 The Brighton Marathon is a gruelling event and training on cold winter’s mornings has never been a comfortable part of the journey, but 12 intrepid souls collected faithfully in Preston Park on a cold but sunny April Sunday morning in COTE running vests. Sadly two of our runners had to drop out through illness or injury before the event, but the rest of the team finished safely and a full bevy of supporters bellowed support from strategic points around the course. Here’s what the runners had to say: Production Coordinator Izabela Mayne, one of the 3 Musketeers from Wileys, said: ‘I can certainly say that I have absolutely loved every minute of the marathon. It was without a doubt one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life (so far!) and one which I wish to repeat again….. I certainly plan to support COTE by running further marathons, plus we are open for any other mad suggestions’. Christine Binns, Maths teacher from London said: ‘Thank you so much for your support during the race. Any bawling at me would have only helped me along!! It was lovely to catch Euan in the Charity Village after the race - I can only apologise for my slightly cathartic state and inability to form a sentence longer than about 3 words. We went and had fish and chips on the beach which instantly brought life back to my legs!’ Keith Jamieson, Managing Director of an electrical company said: ‘calves and quads still sore, but no lasting effects. As I ran the last 800 with my son Jack we had to get back to the family, so no pampering I'm afraid but I very much appreciated your support and will always do my bit for Children on the Edge. Body Shop CRM Manager Julie Cromwell said: ‘Thanks so much for your cheering from the sidelines – it was great! Hopefully I can convince a few more laggards to send some more – so hopefully by the end of the week, we should have a final total, but we’re pleased we’ve been able to smash our target of £1,500’. Our wonderful COTE Heroes and Heroines have raised over £7000 as a result their magnificent efforts and we want to say huge congratulations and a very big thank you.
 The fifth Joe Way Paddle for life is riding a wave towards the Newquay event on Thursday 21st June at Newquay harbour. The original Paddle for Life started after lifeguards from Fistral Beach held a Joe Way memorial paddle to raise money for charity in 2008. Joe is the inspirational little Newquay boy who touched people's lives around the country and beyond. The 2011 event last September saw over 180 paddlers of all ages and abilities taking part to do their bit to raise money for their chosen charities. Team Joe and its supporters have raised over £98,000.00 for a great variety of charities including Children on the Edge. The event which has normally been held in September has been moved to June to encourage more families, schools and surf clubs to take part, as well as allowing the event to run later into the evening with more light and warmer seas. Paddlers and swimmers ages start from 5 years upwards and the entry fee is £10 per adult and £5 per child (under 18’s) which is paid on the day with everyone also getting a certificate, free prize ticket and a discount voucher for food. The event is about family fun and everyone helps each other along. Matt Way Joe’s Dad said “It’s a great evening with loads to do on the beach, games for the kids, food stands and the amazing Titan the robot who is a huge crowd pleaser. We just want Joe’s story to inspire new people who then grab a board and paddle for charity”. To read about Joe’s story, and find out more about taking part in the Joe Way Newquay Paddle for Life 2012 go to www.joewaypaddle.co.uk
 The 'Chi Half' is a challenging yet beautiful half marathon through Chichester city centre and the South Downs that aims to raise vital funds for our projects. The route, which includes a mixture of road, cross country and cycle path terrain, will start at Chichester College and take in the historic sites of Chichester, including the Cathedral and the walls. It will then lead up to the pinnacle of the Downs before wending its way back down Centurion Way. Children on the Edge is organising the event in conjunction with Chichester District Council. Due to take place on the 14th October 2012, the event is expected to be hugely popular and is already being supported by local running clubs. The main sponsors of the race are Montezuma’s Chocolates and Store Property with other locals firms including Harwoods and Evans Weir lending their support. The marathon will be a fantastic way for local people and those runners further afield to raise funds for our work. By paying an entry fee and running the ‘Chi half’ participants will already be helping us as a little really can go a long way in the places where we work. Better still any runners can set up a just giving page and get sponsored for their efforts, or purchase a Children on the Edge T shirt or running vest with proceeds going to our work. The race will take up to 1,000 runners and is open to all entrants whether you’re an elite athlete or jogging around dressed as Elvis. You can register online at Race Timing Systems or call the Children on the Edge office for an entry form on 01243 538530. There is an Early Bird rate for applications received before June 30th of £20 (affiliated UK Athletics Association) and £23 (non-affiliated). After June 30th, the cost for athletes is £22 (affiliated UK Athletics Association) and £25 (non affiliated). Please keep updated on news and tips on our Chichester Half Marathon page, ‘like’ our facebook page or follow @Chichesterhalf on twitter.
 Did you know that when you shop online you can raise funds for Children on the Edge, at no extra cost to you? Shop online at your favourite retailers using Give as you Live and a percentage of your spend will be donated to us, at no extra cost. There are 1000’s of stores signed up, including most high street names like John Lewis, Tesco, Sainsburys, Amazon and HMV. Give as you Live are rewarding us with an extra £5 for every new shopper that signs up to support us through Give as you Live. This means that with only 100 shoppers we can raise £3,000 this year, at no extra cost to us and no extra cost to you! Please sign up today and help us raise an additional £3,000 this year, by doing what you do already!
 Local children invited to a chocolate trail with a difference, collecting Montezuma’s chocolates along the way! Come along to Priory Park on Easter Saturday and you’ll find a family event with all the trimmings that will make a great highlight to your Easter weekend. From 10 am - 2 pm children can take part in our fantastic Easter Trail, collecting Montezuma’s chocolates along the way and learning about our work with vulnerable children. All proceeds from the event will go to our projects. Entry fee is £3.50 or £6 for two. During the event treats and refreshments will be available including O’Hagan’s sausages, fete games, a bouncy castle and raffle. In the run up to the event Montezuma’s have launched a competition for children between 5-12 years old to design their own Easter Egg. Winners will receive a full size egg with the winning design on it and the top 2 winning entries will be displayed in Montezuma’s stores in Chichester, Brighton, Winchester, Kingston and Spitalfields. Closing date for entries (which are to be handed into the East Street Chichester store) is the 20th March and entry forms are available from either the store or the Children on the Edge office. Call the office on 01243 538530 or e-mail euanclarke@childrenontheedge.org with any queries. We'd like to say a huge thank you to Affinity Sutton, Graylingwell Park, Homes and Communities Agency and Linden Homes for their generous sponsorship of the event.
 Merton House at Glyn School in Surrey have raised a staggering total of £1024.22 for Children on The Edge through a month of fundraising. The school are working towards a full International Schools Award and aim for their students to grow into independent learners who are able to contribute to the society in which they live. In having a fundraising focus for January, the boys in Merton House did just this, and learnt about an innovative sports programme supported by Children on the Edge in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haiti is a desperately poor country. According to UNICEF one in five Haitian children have no access to clean water. Since the earthquake in 2010 many children have ended up living rough on the streets where they are forced to depend on the kindness of strangers, making them vulnerable to traffickers and violent gangs. The boys at Glyn School spent the entire month raising money for boys their own age, living in the slums of Port-au-Prince. The programme they were raising money for provides football coaching, support and counseling. As the children gain a sense of belonging through team sports, they also have access to education, learn from positive role models and are provided with a food package after each practice session to take home. The amount raised by Merton House is enough to fund 819 children for a week’s worth of football coaching and food parcels. The Glyn boys used various ideas and events to reach their goal. These included a a sponsored silence, a sponsored 'Keepy Uppy' on the school field, a day spent with uniforms turned inside out, the hosting of a fiercely contested cross bar challenge and the running of a chess and X Box clubs for a week. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Merton house for their contribution, and will be keeping them posted on what their money has achieved. Find out more about our work in Haiti, and think about donating to the project.
 We are delighted to announce that we will soon be benefitting from an exhibition of paintings inspired by Shakespearian plays from stage and screen actor Jonathan Hyde.
From February 7th – 19th Jonathan’s paintings will be on display in the Oxmarket Centre of Arts, Chichester to view and buy, with proceeds being donated to our projects. Jonathan Hyde has performed and starred in numerous theatre, television and film productions. Credits include 2011’s Rattigan’s Nijinsky at Chichester Festival Theatre, King Lear, Macbeth, Spooks, The Queen, Titanic and Jumangi to name but a few. He is soon to be seen performing in the UK tour of The King’s Speech. Jonathan is also a very talented artist and while at Chichester in 2011 was inspired to take brush to canvas and create a series of narrative pieces based on Shakespeare, principally King Lear. Jonathan skillfully captures the inner mood and emotional atmosphere of the characters he paints. This is an exciting opportunity to be able to view and buy this original artwork and to help raise awareness and funds for Children on the Edge. Jonathan's work can also be seen on Saturday 4th February The Minerva Theatre in Chichester alongside two performances of The Virginia Monologues, also in aid of Children on the Edge.
 For our Christmas Appeal this year we're keeping it simple. We describe a simple idea about what love in action is for us, and what it can be for you too. We outline three of our projects where we demonstrate love in action and give two easy ways for you to do the same. This Christmas you can: 1. Text 70080 to donate £3 to our projects. This will pay for a football in Haiti, a hygiene kit in Thailand, or two good meals in Burma. 2. As part of your Christmas shopping buy one of three products ( 100% Natural Roll-on Lip Oils from The Body Shop®, beautiful jewellery from Jewels for Freedom, or a stylish kids print from ISAK) which currently give either a portion, or all of their profit back to Children on the Edge! Please click the image on the left to view this year's appeal in full (or contact us for a full sized version) and consider donating to our work this Christmas. Thank you.
 At the start of this autumn we had the pleasure of joining hundreds of our friends from The Body Shop At Home™ at their Christmas conference. The Body Shop At Home™ Consultants have been an incredible support to Children on the Edge over the years and raised a huge amount of money not only through their parties, but through their own fundraising events and sponsored challenges. This September they were set a fresh challenge. For every new recruit each consultant made, The Body Shop® Head Office would give £5 to Children on the Edge. Not only this, but if they could recruit a target of 1,000 new consultants, Head Office would double this amount to £10 per recruit! The ladies went away from the conference inspired by a great time together having seen what their efforts can achieve through a video update showing the work we support in the slums of Haiti. As well as concocting plans for balls, sky dives and all kinds of party activities to raise money for our projects, they went away determined to reach the recruitment target. When the results came in at the end of the month we were utterly bowled over. Not only had the ladies hit their target but gone way past it recruiting a staggering 1187 consultants! This was the highest recruitment level in 5 years and resulted in a total of £11,870 being donated from The Body Shop® to Children on the Edge. We’d like to say a massive thank you to all these amazing ladies for their hard work and effort both through this challenge and in everything else they do promoting and fundraising for our projects. If you want to support these ladies in their efforts then don’t hesitate to book a Christmas party with The Body Shop At Home™, where there are many opportunities to raise money for our work. Just call 0800 092 90 90 to find out more about hosting a party. This would be a great chance to stock up on 100% Natural Lip Oils which make perfect stocking fillers. Every time one is purchased 50p from the sale comes to our Child Friendly Spaces.
 Ghislaine Davis, local artist and patron of charitable initiatives, has donated some beautiful unframed watercolours to Chichester based charity Children on the Edge as part of her desire to share her talents with the world and to make a difference. Educated in France, Ghislaine has lived in Norway, speaks five languages and settled with her husband in Chichester 5 years ago. Ghislaine has always supported charities with her artistic talents and recently saw a story about our projects in the local paper and decided to donate some pieces which can be viewed by clicking here. Anyone willing to display or wishing to bid for these beautiful watercolours depicting Chichester and surrounding coastal scenes should contact Children on the Edge on 01243 538 530 or e-mail Euan Clarke at euanclarke@childrenontheedge.org.uk. Euan Clarke, Community Fundraiser for Children on the Edge says “These paintings would be perfect for a special Christmas present or anniversary memory of happy times. Ghislaine is to be warmly commended for her wonderful generosity”.
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