Rybrook Warwick confirmed as lead sponsor of Rugby4Heroes 2017!

We are thrilled to have Rybrook Warwick on board again as a lead sponsor of Rugby4Heroes for the fifth year in succession! The guys have come up trumps once more and are our Lead Festival and Golf Day Sponsor in 2017 and will also support the 353 Ball in 2018.

Dealer Principal Lee Beacon said;

“Rybrook Warwick are proud to continue our sponsorship of OLRFC Rugby4Heroes. We have watched and supported this fantastic community cause over the last 4 years and the work that goes in is a credit to all those involved.”

If you are looking for the latest BMW offers, a New BMW, BMW Approved Used Car, BMW Approved Servicing, BMW Genuine Parts or Accessories, they are able to satisfy all your motoring requirements.   Rybrook Warwick have the full BMW range from the new BMW 1 Series,  BMW 3 Series to the BMW X5 and the new BMW 7 series available. Plus they now have the complete i range BMW’s ground breaking electric cars, we have a range of BMW offers and aftersales offers available too.

Rybrook BMW Warwick prides itself on exceeding customer’s expectations and are exceptionally pleased that many loyal customers return to Rybrook Warwick for all their sales and service needs time and time again. Customer satisfaction is at the heart of all they do.

To put them to the test please visit them at Heathcote Lane, Warwick CV34 6SP or call the team on 01926 333888

Second Rugby4Heroes Charity Golf Day

Rybrook Warwick BMW move into top gear for their partnership with 
OLRFC Rugby for Heroes and their second Charity Golf Day

Old Leamingtonians RFC ‘Rugby for Heroes’ team are swapping rugby balls and boots for golf balls and long drives for their second Rugby for Heroes Charity Golf Day in aid of 353. A charitable trust set up by the family of Private Conrad Lewis, Mentioned in Despatches for his actions prior to being killed in Afghanistan, February 2011.

Taking place on the 18^th September 2015 at The Warwickshire Golf and Country Club the team are aiming to host their second successful golf day. All profits generated from the golf day will be donated to 353 Trust. 353 is a charitable trust with the aim of helping members of the military community by delivering long-term support to a variety of charities, soldiers and their families. To make as big a difference as possible, their ultimate mission is to become a recognised force for good worldwide through partnerships with other organisations.

In the last seven years, OLRFC Rugby for Heroes has raised more than £63,000 for various armed forces charities and are hugely grateful and are delighted to confirm the support of our new title sponsor Rybrook Warwick BMW.

Stuart Hill, Rybrook Warwick BMW sales manager said “Rybrook Warwick BMW are proud to sponsor such an event for an amazing local charity.  The event renews the partnership with OLRFC Rugby for Heroes and we hope it proves a huge success”.

OLRFC Club Chairman, Charlie Sabin, said; “the Club is very proud to be associated with ‘Rugby for Heroes’ and fund raising for the charities it supports. We thank all the event sponsors for their generous support. We’d like to extend the invite to Warwickshire businesses and golf societies to come and join us.”

Thank you to our sponsors: Rybrook Warwick BMW, ROI,  Capco, Arbury, Claverdon Rugby Club, Liquidblu, Camouflage Consultancy, Spaghetti Agency, The Warwickshire, Raspberry Golf and Nissan.

Our Itinerary

The Warwickshire Golf & Country Club, Leek Wooton, Nr Kenilworth, Warwickshire  

Teams can be entered into the event as a four ball for £350 per team (4 people), as part of this participation fee, you’ll get a brealfast roll, and two course dinner, Polo shirt and goody bag.

Buggies can be booked by phoning the Warwickshire Golf Shop directly on 01926 622570 and the utilisation fee is £20.00 per buggy.

Corporate sponsorship and advertising packages are available for the event. Your company may sponsor a hole on the course for £100 + VAT per hole, and programme adverts are available starting at £60 + VAT for a half page A5 advert.

We would be pleased to welcome you to field a corporate team and further information is available on request in terms of the competition, accommodation and other logistics.

To register a team or for more information regarding sponsorship please contact;

Mike Vallance at mikeyvallance46@gmail.com or 07545 602029.

We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be a fantastic day in aid of the most noble of causes.

Read more about 353.

75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain

Old Leamingtonians RFC and the Rugby4Heroes volunteer team are proud to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and those who gave all in the defence of our country.

You can view our film here.

As we prepare to enjoy the Rugby World Cup 2015 we are thankful for the opportunity to do so, such freedom provided by the men and women of the RAF in 1940.

 

#BattleofBritain #BoB75 #WeWillRememberThem

Fashion Show profits announcement!

Good morning to all our Rugby4Heroes supporters!

*Quick drum roll*

The organising team are delighted to confirm that the profit earned from the Rugby4Heroes Fashion Show last week was: £1,539.

5 great things you should know about Rugby4Heroes

Rugby4Heroes … 2014 in review… and what a year it has been!

Why Rugby4Heroes?

The first Rugby4Heroes event at Old Leamingtonians RFC in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, was conceived in 2009 to commemorate the life of fallen Stratford paratrooper Private Joe Whittaker, who was killed in action in Afghanistan serving with 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment.

Joe was an outstanding son, brother, soldier, colleague and sportsman from a close and loving family. We felt we simply could not stand by and do nothing to help his and other families affected by the conflict. So the idea of helping servicemen and women and their families in the UK military community through the powerful medium of sport, was reborn.

A one-day festival of rugby and music was held on a sunny Sunday in May 2009, raising £1400 for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and Combat Stress. As the saying goes, mighty oaks from little acorns grow. Given extra impetus by the mounting casualties at the time and the loss of another outstanding young Warwickshire soldier, Private Conrad Lewis, in 2011, we decided to ramp up our efforts to ‘do our bit’.

Since that time, the number of events and volunteers has grown exponentially. At the time of writing, Rugby4Heroes has just completed its sixth year of fundraising, delivering the largest ever sum of donations to Forces charities, including Help for Heroes, the Royal British Legion, ABF The Soldiers Charity and local Warwickshire charitable trust, 353.

The centrepiece of the events programme is an annual rugby, music and food & drink festival held each May. This is powerfully backed up by a black tie ball and a golf day – and there are more new events in the pipeline.

Since we started our very own Band of (volunteering) Brothers and Sisters, we have now raised and donated almost £53,000, and we’ve helped a large number of people in our community.

This has all been delivered by an enthusiastic and dedicated group of unpaid volunteers.

What’s so special about Rugby4Heroes?

This is a question we have been asking ourselves a lot this year, not just because of the withdrawal of British, US and NATO alliance forces from Afghanistan. But also, as an organising team, we regularly evaluate our success and look for ways to innovate and improve.

It’s our view that Rugby4Heroes is an extraordinary local phenomenon in the global world of volunteering, charitable fundraising and Corporate & Social Responsibility.

‘What’s so special?’ you might reasonably ask. Let’s look at the top five reasons why, through the lens of what has been achieved in 2014 and over the last 6 years.

And we also wanted to share some lessons learned.

5 great things you should know about Rugby4Heroes 

1. We’ve harnessed the power of people to deliver goals

Rugby4Heroes is and has always been about people coming together to help others through volunteering our time and effort. In other words, not making a material personal gain from it.

From the small team who started back in 2009, we have grown to a band of over 50 volunteers in 2014 from the local and national rugby and business community, volunteer organisations including the local Army Cadet force, independent business owners and retailers, and some high-powered dudes from both national and international business brands.

The Armed Forces and our benefit charities themselves have also become increasingly involved as news of our achievements has spread across the land. As one of the core R4H team members, local marketing and graphic design company owner, Gaz Nash, regularly says, ‘people ‘get’ what we are doing’.

Many leadership gurus, military officers and business schools talk about the central purpose and role of leadership and leaders, as delivering results through harnessing the power of the team – achieving results through others. This is an approach we have always tried to ensure we have worked to, to deliver results beyond our material resources and what we think we are capable of. Yes, we’re ‘punching above our weight’.

We have certainly done this in 2014, and it’s been a key learning point for us. Who would have thought that we would have been able to attract a 10 tonne military helicopter to visit our modest Leamington Spa festival?

2. It’s not just about money and fundraising…

A core ethos for us is that we believe we have a clear moral obligation to support our servicemen and women, who have given so much (and in 453 cases in Afghanistan, made the ultimate sacrifice) to preserve our security and way of life.

They go the extra mile for us (and then some), so we want to go the extra mile for them.

This year, the Rugby4Heroes team has been very active in getting out and about to see how the money we’ve raised has been put to good use. We have also continued to support families of fallen servicemen from Warwickshire and the West Midlands.

We have experienced an amazing and diverse range of visits and encounters;

• In April, we were honoured to be shown around the Army Personnel Recovery Centre at Tedworth House, Wiltshire. Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion have done an amazing job in refurbishing and now running this run-down MOD property as one of five dedicated recovery centres around the UK. We also visited the HQ of Help for Heroes in their now legendary ‘Tin Hut’ building, and were blown away by the enthusiasm of their fundraising team.
• In May we delivered our most successful Festival of rugby, music and street food in our six year history.
• In July and August we took part in the annual Nijmegen trek challenge in Holland and a World war I Centenary Walk from Warwick to Stratford upon Avon, raising money and awareness for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.
• In September, we joined thousands of spectators at the Inaugural Invictus Games held in the Copperbox and other venues at the Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Park. We saw servicemen and women who a few short months ago had suffered life-changing injuries and yet were now competing vigorously in an international sporting arena – and in the case of wheelchair rugby, trying to knock seven bells out of each other! Inspirational stuff.
• In October we had a further weekend of fundraising events, including our first ever Rugby4Heroes golf day and our most successful annual Black Tie Ball, in the 1920’s theme of The Great Gatsby. We also joined a diverse and fun team of walkers who completed the 100 Kilometre Front Line Walk, held to mark the centenary of the outbreak of World War I, and expertly organized by ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.
• We have been recognised for our efforts in the community, winning the prestigious Team of the Year Award at the Touch FM Pride of Warwick District event and being named as a finalist for the Leamington Legends category at the Leamington Business Awards.
• Most powerfully, this year our Festival team representatives from the Soldiers’ Charity handled three case referrals from service personnel and their families, to discuss PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) issues. Three cases. At our Festival. What would have happened to those individuals if we hadn’t been there?

We’ve been mighty busy. And it’s been very satisfying.

3. … but raising money does help!

Hey, one of our team is a banker (no snickering please) and we love metrics and numbers as a result! And at the end of the day, Forces charities still need hard cash to help support our servicemen and women and their families. This could be for providing rehabilitation facilities and care, physical and psychological counselling and support, or helping with training and facilitating new careers for those no longer able to serve.

So, some interesting but fun Rugby4 Heroes metrics;

• This year we’ve raised in excess of £20,000 for our benefit charities.
• We’ve raised almost £53,000 in total – over half way to our target of £100k in 10 years!
• More than 2,000 people attended our Festival in 2014 – a new record.
• Over 210 guests were entertained at our ball – another record.
• According to our resident festival bar team leader and statistician, we downed more than 3,300 pints of foaming ale at our festival. We ran out of beer – twice – over the weekend.
• We supported and engaged many voluntary organisations – Army cadets, scouts, sea cadets, as well as the charities themselves.
• We make an important contribution to the local economy. In 2014, we spent in excess of £15k on goods and services form local suppliers in Warwick and Leamington. We’ve engaged local breweries and street food vendors to keep our army of hungry volunteers, rugby players and festival goers fed and watered. Since the start, we calculate we have injected over £50k into the local business economy.

Our goal is to deliver donations topping the £100,000 mark – and we are more than half way there now! Onwards and upwards.

4. We’ve exploited the power of social media as a highly effective strategic marketing tool

We could not have achieved these results without harnessing the power of social media. We actively use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share core information and event activities and connect with people. It’s critical as a way of raising awareness of our events and driving footfall.

We don’t sell through these channels. We network, we market, we exchange information, we make friends and help others, and we also have fun. We’ve developed some extraordinary connections and met some amazing people in real life, all through Twitter. Who would have thought we could support our activities in this way, barely five years ago? A zero cost channel to market with global reach – awesome.

Best of all, we plan our social media activity as a part of our broader campaign plan – alongside our website communications, external media engagement, and marketing collateral; all developed and executed to a very high professional standard.

5. We’ve had fun and made friends along the way!

Professor Paul Dolan of the London School of Economics, in his recently published book ‘Happiness by Design’, talks about the importance of balancing both purpose and pleasure in one’s life.

He has conducted fantastic empirical research and statistical models to prove this point, however one can also buy into the practical common sense of what he says.

We strive to get the right balance between purpose and pleasure in what we do, and we aim to deliver this balance in every event we hold. If we’re not enjoying ourselves along the way, it makes delivery of our goals and our purpose that much harder.

We’ve met some terrific and inspirational people along our journey, and we think we have got the balance right between purpose and pleasure. We’ve assembled a team of outstanding volunteers, within our rugby club and outside it. We have also had the terrific support of our three Rugby4Heroes Patrons:

1. Former Royal Marine, Marine Biologist and BBC TV star, Monty Halls
2. Team GB Wheelchair Rugby and Paralympian athlete, Mandip Sehmi
3. Former West Midlands soldier and ultra marathon athlete, Karl Hinett.

They all have inspirational stories to tell and value to add, and have been great ambassadors for our cause. To underscore the previous point above, we connected with two out of three of them over Twitter!

So, in the inimitable words of Frank Sinatra, it’s been a very good year!

We particularly wish to acknowledge the support of Chairman Charlie Sabin, the Committee and members of Old Leamingtonians RFC who have supported Rugby4Heroes from day one, and continue to do so.

We’re proud to have made a difference as part of a great team, proud to have been part of something very special and to work alongside some exceptional people, and proud to support our servicemen and women and their families.

Our cumulative fundraising sum is now £52,892!!!

Long may it continue!

OLRFC Rugby4Heroes Patron Karl Hinett honoured with tapestry

OLRFC Rugby4Heroes Patron Karl Hinett honoured with tapestry by artist Grayson Perry at the National Portrait Gallery

Karl recently attended our 3rd Annual Ball and spoke briefly about the his and Hank’s immortalisation in the tapestry.

He also tweeted “Honoured to have been made into a tapestry by #GraysonPerry at the #NationalPortraitGallery“

Karl is a former soldier and now an ultra marathon runner (basically he is a running machine!) and fundraises for Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham whom helped him on his return from Iraq with severe burns. He was recently proud winner of ‘Outstanding Bravery’ Pride of Birmingham Award 2014.

The movie below will give you a brief insight into this remarkable mana and one we are proud to call our Patron!

Follow Karl on Twitter

Rugby4Heroes 3rd Annual Ball Itinerary

With a few days to go we wanted to share with you what we have in-store for our 3rd annual OLRFC Rugby4Heroes Ball, once again held at the fabulous Warwickshire Golf & Country Club on Saturday 25th October 2014.

Rugby4Heroes 3rd Annual Ball Itinerary

This year we hold the event in aid of 353 and ABF The Soldiers Charity. Its a sell out with 208 guests! (Thank you all for your continued support!)  We hope the evening proves a great success (we know it will be!) but more importantly we hope to raise a bucket load of cash for our two charities. They are two fantastic charities doing brilliant work in their own rights and we need you to help them keep on doing that important work. Please bring lots of money with you and be generous when asked to donate. There will be the Golden Raffle – we have some great prizes donated by some very generous people and businesses in the county and beyond. Our silent auction is filling up very nicely with some super money can’t buy items (well for this night it can!) and a few games to carry us through the night.

The evening will be marshalled excellently by our legendary MC, Todd, who has been a fab supporter of our events. He will be updating you throughout the night of the evenings proceedings and talking to our key speakers.

We also have the very talented magician, Jester Styles, working the audience in between arrivals and pre/post dinner. 

 

 

 

Live music is being provided by Emma Stevenson who is a period 20s/30s/40s singer on arrival with your champagne reception.

Thom Kirkpatrick our very own 21st Century one man band, who performed at our Rugby & Music Festival in May also will be taking us through the evening with his unique performance.

 

 

Plus, the usual heads and tails, golden raffle and silent auction, and a great event photographer.
A reminder on timings:

 Thank you.

OLRFC Rugby4Heroes are Leamington Business Awards finalists!

We have been nominated for our work in Leamington Spa in the ‘Leamington Legends’ category of the Inaugural Leamington Business Awards. We are very proud of this recognition, whether or not we emerge as ultimate winners. The awards take place tonight, Friday 17th October at the fabulous Leamington Spa Pump Rooms.

The Leamington Legend Award

This special award recognises the work of an individual who makes an outstanding contribution to life in Leamington. The judging panel will be looking for an ambassador for the town whose contribution to the local area improves life for residents and visitors, and whose commitment is outstanding.

This would be an individual who has made a significant impact or achieved significant results over the past year. It recognises individuals who may work ‘behind the scenes’ but without whom significant success or impact would not have been achieved.

Thanks for the recognition, Leamington Spa! Nothing less than our brilliant team of volunteers and our awesome rugby club deserves!

Wish us luck!

Inaugural Charity Golf Day

Rybrook Warwick BMW drive forward partnership with
OLRFC Rugby for Heroes Golf Day

Old Leamingtonians RFC ‘Rugby for Heroes’ team are swapping rugby balls and boots for golf balls and long drives for their inaugural Rugby for Heroes Charity Golf Day in aid of 353. A charitable trust set up by the family of Private Conrad Lewis, Mentioned in Despatches for his actions prior to being killed in Afghanistan, February 2011.

Taking place on the 24^th October 2014 at The Warwickshire Golf and Country Club the team are aiming to host their first successful golf day. All profits generated from the golf day will be donated to 353 Trust. 353 is a charitable trust with the aim of helping members of the military community by delivering long-term support to a variety of charities, soldiers and their families. To make as big a difference as possible, their ultimate mission is to become a recognised force for good worldwide through partnerships with other organisations.

In the last six years, OLRFC Rugby for Heroes has raised more than £44,000 for various armed forces charities and are hugely grateful and are delighted to confirm the support of our new title sponsor Rybrook Warwick BMW.

Stuart Hill, Rybrook Warwick BMW sales manager said “Rybrook Warwick BMW are proud to sponsor such an event for an amazing local charity.  The event renews the partnership with OLRFC Rugby for Heroes and we hope it proves a huge success”.

OLRFC Club Chairman, Charlie Sabin, said; “the Club is very proud to be associated with ‘Rugby for Heroes” and fund raising for the charities it supports. We thank all the event sponsors for their generous support. We’d like to extend the invite to Warwickshire businesses and golf societies to come and join us.”

Thank you to our sponsors: Rybrook Warwick BMW, ROI, Phillips66, Unitemps, Intelligent Golf, Signs Express, Infiniti Centre Hull, Akuma Sports, Claverdon Rugby Club, TGFP, Camouflage Consultancy and Liquidblu.

Our Itinerary

The Warwickshire Golf & Country Club, Leek Wooton, Nr Kenilworth, Warwickshire  

Teams can be entered into the event as a four ball for £300 per team (£75 per person), and this participation fee will cover the following;

09:30 – Arrival, registration and full English breakfast

11:00 – 4 ball Stableford competition (full handicap) across the 18 hole championship course with a shotgun start. Best two scores will count. Competitions will be run at a number of holes with prizes throughout the day.

17:00 – Completion of 18 hole round, competition prize winner and Rugby4Heroes fourball trophy presentations

18:00 – Two course dinner with wine/beer/soft drinks available, plus guest speaker and raffle for a variety of excellent prizes

21:00 – Event close

Buggies can be booked by phoning the Warwickshire Golf Shop directly on 01926 622570 and the utilization fee is £20.00 per buggy.

Corporate sponsorship and advertising packages are available for the event. Your company may sponsor a hole on the course for £100 + VAT per hole, and programme adverts are available starting at £60 + VAT for a half page A5 advert. A Lead Event sponsorship package is also available for £1000 + VAT.

We are delighted Warwickshire and England Cricketer Ian Bell has kindly donated a signed England cricket shirt for auction. Dig Deep!

We would be pleased to welcome you to field a corporate team and further information is available on request in terms of the competition, accommodation and other logistics.

All profits from the event will be donated to 353, a charitable trust founded in the memory of Warwickshire resident Conrad Lewis, 3^rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, Mentioned in Dispatches, sadly lost in action in Afghanistan on 9^th February 2011. 353 support a range of Service charities and make individual grants to wounded servicemen and women and their families.

To register a team or for more information regarding sponsorship please contact;

Mike Vallance at mikeyvallance46@gmail.com or 07545 602029 or;

Tony Lewis, 353 on tony.lewis62@yahoo.com or 07836 514523

We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be a fantastic day in aid of the most noble of causes.

Read more about 353.

£44,000 and counting!

We have raised over £44,000 for Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion and other armed forces charities.

Old Leamingtonians RFC Rugby4Heroes raise a record amount of money. All profits generated from the Festival will be donated to ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, The Royal British Legion and 353, a charitable trust set up by the family of Private Conrad Lewis, Mentioned in Despatches for his actions prior to being killed in Afghanistan, February 2011.

Following the festival, we have made cheque presentations to The ABF Soldiers’ Charity and 353. We will be making cheque presentations to The Royal British Legion – Leamington and Warwick Branches this coming month.