Many thanks to everyone who attended or helped at our Christmas Fair at Holbrook Village Hall on Saturday 8 November. We raised a magnificent £1,630.39. That’s slightly more than we made last year, and no mean feat in these hard times.

Well done and many thanks to the volunteers who made the event happen:  Jane, Tim, Helen, Geoffrey, Katie, Diane, Mary and Stephen, especially for his soup. Jean, Sue, Diane, Susanne and Rebecca did sterling work on the refreshments, with more home-made cakes and savouries than ever before. Many thanks to our bakers. More thanks to Denice for bringing her delicious home-made cakes, jams and chutneys, John and Yvonne for their bric-a-brac stall and Carol for her selection of pre-loved items. Huge thanks to Maggie for donating two lovely hampers for our raffle.

Santa Paws made time in his busy pre-Christmas schedule to visit and have his picture taken with loads of lovely pups. He’ll be appearing again at our charity shop in Reynolds Road, Ipswich, on Saturday 13th December.

Along with our traditional raffle and tombola, we had a lovely range of high-quality craft goods, including Gnarly Oak hand carved wooden items, LV Bakery’s delicious doggy treats, and Cheryl’s Wildlife Photography. The latter donates 10% of sales to the Branch. These makers were joined by more local creators, including animal themed hand-sewn gifts, bespoke jewellery, Christmas ornaments and gift boxes.

Animals Asia joined us with their legendary hamper draw, and Sue brought her festive fundraising stall supporting her work rescuing and caring for hedgehogs.

Thanks to all who donated prizes and helped with setting up and dismantling at the end of the day.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list to get the latest e-news and updates on Branch activities, just send your details to supporters@rspca-suffolkcentral.org.uk

Can you help animals by helping raise money for their care?

We have several events coming up that will raise funds to help animals across Suffolk live happy, healthy lives and we are looking for volunteers to help make them a success.

Open Day and Fun Dog Show – Sunday 7 September – 11:30-3:30
Help with set up (from 8:30am), running stalls (logo, raffle, games, sales), and packing away (from 3:30pm)

Ipswich Half Marathon – 21 September – 8.00am to 11.00am
Marshalls – in Ipswich Town Centre or at Freston Boot

Collection at Framingham Coop – 27 September
2 shifts: 12 noon – 2 pm and 2pm – 4pm

Collection at Holbrook Coop –  11 October
2 shifts: 12 noon – 2 pm and 2pm – 4pm 

Autumn Quiz – Saturday 18 October – doors open 7:00pm
Setting out chairs and tables, helping in the kitchen (baking potatoes and serving customers) and putting away tables and chairs (from about 10:00pm)

If you can help with any of the following, that would be fantastic:

Joining us as a volunteer gives you the opportunity to use your skills, interests, and passion to help animals in a time and way that suits you.

If you’d like to come just to see what volunteering is like, we’d love to see you.

To help or get more information, please contact Jane on volunteering@rspca-suffolkcentral.org.uk