Barefoot walk for the Sudanese Nuban people

Dr Chris Lavers, a lecturer at Dartmouth Royal Naval College and the University of Plymouth, removed his shoes for a two day personal challenge to walk over 27 miles from the Royal Naval College gates in Dartmouth to the Royal Marine base at Lympstone. Chris was raising money for aid relief for the Sudanese people of the Nuba Mountains (via the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) and the Help for Heroes charity.

Chris has previously taken part in other sponsored barefoot walks to raise awareness of the plight of the Nuba people, including one through the parks of London culminating in a petition delivered to Downing Street by hundreds of people, the majority being exiled Sudanese citizens.

Raising money for the Nuba crisis is a worthy cause. In the Nuba Mountains humanitarian conditions for displaced peoples are deteriorating and many are unable to obtain adequate supplies of food, water and medicine.

Another barefoot walk is planned to highlight the serious humanitarian situation in Sudan in the spring of 2013 in Truro. Anyone interested in being involved can contact Chris on chris.lavers@live.co.uk .

A Short Life: Devon based Charity Auction raising money for Little Bridge House Children's Hospice

A Short Life was set up by Jon Rowe, who recently lost his 11 year old sister to the disease Mucopolysaccharide (MPS). During the last few years of her life, Libby was a resident of Little Bridge House Hospice in Barnstaple, Devon, where she received the best care possible.

As a way of saying thank you, Jon, has taken it upon himself to organise a Charity Auction to raise money for both Little Bridge House and MPS society. The money raised will go towards the replacement of much needed medical equipment that helps with care of the children, along with the maintenance and on-going costs that are needed to keep such an establishment going. A contribution will also be sent to the MPS society to enable them to keep up their great work is search for a cure for the disease.

The auction taking place at Dartington Hall, Totnes, on the 21st October, tickets are only £10 and this will entitle you to a wonderful evening of a live auction followed by a live band! It will be a heart-warming evening, celebrating the amazing support that Little Bridge House offers to the children and families affected by life limiting conditions!

Those who cannot attend but would like to donate can do so on by clicking here

Nominations for Her Majesty the Queen's Volunteering Awards for 2012

Nominations are still open for The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, which recognises the outstanding contributions made to local communities by groups of volunteers. Groups must be made up of two or more people, have been established for a minimum of three years and still be in existence. Previous recipients have been health groups, social clubs, arts groups and those involved in working with young people, to name just a few. Nominations close on the 30th of September and I would love to see one of the very deserving organisations from South Devon be recognised in this special way!

The nomination period for The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award has also been extended until the 16th of October. This is a unique award that organisations can self nominate themselves for if they are not eligible for The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service or if they worked specifically on providing volunteering support to the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Click on the links for details on how to nominate for either award.

John Railton MBE

Congratulations to John Railton on receiving his MBE at Buckingham Palace on the 4th of May. John received the award in recognition of his services to music. Outstanding work within his community contributed to John being honoured; he has been an inspiration to so many, helping to encourage and develop countless performers. John is a remarkable musician and has inspired others.