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Nailcote Hall’s 20th Snow Ball brings Christmas cheer

Posted on December 12, 2025December 12, 2025 by admin

Nailcote Hall Hotel, Berkswell, Snowball, Salvation Army

The annual Snow Ball at Nailcote Hall Hotel Golf & Country Club has raised more than £5,000 for The Salvation Army.

The charity have also received sackfuls of gifts for their Christmas Toy Appeal, which will be delivered to disadvantaged children in the area on Christmas Day, thanks in part, to donations from the 220 guests who attended on the night in Balsall Common.

Nailcote Hall Hotel, Berkswell, Snowball, Salvation Army — Sue Cressman and the winner of a diamond pendant Cath Freshwater.

Hotelier Sue Cressman said: “The Snow Ball starts all of our Christmas Party Nights at Nailcote Hall. We have produced this event for 20 years and it goes from strength to strength. We are grateful to our sponsors Bidfood Food Service who, without their kind donation, we would not be able to present the top class entertainment we have each year.”

“This year there was a bumper amount of toys and gifts donated with a room filled with presents. I am so very grateful to all that attended this very special event.”

Helping to create the event’s festive atmosphere were The Salvation Army Band plus ‘special’ guests, Santa – ably assisted by Mrs Claus, Fairies, and The Elf on the Shelf.

A festive three-course meal was followed by performance courtesy of Britain’s Got Talent finalist Pippa Langhorne and the night ended with an auction, raffle and dancing to The Soundations, before Nailcote Hall’s resident DJ Franco wrapped up the evening’s entertainment.

Sue added: “We’re already taking bookings for The Snow Ball 2025 which will be on November 28th. This event goes from strength to strength, helping the vulnerable members of our community.”

Nailcote Hall has a host of Party Nights lined up on the run up to Christmas, including Beatles Tribute Show and The Dreamettes, both on December 19^th, Party Hits Night with The Core Band on December 20th on and New Year’s Eve Black Tie Ball. Bookings can be made via HERE.

How would your organisation use £100k grant to help young people?

Posted on December 8, 2025December 8, 2025 by admin

Norton Foundation, grant

Local organisations in Coventry, Warwickshire, Birmingham, Solihull, are being invited to apply for a grant of up to £100k to fund capital projects to help young people under the age of 25.

The Warwickshire and West Midlands-based Norton Foundation is seeking proposals as part of a drive to improve the personal development of young people through creating opportunities within the region.

Bids must be primarily focused on training, education, personal development or rehabilitation.

The announcement comes at a time where there is a lack of provision for young people due to cuts in services by statutory bodies and reduction in grants to voluntary organisations.

Alan Bailey, Chairman of the Foundation, said: “This is the eighth such capital grant we have made in the last 25 years, and we have high hopes that the 2025-2026 grant of up to £100,000 will achieve the same high level of permanent provision for young people as the previous seven.”

Norton Foundation, grant — Hillstreet Centre in Rugby received a grant in 2021.

In the past thirty years, the Foundation has given over £4 million in grants to help the region’s youth. Previous grants have included funding a youth centre in Sydenham as part of the SYDNI community centre.

In 2005 the grant went to a substantial residential unit at Coventry Scout Council’s Rough Close campsite and activity centre and in 2010 a grant of the maximum £100,00 was made for the purchase by the charity free@last of a building to house a youth centre in Nechell’s Birmingham.

Also in the that year the District Council for the building of the Depot youth centre at Alcester received £100,000.

In 2015 two grants were made – £250,000 to Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Adis to refurbish a refuge and £125,000 t Leamington and District Scouts to build a lodge at the Hatton campsite.

A previously successful applicant wrote: ‘’The Norton Foundation Capital Grant was instrumental in enabling us to create a brand-new building dedicated specifically to the needs of children and young people in our community. Before this, we had limited space to offer tailored activities and support for younger age groups, but thanks to the Foundation’s generous support, we were able to bring a long-held vision to life.

“The new building has quickly become a vibrant and essential part of the Hillstreet Centre. The dedicated facility has not only allowed us to expand our services, but it has also helped build confidence, resilience, and a stronger sense of belonging among the young people who use it.

“The impact of this development extends beyond the building itself. It has opened up new opportunities for partnerships with schools, youth services, and local organisations, and has helped us attract further funding and resources to sustain and grow our youth-focused work. Thank you.’’

There are no application forms. Submissions, limited to one side of A4 paper, should include: an overview of the organisation, details of the proposed project and its benefits, an estimated total cost and how the name of The Norton Foundation will be recognised.

Bids must be received before 28^th February 2026, preferably by email to – correspondent@nortonfoundation.org or by post to The Correspondent, The Norton Foundation, Carleton House, 266-268 Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull, B90 3AD.

From these bids a short list will be selected and invited to submit detailed proposals and out of these a selection will be made of organisations to present in person to the Norton Foundation Trustees.

Further details are available at the Norton Foundation website HERE.

Stratford Town FC targets Molly Ollys with This Year’s Christmas Campaign

Posted on November 14, 2025November 14, 2025 by admin

Molly Ollys, charity, Stratford Town Football Club — Rachel Ollerenshaw and Olly The Brave are pictured with Steven Burge, STFC Commercial Manager.

Stratford Town Football Club is proud to announce its support for local children’s charity Molly Ollys with this year’s Christmas Campaign, helping bring comfort, joy, and special memories to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Molly Ollys, founded in memory of Molly Ollerenshaw, works tirelessly to support children facing serious health challenges by providing emotional support, therapeutic toys, and granting wishes that help make difficult days a little brighter.

This Christmas, Stratford Town FC is joining forces with Molly Ollys to raise awareness and funds through a series of initiatives, including a donation drive day where the team from Molly Ollys will join Stratford Town FC at the Arden Garages Stadium for the match against St. Ives Town FC on Saturday 13^th December. Part of the day will see the first team take the field for their pre-match warm up wearing special Molly Ollys shirts.

The club will also be encouraging members and supporters to get involved by purchasing Molly Ollys products from their Clubhouse and website shop, or simply spreading the word about the charity’s vital work.

“Community is at the heart of everything we do at Stratford Town FC.” said Chairman Jed McCrory. “We’re honoured to support Molly Ollys this Christmas, the charity is so meaningful and emotive. Their team make a significant difference to children and families across the UK, and we are looking forward to building strong ties with them with this

Christmas Campaign and future initiatives.”

As well as providing more than 4,300 wishes to date, Molly Ollys donates therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.

Olly The Brave is a therapeutic toy that helps children understand their treatment journey. Along with a set of books from the charity’s exclusive Olly The Brave series, stock the lion and books now been handed out to more than 70 hospitals or health centres to distribute to children undergoing treatment. Olly has his own Hickman line and a detachable mane which helps to explain and normalise the effects of chemotherapy.

Part of more than £5m raised to date, has also been used to fund the first consultant in paediatric palliative medicine at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and pay for the training of a further two consultants.

Co-founder Rachel Ollerenshaw said: “When Jed and his team approached us to be their charity Christmas partner, explained how they’re embedded within the community, in particular working with hundreds of children, we didn’t think twice about getting involved.

“Working with Stratford Town Football Club throughout December and raising vital funds in the lead up to Christmas, will not only help us start to build a long-term relationship with the football club, but will also assist Molly Ollys as we continue to support children across the UK with life-threatening illnesses.

“We’re really looking forward to matchday on 13^th December and can’t wait to see the team warm up in their Molly Ollys training tops. Meeting the supporters, sponsors and volunteers of the club is important to us as we aim to increase awareness to people who may not know of the work we do. Fundraising has been particularly tough over the past couple of months and we really need help to maintain our levels of service”

Fans can support the campaign by donating at Stratford Town FC and at home matches throughout December and visiting the Molly Ollys website HERE.

Also, there are Christmas cards and gifts that can be purchased from the Molly Ollys website shop and Stratford Town Clubhouse.