Staff present cheque to Rob Skoulding

Defibrillators in March are located in the following places

This is the 6th year the company has selected a charity of the year and since the inception has raised a total of over £12,225 for good causes.  In 2019 the company will be supporting  The Ladybird Boat Trust.

The Ladybird Boat Trust  (LBT) was set up in 2013 and is based at Hartford Marina near Huntingdon. The vessel Ladybird is wheelchair accessible and accommodates up to 20 passengers in a large heated cabin complete with kitchen and wheelchair accessible toilet facilities. The open foredeck area enables passengers to enjoy to the full the magnificent scenery and wildlife on the river. The service operates from mid April to early October and is crewed by a Boatmaster and trained crew, all of whom are volunteers who give up their time and skills to run over 100 trips each year. A typical trip is between 10am and 3pm, and is either upstream towards Godmanchester and Brampton, or down to the Hemingfords and St Ives.  Trips are open to groups of the disadvantaged or disabled, young or elderly (and their carers) based within reasonable road travel distance from their base on the Great Ouse near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.  Many groups return year after year and the annual boat trip is a highlight in their year.

Events for 2019 will again included boat trips at the March Town St Georges Fayre.

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boat trips at the open day

Wow, what a busy week we have had here at Fox Narrowboats.  Firstly, we started with the Drifters hire boat open day on Sunday 15th April.  This was attended by approximately 300 people with around 200 of them taking to the water for the first time under the instruction of our qualified team.

Guests could also take part in games and competitions and had the opportunity to try their hand at canal art as well as visiting the popular refreshment stall. Bookings for both Day hire and holidays were received at the events.

canal art

The open day was also the first time our selfie board and photo frame were used.  Next time you visit us here have a look and take a picture.  The board and frame were designed by local artist Nicola Baxter who is the daughter of Tracey and Gary.

Selfie Board

Mrs Tawn posted on facebook  “My daughter, grandson and myself came to the Open Day and how lovely it was too, thoroughly enjoyed the boat trip, stalls and friendly welcome by all. Well done.”

Sunday 22nd April was the annual St George’s Fayre in the town and Gary once again took the helm of March Explorer running boat trips through the town centre every half hour during the day. Over 100 people took to the water for a boat trip during the day

Managing Director Paula Syred said of these events. “It has been fantastic to introduce so many people to narrowboating.  My staff all know that boating is a wonderful way to slow down, relax and unwind.  Now so many other people have had the opportunity to experience this. My thanks go to all the staff who go the extra mile for these events to ensure that our visitors receive the best possible experience.”

During the week we are delighted to report that we have also raised £973.45 for our charity of the year Heart of the Fens, defibrillators for March.

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St Georges Fayre

Our fundraising for charity of the year  2016 MAGPAS Air Ambulance is now well underway. Our Easter treasurer hunt was well supported by our mooring customers and netted £34.50 We are looking forward to again running boat trips at the March St George’s Fayre on Sunday 24^th April.  Boat trips leave from March Town Bridge on the hour and half hour from 10am until 4pm  costing £3.  Advanced booking is already open if you contact the office on 01354 652770.

Once again Gary will be your skipper as you view March from the waterway, may be spot the build plate under the town bridge and perhaps you will see an elusive kingfisher swoop in front of the boat in search for a meal.

Come and experience for yourself why Ratty said “There is nothing–absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” – Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows,

Private evening skippered trips will also be available later this year. The cost is £100 per boat and is for up to 10 guests. It involves a skippered boat trip for 1 ½ hours commencing at 7pm, a steward is on had to serve tea, coffee and biscuits.  The trip journeys through the town of March with its picturesque moorings and return. Trips can be booked by telephoning 01354 652770. These trips are idea for family celebrations and small interest group activities. The dates available are 23^rd, 24^th,25^th,  26^th May, and  20^th, 21^st, 23^rd June. Contact us for details.

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Staff at Fox Narrowboats were delighted to hand over a cheque to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices Cambridgeshire fundraising manager Karen Newton on Friday as the companies fundraising for the year draws to a close.  The cheque was for a grand total of £2126.24. The money has been raised by running skippered boat trips at the March town St Georges Fayre, holding a book stall in the office throughout the year and finishing with Christmas tombola. 

Fox Narrowboats Finance Director Tracey Baxter said, “I am delighted with the amount raised for EACH this year.  I would like to thank all of our customers and supporters that have enabled us to raise such a large amount of money.”

Karen Newton, EACH Cambridgeshire Fundraising Manager, said: “We’re delighted to have the support of Fox Boats and are incredibly impressed with the generous sum of £2,126.24 which was raised for EACH thanks to a Charity of the Year Partnership. These funds will ensure we can provide vital care and support to local life-threatened children, young people and their families.”

St Georges Fayre 2015

In 2016 Fox Narrowboats will be partnering with MAGPAS Helimedix one of the first events for the charity will again be the popular boat trips at the St Georges Fayre.

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Finance Director Tracey Baxter said “I am delighted that we raised £529 and gave the people of March a taste of boating whether on a Day trip or a holiday the Waterways of Cambridgeshire are a great place to relax and play.  It is great to show a wider audience how much fun time on a narrowboat boat can be.”  The companies next fundraising Adventure for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices takes place on Saturday 30th May 2015 and will be their annual tea party cruise.  An hour and a half’s trip from the Marina including tea, coffee and freshly baked scones.  Tea Party trips can be booked by contacting the office on 01354 652770 and run from 10am.

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We at Fox Narrowboats are pleased to announce that the charity we have chosen to support in 2015 is EACH – East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. The charity provides services for children with life-threatening conditions, and also supports their families. They provide a range of services at their three hospices and also in the homes of the families they support.

To run the hospices, they rely on fundraising and donations, as it costs £6 million a year to deliver their services. All of their services are offered to those in need for free. They currently care for 333 children and young people and 547 families. They also provide one to one support to 59 siblings.

Our first event to raise funds for the charity will be Boat Trips at the March for St George’s Fayre on the 26th of April. We will post details of the trips nearer to the event and we will also post details of our other fundraising endeavours. If you would like to raise money for EACH, you can shop in one of their many shops across East Anglia, you can donate on their website or you can become a fundraiser like we have. It is a wonderful charity providing a much needed service to the East Anglian community.

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The Fox Narrowboats Staff

As mentioned in an earlier post, our charity of the year for 2014 was The British Heart Foundation. The charity is Britain’s number one heart charity and is funding the research and training needed to beat the UK’s biggest killer – coronary heart disease. The foundation has been raising awareness of heart disease and funding the research into the cure and prevention of it for over fifty years.

Their latest campaign is to teach more people how to do CPR, and to be a potential lifesaver. It is likely that everyone will be touched in some way by heart disease and problems in their lifetime, either personally or through having friends of family who have heart problems, and so we at Fox Boats are pleased to be doing our bit to help the Foundation.

You can find out more information about the charity and about maintaining good heart health on the British Heart Foundation website. You could also do your own fundraising for the charity, the link to get involved is here.

We were thrilled to hand over a cheque for the grand total of £2157.64. A huge thank you to all who took part in the events, and to our amazing staff for all their hard work and dedication to the fundraising. Tracey Baxter, our Finance Director, said “We are delighted with the amount raised for British Heart Foundation this year and would like to thank our customers and staff for their support.  Next year we will be supporting the East Anglian Children’s Hospice and our first event of the year will again be Boat Trips at the March St George’s Fayre on 26th April.”

East Anglian Children’s Hospice supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Their care and support is tailored for the needs of all family members and delivered where the families wish – in their own home, at hospital, in the community or at one of three hospices in Ipswich, Milton and Quidenham.

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