H&DAA Charity donation to Blackmarston School
Thursday 27th April 2023.
Every year money raised from the River Wye Charity match is paid in to a fund to be donated to a local charity either as a cash donation or the money is used to buy specific items from the charity’s wish list.
This year the chosen charity was Blackmarston Special Education School who exclusively provide education for children aged 2-11 years of age with complex learning diabilities. Last week Match Organiser, Dave Roberts and H&DAA liaison officer, Paul (Percy) Bristow were invited to Blackmarston Special School in Hereford to meet pupils and teachers who have recently had a delivery of new switch toys, paid for with money donated from the H&DAA Charity Fund. Below is Dave’s account of the visit,
“Blackmarston is a school that has helped so many families locally, including my own. It is a school that helps children who require a more specialised schooling journey. It was the first time at the school for both Percy and myself, and we both left completely heartened by what an incredible place it is. We were also blown away by also how wonderful the teachers are.
We were given a guided tour and went from room to room seeing how the school is set up to cater for all Children up to the age of 11.
Despite the incredible work they do, the school is restricted to standard school government funding, and staffing levels. This means they are reliant on donations like ours for many of the extra equipment required.
Switch toys are a massive part of development for many of these children, and the money donated by you guys meant they could purchase over £900 of equipment that was on the schools ‘wish list’. This has made a massive difference to the early years department.
Our thanks go to all the teachers, especially Rachel Scriven who showed us around. ‘Rae’ as she’s better known, has been at Blackmarston for over 20 years and just epitomises the ethos of this school. We also met the Head Teacher Mike who personally wanted to thank us.
The River Wye Charity Match is a big Wye title in fishing terms, but we ask a lot of you guys by taking £10 per angler out of the pools money.
For those of you who have supported the event at any point in the past, we thank you all. You’ve made a difference to the lives of others!
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