We are pleased to announce that with the aid of a grant from Macmillan we have purchased a number of books for use by children dealing with death and bereavement.

In the coming months, Jane and Debbie will be visiting local Primary Schools to hand deliver these books and discuss any concerns the teachers may have on such a delicate subject.

Following on from Ann and Roy's recent skydive, Sarah and Carl Williams, who own Skydive Swansea, have now added The Bracken Trust to their Charity Partners - "Jump for Charity" list.

If you or any family member or friend would like to do a charity tandem skydive on behalf of The Bracken Trust,why not check out Skydive Swansea's web site - all the information you need to know is on this site. Take it from one who knows, its a great experience and one I would gladly do again (besides, the outfits are quite fetching!!!). Everyone at the centre are very helpful - www.skydiveswansea.co.uk

December 23rd - Patient day only - No Lunch

December 24th - 29th -CLOSED

December 30th - patient day only - No lunch

December 31st - CLOSED

January 1st 2009 - CLOSED

Re-open on January 2nd 2009

Our "After Christmas" party will be held on Tuesday 6th January 2009. The Trust will provide the food but we would appreciate a small gift for either male or female. So, do come along and join in the fun. Please let us know before Christmas if you are attending.

The number of patients attending the Trust has increased greatly in the last few months and we now require additional therapy days. The Trustees have agreed that Tuesdays can be used as an additional therapy day. Therefore, with effect from Tuesday 7th October, lunches will start at Midday. This will allow patients to attend on a Tuesday afternoon.

As from January 2009, lunches will be served every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but patients are the priority and we hope that this will strike a happy balance. If you have any queries, please contact the office.

The 6th Form of Llandrindod Wells High School are organising a number of fundraising events throughout the year 2008/2009 and The Bracken Trust is one of their choosen Charities to benefit from these events. A big "THANK YOU" to all the pupils who will be involved in these events - and Good Luck!

Tuesday 25th November - Christmas Flower Arranging with Jane Adams

6.30pm - 8.30pm. Please contact the office if you wish to attend.

Jewellery/Craft Workshops

Monday 27th October - 2.00pm -4.00pm

Tuesday 4th November - 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Please contact the office for further information or to reserve your place.

Tuesday 20th January 2009 sees the re-launch of the Lymphoedema support Group. This meeting will be titled "Healthy Ways to Loose Weight"

Please see the Newsletter for further information, or contact Jane or Debbie.

At last, after months of cancellations due to bad weather, Ann Jones and Roy Palmer have finally done their tandem skydive. Unfortunately, they were unable to jump on the same day due to personal commitments so, Ann did her jump on 20th September and Roy did his on 12th October. They both agreed that it was a fantastic experience. A big THANK YOU to all who have supported Ann and Roy. The final amount raised should exceed £1,700.

The Bracken Trust always looking for new volunteers. If you could spare a few hours a week/month we would be very grateful. So if you are a keen gardener or a good listener, why not contact Jane our nurse manager for a chat on how you could be of help.

THE BIG LOTTERY PEOPLE AND PLACES

As you will have seen in the press, we have been very fortunate to receive funding from The Big Lottery in the sum of £168,875 spread over the next 3 years.

This is absolutely fantastic news as this funding is to extend our services and support to others in the community. With this funding, and our forthcoming link to Macmillan, who are to provide a Cancer Information Worker at The Trust for the next 5 years, we will have the opportunity to help many more people in the Community. Well done to all who have put so much time into developing the bid.

Please remember that this is additional funding to extend our services so we still need to continue to fundraise to provide our existing support