Reading’s annual Pancake Race was an eggs-traordinary event. This year 29 teams from local businesses battered it out in freezing but sunny conditions, egged on by cheering half term crowds of hundreds of spectators.
Three time winners from Specsavers were left with egg on their face, beaten into third place this year. Runners up were Gleeson Recruitment and the winners of the 2015 Launchpad Broad Street Pancake Race were Interserve.
Best Fancy Dress was won by Charles Hunter Associates for their flippin' cracking Wizard of Oz costumes. The Team Spirit Award was won by Calcot Services for Children for raising over £300 in fundraising for Launchpad.
We raised over £2,000 through entry fees, bucket collections on the day and teams including Davis Tate and Blandy and Blandy setting up Just Giving pages and collecting donations.
See more photos from the event here >
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Thank you
It's been another brilliant month of support from you all:
Susan Pheby School of Dance & Performing Arts raised £46 from their onesie week.
Charles Hunter Associates and Amec Foster Wheeler chose us as their Charity of the Year for 2015.
Reading Irish Club held a dance to support us and other local charities.
Shiplake College raised over £700 from their own production inspired by Nadia Fall’s play ‘Home’ about the young and homeless.
St Edward's School also raised over £700 for 2 sewing machines.
Reading Blue Coat raised £684.14 from their carol service.
Waitrose Caversham donated £215 from Community Matters/Green Tokens in the store.
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10 gigs, 10 cities, 10 days
Last Sunday Performance Poet Dave Allen began his 700+ mile cycling poetry adventure in memory of his good friend and brilliant Launchpad supporter Lizzie Lee.
He started from his home near Petersfield and cycled to the first gig in Southampton, then onwards to Bristol, he's in Oxford this evening, followed by Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Cambridge, London, Brighton, and finishing with the final gig in Reading on Tuesday 3rd of March. Phew!
Each gig along the way will be fundraising for Launchpad and No.5 Youth Counselling who Lizzie supported and also for local charities in each city visited.
You can read more about Dave's tour and his Reading gig here >
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Homelessness increasing
People at risk of homelessness in England are increasing according to research by Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The study suggests a masked 9% rise 2013-14 to 280,000 cases.
It also blamed a 'lack of affordable housing' meant growing numbers of people were having to live away from their area - resulting in little or no family support around them.
You can read about the study in more detail here >
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CEO's blog
Helping Out
Four Launchpad clients have helped out with the breakfast kitchen for SWEP (Severe Weather Emergency Project – where we run a breakfast club for Reading’s street homeless). They have undertaken a variety of tasks including welcoming SWEP clients into the service, helping to cook and serve breakfast and creating a warm, helpful and friendly atmosphere. It was also great to see a former client who returned from last year and took charge of the kitchen and cooked all the breakfasts on his shift! Clients have told us that they love helping out on this service, developing new skills but most importantly giving back to the community. Read more >
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