Province of East Kent

Teddies for Loving Care Appeal (East Kent) Family and Friends

walk to raise over £4000 to give a little TLC

More than 130 walkers completed a 5 mile walk along the River Medway at Yalding, raising in the region of £4,000 to buy more teddies to be donated to A&E units across East Kent.

This was the 4th year that the event has been organised by East Kent Freemasons headed by the Chairman of the East Kent TLC Committee, John Keeley.

John Keeley said, "Where does the magic come from? The ability for a small cuddly bear to sooth and calm a crying child, the simple act of giving a bear to a child is happening every day in every A&E department and minor injury units throughout East Kent. In the four and a half years since the appeal started 47,000 teddy bears have been donated by Freemasons from the Province of Kent"

Dressed in yellow T shirts bearing the well known TLC and teddy logo the enthusiastic participants completed the 5 mile walk in between 1 and 2 hours. Some of the more energetic walked an additional 2 miles to raise a little extra cash.

The walk started and finished at Tea Pot Island, Yalding where John ably assisted by the TLC Committee, family and friends had organised a Marquee with a Hog roast BBQ, children's entertainment and live music. There was even a duck race on the river Medway to add to the fun. The event was supported By the Provincial Grand Master of The Province of East Kent, Michael Robin Bailey together with his wife Sandra. Other members of the Provincial executive also took part in the walk.

28 local businesses sponsored the event, without which the magic couldn't happen.

Micky the Clown (W. Bro Mick Smith) entertained the children and the band 'Goodbye Eric' entertained the adults, free of charge.

The Wildlife heritage foundation supported the event by donating a generous raffle prize to visit the Big Cat Centre at Smarden. The lucky winner, W. Bro David Horne will enjoy 'a Big Cat Experience', which includes hand feeding a number of the big cats. Hopefully this won't affect his ability to salute in the future!