stall there. It would be lovely to see you in Sherwood that day – put the date in your calendar!
* Live Music, Friday 29th November 7.30 p.m.
This will be a night to remember, with two superb local acts!
Kellys Heroes: fast and furious Celtic tunes and songs, gentle ballads, quality contemporary numbers as well as some original material;
Karen Macleod: Raw and rootsy acoustic blues, American folk, self-penned songs – all accompanied by gutsy finger picking.
Tickets are just £12 in advance, available at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DUIY
or £15 on the door. Book early for this one while tickets are still available.
6. Any leftover currency to donate to HLMT?
Do you have any coins or notes in a jam jar or lurking in the back of a drawer, from holidays which are a distant memory, (or maybe some old British currency you’ve been hoarding)???
HLMT can convert this into funds to pay for the training of midwives in Liberia!
Just bring them along to any of our events, or pass on to one of the trustees, or donate online at:https://www.leftovercurrency.com/charity/the-helen-loewenstein-memorial-trust/
7. Recent Events
* Hollie Sanderson’s Paris Marathon for HLMT Sunday 7th April 2024
Hollie Sanderson is a midwife at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. She ran the Paris Marathon in a brilliant 3 hours and 50 minutes. And, even more wonderful, from a HLMT perspective, she smashed her fundraising target of £1500 and raised OVER £2,000 for The Helen Loewenstein Memorial Trust. A record for a single supporter’s fundraising efforts. That’s extraordinary! A massive THANK YOU to everyone who has already sponsored Hollie! And of course, HUGE thanks to Hollie!
* HLMT Plant and Craft Stall outside Crimson Tree, Saturday 18th May 10.00am to 2.00pm
HLMT ran a stall with plants, plants (and even more plants!) greetings cards, Liberian Lapa fabric arts and crafts, home-made preserves and more… Outside Crimson Tree, Sherwood, Nottingham. A lot of people came to look at and buy items. At the end of four busy hours, and brilliant £740 had been raised for HLMT funds!
Big thanks go to Crimson Tree, to HLMT trustees and volunteers Carol L., Carol M., Celia, Chris, Liz, Nick, Pauline, Pete, Phil, Pippa and Stella for setting up and working on the stall; and to everyone who donated plants.
* Live Music Evening, Saturday 18th May 2024 Sherwood URC
A packed hall once again enjoyed a high-octane night of wonderful music. Three acts entertained everyone to a mix of humorous, thought-provoking and sing-along tunes.
LOOMA – Acoustic roots and folk from the swamps of Louisiana to the Swedish midnight Sun, and everywhere in between
PAUL CARBUNCLE – Some call it folk-punk while others call it punk-folk
STRAWBERRY JAMMERS – A feast of folk, a hint of blues and a little bit of rock and roll
And at the end of the evening, due to the efforts of the musicians and participants, £962 had been raised towards HLMT funds, sufficient to pay for a year’s training of a Liberian midwife – absolutely brilliant.
Huge thanks go to the musicians, who all performed free of charge, to Dave Martin on sound, and to HLMT trustees and supporters Carol, Chris, Estelle, George, Leonie, Pete, Phil, Pippa and Stella.
* Sherwood History Walk for HLMT Thursday 6th June 2024
Mo Cooper, local historian led this 2-mile, 90-minute walk starting at Sherwood Community Centre. Murder in the woods! Where did the paste board makers live? Where was the first Methodist chapel, the first library, our first brew house, Sherwood’s back to backs?
Fourteen people signed up for this fascinating walk, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Seventy pounds was raised, all of which will go towards paying the fees of midwifery students in Liberia. Big thanks go to Mo Cooper and Carol McCormick for organising the walk and to Chris Jefferson for being our HLMT representative on the day!
* HLMT Plant & Craft Stall, Chilwell Garage Sunday 30th June 2024
HLMT ran a Liberian arts and crafts stall at the market. There were greetings cards, festival bunting, tote bags, aprons, lavender bags, cushion covers and much more…
The stall attracted a good amount of interest and custom, with just over £200 being raised towards grants for Liberian midwifery students! Big thanks go to Celia, Emma, Sally and Stella for staffing the stall.
8. Standing orders, donations and bequeaths in wills
HLMT aims to increase the number of Liberian midwifery students it sponsors from year to year.
The mainstay of our fundraising is the regular Standing Orders and one-off donations from supporters, which are crucial to our work and for which we are so grateful. We continue to fundraise, however we have a long way to go before we are financially sustainable into the future.
Our overheads are minimal, there are no paid staff and all the funds we raise are used to fund the training costs of student midwives in Liberia. If you have not already done so, it would be tremendous if you could please set up a Standing Order, no matter how small or large. https://hlmt.org.uk/hlmt-Standing-Order-Mandate.pdf Please return the form to us and NOT to your bank.
Whilst we hope that all of our supporters have long and happy lives, we would also be very grateful if you feel able to include HLMT in your will!
As always, a massive “thank you” to everyone who has supported the work of The Helen Loewenstein Memorial Trust www.hlmt.org.uk – also to our trustees, volunteers, supporters, and Sherwood URC for providing space for us to meet and hold events at minimal cost.
Helen would be astonished but very proud at what is being achieved in her memory.
Recent Comments