Property services company, Romans held its first Big Sleep Out in Crowthorne House car park to raise funds for Launchpad, a Reading based charity whose mission is to prevent homelessness. Since the creation of their Community and Culture division in July, Romans have expanded their charitable giving and are now supporting nine local charities, each nominated by their staff.

Romans’ Community and Culture Manager Vanessa Foot explains; “Launchpad’s mission is very close to our hearts and being in the business of property, is an apt cause to get involved in. On 10th October, National Homeless Day, 14 Romans staff slept outdoors with nothing more than a shelter they made themselves on the night and a sleeping bag.”

The donations received from staff, friends and family were astronomical and so far the total amount raised is over £5,700! As part of the Big Sleep Out, participants each had to build their own shelter – the person who built the best shelter won a prize. On the night, Sam Arfield’s cardboard creation caught the attention of Jason McMahon, the representative from Launchpad, and Sam was announced as the winner.

“I am overjoyed with the amount of money which has been raised, just £700 is enough to help one person to start back on a pathway into education, training or employment. The donation from Romans of £5,700 and counting will certainly go a long way!

The passion and enthusiasm from both those that took part and those who made donations is really heart-warming and everyone from the Board of Directors to the staff working in the local branches have really got behind our cause,” explains Jason McMahon, the organiser of the Big Sleep Out.

With nine charities to support, the group has a busy calendar of charity events covering everything from sky dives to bake sales, and even a trek along the Great Wall of China!

Vanessa adds: “Working with local charities is extremely rewarding and is one of the best parts of my new role. Having listened to our employees and partnered with a range of charities nominated by them, we’ve really hit the ground running – watch this space for more updates!”

Along with working with charities, Vanessa and Romans’ Community and Culture team have also been working with local schools and sports clubs continuing to offer not only sponsorship but mentoring opportunities, careers guidance and incentive schemes.

Three Birmingham based charities have said thank you to local people for helping raise £5 million in vital funds over 20 years.

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, Focus Birmingham and Acorns Children’s Hospice have received the impressive amount from the TLC Lottery, an organisation set up jointly by the three charities in 1997.

Players pay £1 per weekly draw and the money raised after running costs and prizes is split between the three charities. Currently over 13,000 players play the lottery across the West Midlands, competing for prizes ranging from £5 to £1,000.

Lynne Carter, Head of Fundraising at Acorns Children’s Hospice, said: “On behalf of the children and families we support and everyone at Acorns I want to say a huge thank you to the loyal players who have contributed to the Lottery over the past 20 years. We rely on fundraising for the £10 million it costs to provide our services every year - so your generosity means we can continue our vital work.”

Hamish Shilliday, head of fundraising at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said: “The TLC is a fantastic initiative which allows players to have fun whilst raising vital funds for three local charities.

“I would like to thank all the players who have taken part over the past 20 years – with your continued support, we are able to provide expert care to local individuals and families living with terminal illness.

“All of our services – whether they are provided at the Hospice, in people’s homes or in the local community – are free of charge and so we rely on the generosity of local people, like the TLC’s players, to ensure we can continue to provide our care in Birmingham and Sandwell.”

Jasmin Rana, Marketing and Fundraising Manager at Focus Birmingham, said: “The TLC Lottery initiative has allowed Focus Birmingham to provide specialist support and services to people living with sight loss and disability in Birmingham for the past 20 years. We are truly grateful to the contributions made by the players over the years. Thank You.”

Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care for life limited and life threatened children and support for their families.

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice is an independent charity which provides vital care to individuals and families living with terminal illness across Birmingham and Sandwell. Based in the heart of Selly Park, its services can be provided at the Hospice, in people’s homes and in the local community, making end of life care more accessible to all.

Based in Harborne, Focus Birmingham provides support and training to blind, visually impaired and disabled people of all ages and backgrounds, enabling and empowering people to reach their full potential.

The TLC Lottery is holding a series of celebrations on Friday 20 October to give the owner charities an opportunity to say thank you. The celebrations will also include a one-off £5,000 ‘super draw.’

Old Park School, in Brierley Hill, Dudley unveiled its steel and copper commemorative tree at a remembrance service yesterday, attended by local manufacturer voestalpine Metsec plc who designed and created the memorial.

The tree, which will stand in the grounds of the school, will have the names engraved of pupils who have sadly died along with messages or poems from their loved ones. Old Park School is a special school for pupils aged 4-19 years old all of whom have severe learning difficulties, and many of the children have life limiting complex medical conditions too. Over the years, several pupils have sadly passed away and the school was keen to be able to memorialise them and create a place for families to remember their loved ones.

Metsec, based in Oldbury, has created a tree made of tubular steel which over time will rust to turn brown like the trunk of a tree. Decorated with leaves for families to engrave the names of their loved ones along with messages, the leaves are designed to turn green as the air oxidises the copper material of the leaves.

Mrs Cartwright, head teacher of Old Park School, said: “We work closely with Orchard School in Oldbury and saw that they had a remembrance tree to memorialise the pupils who have passed away designed, crafted and donated by Metsec.

“We really wanted a meaningful and interactive way to remember our lost pupils and so we approached Metsec to see if they would be able to create a slightly different tree for Old Park School.

“Metsec and its suppliers not only created a beautiful tree, but donated their time and the materials to creating this wonderful tribute and we are so pleased to be unveiling it this week in a remembrance service for the families.”

Clive Wolverson, operations director at Metsec, said: “Creating this tree for Old Park School was a labour of love for the Metsec team and we are delighted to be able to offer up our skills for such a heartfelt cause. A special thanks goes to Marc Williams and Mark Steventon who worked on this project.”

In addition to creating the steel tree, Metsec commissioned the crafting of the copper leaves from local company Steadfast Solutions.

When owners Steve Moseley and Garry Smith discovered what the order would be used for, they offered the leaves free of charge. The tree was installed by Logmoor building contractor and owner Tom Warren also offered his team and services free-of-charge.

85 per cent of people surveyed in the West Midlands would be reluctant to perform CPR on cardiac arrest victims, according to latest statistics from the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The BHF warns that a lack of public knowledge of CPR could be costing lives as new research from the University of Warwick also finds that those who have been trained in CPR are three times more likely to perform it.

The main reasons for reluctance to step in were fear of causing more harm than good (44 per cent) and lacking the skills and knowledge to perform CPR (34 per cent). But experts warn that the benefits of performing CPR far outweigh the risks, as survival rates are almost zero if people collapse and get no support until paramedics arrive.

There are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK, and devastatingly less than 1 in 10 survive. But according to the BHF, if survival rates matched those reported in Norway, where CPR is taught more widely, as many as 5,000 lives could be saved.

Every minute without CPR or defibrillation can reduce a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by around ten per cent.

A survey of people in the West Midlands found:

• Only 43 per cent would feel confident giving CPR to a stranger
• By contrast, 62 per cent would offer a stranger a seat on the bus, and 79 per cent would give directions to a stranger
• Just 15 per cent were able to identify the two signs of a cardiac arrest, which are  when someone is not breathing or not breathing normally, and that they have collapsed and are unresponsive

The BHF, Resuscitation Council (UK), St John Ambulance, British Red Cross, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) and all the UK NHS ambulance services along with Fire & Rescue services are working together to train more than 150,000 young people across the UK in the largest ever CPR training event of its kind.

Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, said:

“CPR may be the difference between life and death for hundreds of people every year in the West Midlands who suffer a cardiac arrest. Every second counts, and it simply isn’t enough to hope that someone who knows CPR is present.

“We need everyone in the West Midlands to learn this life-saving skill to give them the confidence to step in and give CPR when someone collapses after a cardiac arrest.

“That’s why we are urging secondary schools across the UK to apply for our free training kits and help create a Nation of Lifesavers.”

To help the BHF create a Nation of Lifesavers, or find out how you can teach CPR in your school, workplace or community group visit bhf.org.uk/cpr

Shoppers were surprised to see a life size Triceratops roaming Coventry City Centre today. The astonishing 6 foot tall dinosaur, operated by two highly skilled puppeteers, was sighted in the Lower Precinct ahead of the arrival of the fun, interactive show, Dinosaur World at the Belgrade Theatre later this month.

Using incredible puppetry, Dinosaur World brings a range of remarkably life-like dinosaurs to the stage, including every child's favourite flesh-eating giant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, along with a Giraffatitan, Segnosaurus and baby Triceratops, to name a few!

The live show is followed by a post-show ‘meat and greet’ where audience members have the opportunity to meet the dinosaurs in person.

Visiting the Belgrade’s Main Stage this half-term from Thurs 26 to Sat 28 Oct, Dinosaur World is sure to delight the whole family, whilst also educating young people aged 3+ (and adults) about these incredible creatures from the Mesozoic era.

Dinosaur World is written and directed by Derek Bond (Sweet Charity, Manchester Theatre Awards 2017 winner, Little Shop of Horrors, Manchester Royal Exchange). The creative team includes: Puppet Designer Max Humphries (National Theatre, Royal Opera House, Cirque de Soleil); Puppet Director Laura Cubitt (Running Wild, Chichester Festival Theatre; Don Quixote, RSC; War Horse, NT Berlin); Puppetry Consultant Toby Olié (for the National Theatre: Elephantom, Peter Pan, The Light Princess, Hansel & Gretel, NT: 50 Years on Stage and also the original hind puppeteer of Joey in War Horse); Set & Costume Designer James Perkins; Lighting Designer John Maddox and Sound Designer Tom Mann.

Performed by Danielle Stagg (Miranda), Rosie Nicholls (Puppeteer), Yana Penrose (Puppeteer), James Taylor (Puppeteer), Emma Thornett (Puppeteer), and Rafe Young (Puppeteer). Further casting to be announced.

Wolverhampton City Archives will be holding its annual Local History Fair later this month.

Among those taking part will be representatives from the Western Front Association, the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, Wombourne History Group, Black Country Visual Arts, the Black Country Living Museum and Wednesfield History Society, who will be on hand to talk about their work and research.

There will be screenings of archive film material showing Wolverhampton over the years throughout the day, while a series of activities for younger visitors include the chance to dress up in Victorian costumes, model making and colouring.

There will be a sale of second hand books, and the Friends of Wolverhampton Archives will be holding a raffle and selling cakes and drinks in their pop up tea room to raise funds for Wolverhampton City Archives.

Councillor John Reynolds, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: "The annual Local History Fair is a great chance to discover more about our City's fascinating history and meet with like-minded people and specialist organisations."

The Local History Fair takes place at Wolverhampton City Archives, Molineux Hotel Building, Whitmore Hill, on Saturday 28 October, from 10am-4pm. Entry is £2 for adults, £1 for children.

Wolverhampton City Archives houses a wealth of materials relating to the history of all areas now within the City of Wolverhampton including Bilston, Bushbury, Penn, Tettenhall and Wednesfield.

Constantly growing, the Archives’ vast collections include maps, books, census returns, newspapers, records from local schools, churches, clubs, societies and businesses, electoral registers, and indexes to births, deaths and marriages. There are also over 30,000 photographs, plus films, sound recordings, memorabilia and much more.