Magistrates supporting charities

Magistrates come from all walks of life and are often involved in other civic and charity roles. Here are some magistrates who are doing other good things for their communities.

• Newark marathon runner and magistrate, Diane Thorpe, helps crime victims
• Chris Lovitt takes part in the Race Against Time
• Liz Hepworth moonwalk for breast cancer charities
• Abdul Sallam participates in the Sadeeqa Orphanage Trust trek challenge 2008
• Christos Tsakiris, a young Cardiff magistrate, takes part in the Princes Trust Costa Rica Challenge
• High Peak magistrates "stride out" for charity
• Newly appointed magistrate Chris Lovitt completes five day cycle ride from Addis Ababa to Gimbie Ababa

Newark marathon runner and magistrate, Diane Thorpe, helps crime victims

Newark businesswoman and magistrate, Diane Thorpe, says she had a temporary moment of madness early in 2008 when she entered online in the public ballot for the 2009 London Marathon, to be run on 26 April. She says, “having received my Acceptance Letter and spending the next hour cursing and asking "why me?", I relented, took on a positive approach and decided to seize the opportunity and raise money for a well deserved cause.”

Diane chose to support crime victims in her own area, via Victim Support in Nottinghamshire, creating her NEW-DIVA or "Newark - Diane's Victim Aid Fund”. In just the first month, she has achieved £1,166 in sponsorship.

Money raised will go towards supplying a variety of small but effective items for crime victims in the Newark area, such as personal attack alarms, burglar alarms, keypad locks, handbag alarms, which can easily prevent crime happening again to the same person and which are not covered in the normal Victim Support budget.

Diane writes on her justgiving website www.justgiving.com/dianethorpe:

“Some crimes are more complex requiring more expensive practical support such as high levels of security equipment - a recent arson attack left the victim with absolutely nothing after their home was burnt extensively. Immediate requirements were provisions, food and warm clothing, but then reality set in after being moved to another home by the Council; there was no kettle to make a cup of tea, no pots or pans, cutlery, bedding, pillows, sheets, curtains, towels, toothbrush, soap... the list was endless. This is where the NEW-DIVA Fund can help!”

These very costly dilemmas are the same if anyone is fleeing the home through domestic abuse, or serious harm. Any practical help can have a beneficial aim to aid the quality of life for victims of crime. It does not resolve the problems, but it can make a difference.

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Chris Lovitt takes part in the Race Against Time

The Race Against Time is a unique endurance challenge, now in its 6th year. It involves a group of 10-15 cyclists going from Lands End to John O’Groats in just six days – that’s an average of 145 miles a day, and a total of 874 miles in less than a week – to raise funds for a good cause.  See more at: http://theraceagainsttime.com

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Liz Hepworth moonwalk for breast cancer charities

On the night of Saturday 17 May 2008 I took part in the Moon Walk to raise funds for Breast Cancer charities. I had to walk through the streets of London for 26.2 miles (full marathon) wearing a decorated bra. 13,000 people did the walk and it was a sight to behold. We started at midnight so had plenty of encouragement from revellers on their night out! Sore feet and just under 8 hours later I finished the walk. I have raised over £1,000 to support the charity. Followed this with a walk last Saturday night - a moon light 13 miler, again starting at midnight - to raise funds for our local hospice Ashgate Hospice, Chesterfield. Great fun and not as chilly - had a T-shirt to wear this time!

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Abdul Sallam participates in the Sadeeqa Orphanage Trust trek challenge 2008

Abudul was part of a group that travelled to North Pakistan on 26 July 2008 for a two week fundraising trek to the Himalayas. The goal was to raise as much funding for Sadeeqa Orphanage Trust as possible, who aim to build an Orphanage School for girls in Lahore, Pakistan. To find out more please visit www.sadeeqaorphanagetrust.org

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Christos Tsakiris, a young Cardiff magistrate, takes part in the Princes Trust Costa Rica Challenge

Both as a young magistrate serving the community and also as an individual, I believe I have a duty to fulfil through getting more involved with the world around us. We read and hear about how we can make a difference to the world on a daily basis, but many of us get lost in our regular chores and forget our responsibility to create a better society. Therefore, I decided to take the initiative last year and participate in an International Challenge in aid of the Prince's Trust. In March I raced across the Continental divide in Costa Rica for 8 consecutive days. Going from sea level to 7,000ft, I cycled for 100 miles, ran for 18 miles and kayaked for another 45 miles. The Challenge was sponsored by my employer Liberata, a leading outsourcing organisation in the public and private sector. As part of its sponsorship support, Liberata funded 12 employees to take time off work and travel to Costa Rica and also supplied the team with appropriate kit.

Today we live in a society where children are easily distracted and exposed to anti-social behaviour through social exclusion, imitation and influence. By leading through example as an adult and encouraging youth to take part in improving charitable activities, I see the possibility of changing the way young people and their communities perceive the Bench.

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High Peak magistrates "stride out" for charity

High Peak magistrates (seen here after a picnic break at Rudyard Lake near Leek) are celebrating another successful year of charity walks.  Among beneficiaries this year were Derbyshire Association for Blind People, Citizens Advice and Blythe House, High Peak Hospice Care.

Walk organiser Michael Hilton said "We run these walks for magistrates, staff & their friends two or three times a year and we have had some wonderful days out – before the walks we research lots of interesting facts, history and trivia about the places we visit and then we entertain the walkers with our tales, at stops en-route. 

These walks have been encouraged both by our previous Bench Chairman, Sheila Senior, and that support has continued with Eileen Minchin, our current Bench Chairman.  Since we started the walks, three years ago we have raised in excess of £2,600 and, as well as this years recipients, we have supported a range of local charities including local hospices, Peak National Park Ranger defibrillator machines, the local National Trust,  Children in Need, Buxton Mountain Rescue and the British Heart Foundation. The monies raised have come, not just from magistrates and court staff, who took part in the walk, but also from other bench members, serving and retired.

Various High Peak magistrates have acted as stewards and also as leaders on the walks – this has been a real team effort by the entire bench -  magistrates and staff."

If you would like to know more about the work magistrates do in the local community, and even about applying to become a magistrate, take a look at:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/Becomingamagistrate/index.htm

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Newly appointed magistrate Chris Lovitt completes five day cycle ride from Addis Ababa to Gimbie Ababa

Thames magistrate Chris Lovitt completed a five day 450km cycle ride from Addis Ababa to Gimbie Ababa raising over £3,000 for the charity Maternity Worldwide.

The annual charity cycle ride has taken place for four years but 2007 was the first year that a rider had chosen to use a Brompton bike. It had taken Chris the full four years to persuade the organisers that a folding bike with only three gears would be suitable for the ride - Chris completed the ride to the amazement of the other dozen cyclists although he admits he did spend most of the time out of the saddle climbing up the “hilly” terrain.

Chris said "Brompton folding bikes are now a common site in many cities in England but I am pretty sure this was the first time one had been used in Ethiopia and people's reaction were a mix of astonishment and amusement." Maternity Worldwide works to help mothers in Africa and other developing countries. Chris, and a dozen other cyclists, mostly from the health sector and from as far afield as Australia were fund raising for services provided at the Gimbie Adventist Hospital – their final destination – which serves some 250,000 people in the town and surrounding rural communities. Inadequate care for women during childbirth is responsible for thousands of deaths every year.

Chris, who works at the Department of Health as the NHS LifeCheck Project Manager, said raising money was straightforward as he always rides to and from appointments, court sittings, folding and then carrying his Brompton into meetings. This made it easy to get colleagues and other JPs to sponsor his ride.

Chris took part in the cycle ride again in 2008, on his Brompton of course, and is looking for other justices  to come along next time. It is a great way of loosing a few kilos, seeing amazing scenery and of course raising money for an extremely worthwhile charity.

More details at www.maternityworldwide.org

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