It was long ago in July 2008 when Anne Edge  had a phone call from Mrs Anne James of District 14 Inner Wheel requesting 40 DVDs and magazines for all the clubs from Llandiloe in Mid Wales to Southport. It wiped out the entire stock in Wales (in 2008 DVDs and magazines were not easy to obtain!) but they were sure it was all for the best – so they posted them off to Anne.

They later heard that Mary’s Meals had been chosen by the district 14 as their International Charity of the year for 2010 and Anne’s parent club the Tywyn Inner Wheel club invited Anne & Geoff to speak at their March meeting held at the Aberdovey Golf Club. The district will be presenting the proceeds from the 40 clubs at the Annual Conference in June but in the mean time they presented Geoff with a cheque for £200 after a talk on Mary’s Meals. 

It just goes to show that sometimes it takes time before things start to happen but it is always worth waiting for! Thanks to Anne and the Tywyn Club.

Photo caption – Geoff Edge receives a cheque from President Mair Worsey

Following appeals made for Mary’s Meals in December 2009, the Sunshine Club at St Helen’s Church, Caerphilly made a generous donation of £410. When the donation was made they requested that if possible could a speaker come and give a more detailed talk about Mary’s Meals. This was organised and it was down to Anne and Geoff Edge to give a full presentation to a very receptive group of over 60’s. The presentation covered the history, development, present operation of Mary’s Meals and also details of the complementary Back Pack Project. The group were also encouraged to talk to friends and relatives and spread the news about Mary’s Meals to other groups and organisations. Another volunteer, Rosaria Hicks, arranged the talk and helped to answer questions from individuals in the group.- Thanks to the Sunshine Club for listening and giving such an enthusiastic reception!

Photo caption – Anne Edge , volunteer for Mary’s Meals talks about the Backpack Project to the Sunshine Club

Machen Primary School Pupils (from left to right) Bethan Asbury, Claudia Phipps and Olivia Evans are pictured proudly displaying a certificate from Marys Meals for their excellent fundraising for the recent Haiti Earthquake Appeal.  The girls organised a sale of homemade goodies including cakes, phone charms and badges.  They sold out and raised over £150.  The school council also held a toy sale on the same day and raised over £120.  The pupils kindly donated in total over £270 to Marys Meals Haiti Appeal.  Proof indeed that you are never too young (or old!) to make a difference and help those need. Well done girls!!