Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church - Chairman's Report 2008

Once again Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church have enjoyed a record year of fundraising for the Church.

Thanks to the publicity generated by the Friends and the Church for our Appeal for funds for the restoration of the Thomas Parker Organ we raised over £24,000, far above our original target. After adding in Gift Aid and successfully reclaiming a significant proportion of the VAT charged on the work, no less than £9,000 has been set aside by the PCC in a Restricted Fund which will provide for the upkeep, service and maintenance of the Organ for many years to come. None of this would have been possible without the tremendous efforts of the Friends themselves and their families who organised and participated in fund raising events, and to the generosity of parishioners, past and present, and to residents and visitors to Leatherhead once they were made aware of the Appeal.

We have continued to assist the Church with the upkeep of the Graveyard, both financially with a grant which was doubled to £2000, and in the form of working parties which are making headway in uncovering parts of the Graveyard which have become heavily overgrown.

Our May Coffee Morning and Spring Plant Sale which followed the 2007 AGM raised a record amount of E500 and this was followed in October by a new venture for the Friends in the form of an afternoon Bridge Tea in the Parish Hall, kindly organised and run by June Robinson and a hard-working team of helpers. This attracted no less than 100 players from Leatherhead and neighbouring Ashtead, Dorking and Fetcham Bridge Groups and contributed over £900 to our Funds.

In February 2008 we were oversubscribed for the Friends' Quiz Night. Our thanks, as always, to the Haslams for the quiz and to committee members who handled the catering and box office. This event, which was greatly enjoyed by all who participated, raised the magnificent sum of £850. Plans are already in hand for another Quiz in February 2009.

We are now looking forward to our next event on 22nd June when a number of gardens in the local area will be open for viewing in aid of Friends of the Leatherhead Parish Church.

Meanwhile we were pleased to be able to provide a grant of £6,500 in February 2008 towards the costs of a complete overhaul and servicing of the Church Bells, the first time such extensive work has been carried out for over half a century. Scheduled for completion just prior to our AGM we shall look forward to hearing the bells ring out again for another 50 years.

We are now in discussion with the PCC on a range of projects for improving the amenity and embellishing the fabric of the Church, in pursuit of a tradition which has continued ever since a Church was first built on this site prior to 1086 and on which each successive generation has left its mark.

None of this would of course be possible without a team of dedicated people working in Committee and meeting regularly throughout the year, and I would like thank in particular our Secretary Jackie Hampton, our Treasurer Frank Haslam, Membership Secretary Steve Shaw, June Robinson who ensures that all our fund raising receives the publicity it deserves, Bernard Salsbury for his painstaking work in reclaiming Gift Aid (and VAT!), as well as the support given to fund raising events by Sonia Grove, Margaret Pickard, Peter Ford and past Chairman Ron Presley. Special thanks also to John Hampton who represented the Churchwardens on the Committee during the year and to Meredith Vivian who has retired having made an enormous contribution to our fund raising efforts.

Chris Evans
Chairman
16 May 2008