Graham (Sid) Street Proud to be the new Patron of Charlie’s Beach Hut
Mr Graham (Sid) Street MSM BEM is proud to be the new Patron to Charlie’s Beach Hut. Graham has supported the charity since day 1 and has been a major contributor and support to us as a family since Charlie’s illness and we are equally proud to have him onboard as the charity Patron.
BEM for Graham Street aka Pirate Sid
It is with absolute delight that we share the amazing news that Graham Street, aka Pirate Sid has been recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List and received the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to charity. Since Charlie was diagnosed in 2012, Sid has been a true inspiration and has been the driving force behind many of our fundraisers. From Master of Ceremonies at Charlie’s Charity Ball to rowing the Thames in the Great River Row with numerous quizzes, Great South Runs, triathlons and spontaneous fundraisers thrown in between. It was his first triathlon back in 2012 when he asked Charlie to design a flag to wave and that flag has remained the ‘badge’ of Charlie’s Beach Hut – his unswerving support throughout has been truly incredible. As I am sure that everyone reading this who knows Sid will agree, that this is utterly well deserved and Karen and I considered ourselves privileged to call him our friend. Well done Graham Street BEM.
Supporters
A huge well done to Ethan Watts (Izzy Watts) for taking part in the Big Fun Run; from the picture it certainly looked like a tough run and all that training must have paid off because it also looked like you smashed it out the park – well done Ethan. We would also like to say a massive, massive thank you for raising a fantastic £257.50 towards Charlie’s Beach Hut. The amount is amazing and even more impressive because you were raising money for two charities which just goes to prove what a determined, brave and caring young man you are – we are very privileged and proud to call you our friend. The money you have raised will help families to ‘Find the Wonderful in Today’ down at Charlie’s when they most need it. Thank you again Ethan, truly inspirational.
On hearing about Charlie from a good friend Colin Kiernan, Her Majesty’s Coastguard Solent at Daedalus, Lee-on-Solent invited him to clamber over their helicopter. On a very wet and windy day, Charlie watched them return from operations before being allowed to pull levers, push buttons and play at rescuing Daddy shipwrecked at sea. The team were absolutely fantastic and looked after us all but most importantly they put a huge smile on Charlie’s face so he could ‘Find the Wonderful in Today’.
Graham ‘Sid’ Street has been instrumental in many fundraising efforts and not only has he put his body on the line and completed the Fareham Triathlon and the Great South Run, he has also organised many fundraising events on HMS Victory. It was Sid who asked Charlie to draw him a picture which has now become the ‘face’ of the Charity and become its logo. Sid then had the idea of putting the logo on to a t-shirt which we now sell to help with fundraising and also donate to those undertaking Charity events. The picture was taken on completion of the Fareham Triathlon in 2012 with his family and biggest fans: Alison, Wes and Robert.
The Messaging Team at MoD Corsham on the hottest day of the year washed a ridiculous amount of cars to raise money for Charlie’s Beach Hut. A RAF strong squad led by Sam Gillicker, the team of Matt Cascarina, Paul Kidd, Nat Hillier and ‘Greg’ Gregory armed with only one hose, a few buckets, cloths and chamois washed line upon line of dusty, dirty cars. The only break in the scorching hot day came when Kurtis Gillicker delivered bacon sandwiches and more detergent!
To see ALL of the wonderful fundraisers, the sporting challenges and events please visit Charlie’s facebook page. Charlie’s page