Thame Food Festival thanks parking volunteers
AS well as bringing thousands of visitors to Thame on the day, the Thame Food Festival, as a Not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC), helps raise funds for local good causes and last night (Tuesday), local charities were presented with a total of £2,370 raised through the event’s parking and the tombola stall.
Lotte Duncan (left), Ken Bruce and Harriet Hieat-Smith from Thomley Activity Centre, in Worminghall, nr Thame
The festival parking, including the red, double-decker bus, Park and Ride scheme operating for the first time, was manned by volunteers from Thame Lions, Thame Rotary, Thame Boys Football and the Cornerstones church. The local charitable organisations which accepted cheques last night included Thomley Hall (£500), which BBC radio presenter, Ken Bruce, accepted on its behalf with Harriet Hieat-Smith, from food festival Director, Lotte Duncan. Ken’s son is a regular attendee at Thomley’s activities days.
Roger Blackburn of Thame Lions Club accepted a cheque for £550 from the Deputy Mayor, Jeannette Matelot Green, which Roger explained would go towards a trip to the panto for Thame SAFARI, and some to supporting Thame Young Carers. Jeannette herself, as this year’s President, then accepted a cheque for £550 on behalf of Thame Rotary which will be divided between SAFARI, Sharing Life Trust, the Thame and District Day Centre and Thame players.
Robert Ellis of Thame Lions presented a cheque for £100 to Carlo Abreu and Frank Thompson of the Thame Football Partnership as a donation for Thame Boys who assisted with the parking at Southern Road Rec. during the festival. Robert Ellis of Cornerstones Church presented a cheque of £150 to church members,John Bancroft and Michael Bradley and then John handed the cheque on to Steve Eyre and Phil Stratton as a donation to the Thame Food Bank.
The Thame Food Bank also benefited from the Tombola held during the food festival, when a cheque for £520 was presented by Jeannette Matelot Green (current President of Thame Rotary) and Roger Blackburn, to Steve and Phil.
John Hulett gave an illustrated presentation about the valuable work of the Thame Food Bank, and Phil Stratton and Steve Eyre, explained the work of the Sharing Life Trust, including the newly launched Thame Community Bank.
Lotte Duncan thanked all the volunteers for their vital and stirling work in co-ordinating and managing the festival parking, and emphasised to everyone that the Thame Food Festival is run by volunteers as a CIC, and that none of the Directors take any money out of the festival, the only paid employee being the Administrator, Alison Isherwood.
The Mayor of Thame, Peter Lambert, now a successful publican and brewer in Thame, brought the evening’s presentations to a conclusion with a moving reflection on how a food parcel from his parents had brought much-needed help to him, his wife Trudi and their children, six and a half years previously when he lost his pub business, his lively-hood and the family’s home.
