Welcome to the first edition of The Matthew Russo Foundation’s Crawley Observer Column.
We were so honoured to be approached by the paper who asked if we wanted to write a regular monthly update for their Observer readers, how could we say no? It’s an opportunity for us to tell you a bit more about our charity, what we’ve been up to, how we’ve raised money and who we’ve helped.
As many of you may know our Foundation was formed in March 2011 following the death of Matthew. He was a very special boy who had a choking accident at school and died aged seven.
It was a terrible time for all of us – friends and family – and during those early weeks after his death we knew that we would need to try and start to rebuild our lives by helping other children like Matthew.
Matthew had autism and went to Manor Green School. Whilst he was a very happy, lovely boy, like many children with special needs it was sometimes hard to manage the daily routine and many of the things that made life a bit easier weren’t available without additional costs and lots of additional, complicated paperwork.
We soon realised that we wanted to try and raise money to help children like Matthew, to make their lives a bit easier and bring a bit of fun and happiness.
So, we created The Matthew Russo Foundation with a view to raise some money. The first few months were spent recruiting committee members, spreading the word about what we were hoping to achieve and trying to raise money.
With things like cake and book sales, sponsored events and our first annual Barn Dance we were able to raise £9000 which far surpassed our expectations.
After being able to donate to Manor Green School, Winston’s Wish and the Springboard Project (Matthew’s favourite place to go), we decided to think about other ways we could help donate much needed equipment for individual children and respite for their families.
We set about pulling together an easy to use donation form, some guidance notes and a website to promote the work we were doing.
Our committee worked hard to raise more money with an autism friendly cinema screening, murder mystery evening and table top sales to name but a few events!
With the help of our dedicated volunteers and regular supporters, including Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe, County Mall, Asda and of course continued publicity and support from Karen Dunn at the Crawley Observer, by the end of the second year we had raised £15,000 and supported over 15 children.
By the middle of 2012 we became a registered charity after a successful application to the Charity Commission.
This opened up new opportunities for fund raising enabling us to claim Gift Aid and receive online sponsorships and donations.
With Facebook and Twitter accounts set up and over 1,000 friends and 1,800 followers the Foundation grew from strength to strength and by the end of 2013 we have raised £30,000 and been able to support over 30 individual children and their families as well as making donations to Manor Green School, Springboard Project, Ariel Othello’s and Unique who offer support to families and individuals affected by any rare chromosome disorder.
This month will be our third anniversary and we want to spread the word and share the stories of those we’ve been able to help in Matthew’s memory.
Our monthly column will include news about upcoming events; tell you how much money we’ve raised and where the funds are going.
We’re always looking for more people to get involved and would welcome anyone who is interested in helping with fundraising, planning or attending events or joining the committee.
To find out more visit our website at www.thematthewrussofoundation.org.uk, or look for us on Facebook and Twitter. The more the merrier!
Before we go we just want to invite all our readers to The Matthew Russo Annual Quiz Night on Saturday April 5, 7.30pm at Three Bridges Football Club. Tickets cost £5 each, with teams of up to six people, with a trophy for the winning team.
Current champions – UPS Drivers of Crawley – will be defending their title so come along for a fun packed evening and look out for our column next month!