Local Charities
This page is devoted to Information about local charities. If you would like us to include your favourite local charity in these articles please contact the Editor. 

The charity should work across the region and not just be village based.
BIC C BRAIN TUMOUR MEETINGS

Monthly social meetings for brain tumour patients and their families are being arranged on the third Thursday of each month at the Big C, Norfolk Street, King's Lynn. We meet for coffee/tea and biscuits between 11am and 1pm to socialise and exchange experiences. 
The meetings are sponsored by the following charities whose members can offer information and experience of brain tumours and the problems they can cause. Astro Brain Tumour Fund, The Lisa Wiles Red Wellies Brain Tumour Support Fund and Reach for a Star.
Check for dates in the current Local Lynx or contact Christine on 01485 572767 info@astrofund.org.uk or Mary on 01485 525279 treasurer@astrofund.org.uk. You can book or just turn up on the day.

CARE FOR CHILDREN

Headquartered in Norwich, a registered charity in England, the USA and Hong Kong, Care for Children works to give some of the most disadvantaged children in the world the chance to grow up in loving, local families who will nurture them to reach their full potential. The charity partners with governments in Asia to help them place orphans into good local families as a positive alternative to institutional care. Care for Children’s vision is to see a million children moved from institutional care into families. 
Having worked in China since 1998, Care for Children expanded its project to Thailand in 2012 and continue to receive invitations from governments across Asia to replicate its work.
For more information see www.careforchildren.com and Facebook.com/careforchildren

HOLT & DISTRICT DEMENTIA SUPPORT (H&D DS)

Holt & District Dementia Support (H&DDS) is a registered Charity, whose patron is The Rt. Hon. Norman Lamb. It was founded by local people to support those living with dementia, their families and carers and it is managed and run entirely by trained volunteers. Our services include a weekly Poppy Café and fortnightly Poppy PM. Both provide opportunities for support in a safe, friendly and relaxed environment and take place in the Meeting Room at St. Andrew’s Church, Holt, NR25 6BB, where our volunteers will be ready to welcome you.
• Poppy Café is open every Tuesday from 10.30am - 12.30pm
• Poppy PM opens on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month from 2.00 - 3.30pm.
A wide choice of activities is provided for our clients to enjoy, and families and carers have time to share ideas and information over a hot drink and cakes or benefit from some time to themselves. Information is available about local resources and there are visits from health care professionals and other organisations.
Poppy Home Visiting is a service which provides respite for family members or carers who look after those with dementia in their own homes. Our volunteers offer company, support and reassurance to the client, enabling carers to take time out.
Please see our website for further information: www.holtdementiasupport.org.uk
Telephone Contacts: Claire Roberts - Tel 01263 713817 or Eleanor Sidgwick - 01263 710617 Email: contact@holtdementiasupport.org.uk

FALCON

FALCON was established to provide opportunities for children and young people to engage with creativity in all its forms - literature,  music, arts and making – to add a valued contribution to the creative and learning environment for all children. (Mission statement 2013)
FALCON stands for 'Festival of Arts and Literature for Children Of Norfolk.’ We are a non-profit making organisation which was launched three years ago and has since been exploring and developing a number of initiatives for taking creative opportunities to children, families and schools. We take creative events and workshops directly to children and in schools, libraries, children's centres and festivals. We are working with several schools in North Norfolk, local libraries and the Holt Festival.
We work closely with the host organisation, e.g. a school or group of schools, to decide on a focus, a theme or topic and then invite our growing list of artists of all kinds including writers, illustrators, storytellers, musicians, face-painters, puppeteers, painters and sculptors to suggest activities to enhance the curriculum. The choices remain firmly with the school and our task is to pull everything together to create a stimulating and inspiring experience for all those involved. 

THE FILLING STATION

The Filling Station is intended to serve rural communities and is available to all church denominations. It is a facility to bring like-minded people together from all streams of the Christian faith for excellent teaching, worship, testimonies and prayer ministry. The Filling Station initiative, which started in the West Country, is explained by the founder and director, Rev’d  Richard Fothergill, on the main website: www.thefillingstation.org.  Also check out previous messages given on You Tube – simply type in ‘North Norfolk Filling Station’.

MAGPAS

Magpas was founded by Dr Neville Silverston MBE. He commenced an out of hour’s radio paging service for local GP’s in 1971. This evolved into an immediate care scheme where GP’s were called to the scenes of road traffic accidents in their area. It became a registered charity in 1971.  The service was voluntary and the doctors responded in their own cars. They provided expertise to the fledgling ambulance service.
In 2000 Dr Mackenzie a Consultant in Emergency Medicine, and himself a Magpas volunteer, reviewed the service provided by Magpas. He proposed that to provide added patient benefit, the charity needed to provide specialist care at the scene of more serious incidents. By January 2003 the plans were formalised, and this was the birth of the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT). These teams were doctor-paramedic based; they received specialised and ongoing training. They became centralised and worked shift patterns, providing a highly skilled scarce resource.
These specialised teams were deployed by road in a dedicated rapid response vehicle to serious incidents, and from 1997 by police helicopter. In 2007 they were joined by Anglia two, an air ambulance helicopter operated by the East Anglia Air Ambulance Charity (EAAA). The helicopter Anglia two was withdrawn from joint operations in 2010. The Magpas Helimedix team now have their own helicopter, which is additional to the cover provided by EAAA. The Magpas Heliemdix Air Ambulance is stationed at RAF Wyton, where it can be tasked by the ambulance control room to serious incidents such as major road accidents across East Anglia, including our area.
The assets deployed by Magpas are expensive to maintain, the charity receives no Government or National Lottery funding and relies wholly on generous donations from the public. 50 highly trained medics volunteer their time and provide millions of pounds worth of frontline care for free. It currently costs £2,500,000 per year to provide this lifesaving service.  Magpas Helimedix was the original Air Ambulance for Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Peterborough and Ely, and this area still has the majority of helicopter call-outs. However they continue to provide lifesaving doctors and paramedics across East of England, when they are needed. The charity has attended over 60,000 patients since it was founded in 1971.
The East of England has a population of over 5.8 million, and Magpas is on hand for those who are seriously injured or in need of their expert medical care.  Magpas needs volunteer fundraisers very urgently, and also runs a weekly lottery which helps raise money for its work.  If you would like to help or just want to know more about its work or the lottery you can contact it on 01480 371060 or e-mail info@magpas.org.uk  (Website: www.magpas.org.uk).

NORLSAR

Norwich based, Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue (NorLSAR) works throughout Norfolk and lowland Great Britain, in environments which can be both urban and rural. NorLSAR assists in response to search and rescue requests from the police, providing specialized search and rescue capabilities to help find missing people. Working together with partner agencies it has the capability to assist police, for example, during extreme weather conditions, 
Unlike its more famous mountain rescue counterpart NorLSAR will not go into mountainous areas - different search skills are required for highland terrain. NorLSAR is a member of the Association of Lowland Search and Rescue (ALSAR) and will assist member teams in Search and Rescue across lowland Britain, when requested. 
NorLSAR uses trained people and dogs to search any terrain found in lowland Britain. It uses a wide range of techniques and equipment backed up with the latest missing persons data and methodologies. NorLSAR has always endorsed and encouraged investigation surrounding faster and more efficient search and rescue techniques. Over the years NorLSAR has adopted many of these search techniques and, together with other ALSAR teams in the United Kingdom, continues to advance search and rescue efforts within lowland Britain. 
Primarily NorLSAR searches as foot teams and all 'search technicians' must complete a basic training course prior to becoming an active member and on the team's callout list. Members are encouraged to put any other skills to good use and individuals are offered the opportunity to improve personal skills including team leading, navigation, dog handling, mountain biking, water safety and water rescue. NORLSAR is constantly on the lookout for members including those who can help with non-operational aspects of the organization. Unfortunately, despite expectations from the public, search and rescue eceives no government funding. If you would like to help with fundraising, filling in grant applications or seeking sponsorship, please contact the charity.  More information together with a photo gallery of its  activities can be found at the charity’s home page: http://norlsar.org.uk . 

PLAY VAN

The Play Van is a mobile facility which travels around rural Norfolk providing playgroups every week during term-time for 0-4 year olds and their parents/carers. 
The groups provide a safe and fun environment for children to play and a social setting for local families to meet. Each session offers a wide range of toys and play activities, themed crafts, story and song time. During the session children are also provided with a drink and a snack, while adults can enjoy hot refreshments. 
Our groups are friendly and there is always a warm welcome for new people.
For further details please contact Anna Walker, PlayVan Development Worker on 07918 027092 or email playvan@norwich.anglican.org.