Fosterplus

Keen to add their support to the Business partners who have came forward so far are Fosterplus, Foster care services who; recruit, assess, train and support Foster carers who look after young people unable to remain in the immediate care of their families of birth.
The Agency covers Scotland and England with local offices in Dundee, Edinburgh, Hamilton, Pailsey and Ayr. Established in 1996, Fosterplus has extensive experience of working with local authorities to provide a positive and stable family environment for children and young people who have had a difficult start in life.
Fosterplus works nationwide with a wide range of carers across England and Scotland, who are all committed to ensuring that looked after young people receive the very best support and care in a positive, safe environment where they can thrive.

Their mission is to: Provide positive & stable family based environments for the children and young people placed with our carers. We aim to ensure that with the support of our carers they can thrive emotionally and academically.
“Everything is focused on ensuring we can give children and young people the chance to live in a family setting where they’re valued, encouraged and given exactly the support they need to reach their full potential.

We bring together social workers, education, health and support professionals to provide holistic care for all of the children and young people we place. We work to create innovative types of foster care that lead the way in the sector.

To support its carers Fosterplus provide support 24/7. It’s our aim to be responsive to the needs of every child, and every carer in those families. It’s vital to us that every one of them has a voice. The high-quality training, support services and rewards we offer make sure everyone who fosters for us has the resources they need to rise to the challenge”

Head of Operations for Fosterplus Scotland Geoff Armstrong commented; I heard about this cycle through my own staff and we immediately saw an opportunity to acknowledge our respect for the debt we owe all to those who made such sacrifice on our behalf. In fact we have direct experience of supporting young people who have chosen to explore a career with the Armed Forces after leaving our care. With regards the sponsorship we know David is taking on a big challenge and we will be proud to see the Fosterplus name on his kit as he makes his way to Contalmaison. Good luck

Contact Fosterplus

 

Raith Rovers Fans Forum and The Neebers O’ Geordie Munro…

It is great to see that our own enthusiasm has been matched by the first people we have shared our plan with.

Having been contacted by Andy Mill I popped in to see him before the recent Hibs game and was delighted by the clubs donation.  The 200 club got us up and running as a fundraiser. This has also been a springboard for opening discussion with the Raith Rovers fans forum representatives and boy have they delivered in kind with each of the 5 groups getting behind me in terms of encouragement and financially placing their collective weight behind McCraes Battalion Trust cycle fundraiser.

The 5 groups are; The Raith Rovers Supporters club, Raith Rovers Down South, Raith Trust, Jim McMillan Club and the aforementioned Raith 200 club

The 200 club is a Raith Rovers institution: Fundraising for the club, entertaining home and away fans, hosting events to entertain and generally welcoming anyone who expresses a respectful interest in our team.

If you are local on match day pop in, you will meet good people and you might even bump into the manager or some of the players if they are in for a pint.

Manager and fans share a pint

 

 

Raith Trust

Raith Supporters Trust was set up in 2001 to make sure that the voice of the Raith Rovers support is heard.

The Trust are a democratic organisation made up of ordinary fans of Raith Rovers FC. They work with the football club board and other fan groups to help make sure that Raith Rovers FC has a strong and stable future as a club at the heart of the community.

The Trust is the legal vehicle for the Raith Forum’s shareholding, which represents approximately 14% of the total shares in the companies which make up Raith Rovers. As a result the fans are now represented on the board of the football club with a ‘Supporters Director’ giving Raith fans a real say in the direction and running of the club.

Raith Rovers Supporters club

Raith Rovers Football Supporters Club was formed in 1926, the Supporters’ Club is a major shareholder in Raith Rovers F.C Holdings Ltd.
The aim of the club is to assist fans in their efforts to attend matches both home & away, and to encourage them to become involved in the club at times other than on match days.
Most people support “the team”, The Supporters’ Club also supports “the club”. Over the years we have received requests from The Rovers to assist in the purchase of equipment, and whenever possible we have been happy to oblige. During the Frank Connor years we helped with the purchase of suits for the players. We also stocked up the gym with up to date equipment for Jimmy Nicholl. The old shop at the rear of the main stand was converted into a laundry room with washing & drying equipment paid for by the Supporters’ Club. And during the much publicised “Save the Rovers” campaign, members of the Supporters’ Club spent many hours fundraising in shopping centres and supermarkets. In the last few years the Supporters’ Club have contributed over £100,000 to help in the running of Raith Rovers Football Club.

Rovers Down South
Raith Rovers fans who reside south of the border,  many years on from when the London Rovers took their first faltering steps back in 1993 – the group now have 100+ Contact and host a whole host of events guided by their mission to support the club in as creative a manner as they possibly can. what have they done since ’93…..
• Sponsoring the Under 15/16 team
• Supporting the Kids’ sponsored tickets scheme with Barnardos
• Jersey sponsorship for first team players
• Sponsoring the Stramash beer festival
• Sponsoring Rock the Rovers
• House of Lords reception
• Ball sponsorship, Match sponsorship
• Legends 5s – with former players in the wilds of Woolwich – original home to Kirkcaldy founded Arsenal

Jim McMillan Club

Situated in the body of the Turnbull Hutton Main Stand the club offer a safe haven for its members to chew the fat over a pie and a pint while they develop their plans to support Raith Rovers.

The Jim McMillan Club was formed back in 1992 and was originally called the ‘Rovers Return’ Club. It’s name was changed the following season in honour of founder member and Rovers stalwart Jim McMillan who has since sadly passed away. Jim was a lifelong Rovers man who had been secretary of the 200 Club for many years and long time fund raiser for RRFC. Our club has some 50 members and since inception has raised £117,000 for Raith Rovers to help with day to day costs and youth development

The Raith forum has a voice at board level by appointment of the Supporters-Director whose role it is represent the investment of the Raith Rovers supporters in the running of the various companies:- Raith Rovers Football Club Ltd; Raith Rovers FC Holdings Ltd; and New Raith Rovers Ltd. The first responsibility is to act in the best interests of the company, as with any company director. Beyond this it is expected that the role will allow Raith supporters, primarily through the Raith Forum but also in other ways, to exert an influence in the direction and running of the club.

Equally important are the wider groups of pals, friends and buddies who get together to travel the length and breadth of the country to back the team.  some groups evolve to the point where they regularly contribute to the season to season fabric of the clubs calendar.

One such group are “The Neeber’s O’ Geordie Munro” who are almost synonymous with the sponsoring of the last home game of each season (amongst others)

I was delighted by a message I received on the day the kit design was due to be sent of asking if they could join the wide list of kit sponsors.  Given we had the kit sponsored it was even better as we added our pals name to the kit and were able to pass all monies direct to the MBT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fallen Angels

I know that along with the great pillars of conversational dynamite: football, religion and politics, tattoos divide public opinion in a quite dramatic fashion. This isn’t the place for debate nor discussion on the wider topic. This is about thanking good people for support.

So it’s  with thanks that I recognise what I believe to be one of the finest tattoo and body piercing studios in Europe. Fallen Angels, Kirkcaldy have extended their support and it will be great to have their logo on the jersey both on the trip to France and thereafter on my CX race kit.

The Fallen Angels crew consists of 5 guys; Raphael, The Kingpin and Owner who originally ran a studio in Poland before coming to Scotland to expand his base.

Graham who is the Manager and Laser Removal Specialist is very down to earth and says it how it is.

Dean, the Body Piercer- All forms of modification interests him, he has a strong reputation for ethical practice and high standards.

Daniel, Resident Tattooist – Young, talented and gaining a formidable reputation for creative artistic expression which is evidenced by his portfolio.

Tom, Resident Tattooist – my mate and a man of true talent, he does the impossible with ease even forcing the most committed tattoo cynic to compliment the composition and execution of his work.

Together they make a good strong team with a passion for art and self expression.

They claim to all have very friendly faces (that’s open for debate!) However anyone who pops in for a chat will get a warm welcome. If you think a few hours in the company of a man with a mission and a tattoo gun sounds like fun then you won’t get better than Fallen Angels.

Fallen Angels contact details

 

Training January and February

The new year has brought a sense of realism that there are a hundred tasks which need attention if a simple bike ride is to be a success.

Hence a lot of time has been lost to administrative tasks which as I sit typing in March seem to be in hand to enable a more focused level of physical preparation.

January and February saw the road bike retired to turbo trainer duty with a total of zero on the road rides.

The  haul for the Month was:

Jefit gym sessions 9, cx rides 1 and TraineRroad sessions 11

There is a great deal of debate among cyclists about whether trainer miles actually count as part of your annual total but for this log they do. So…January total 220 miles

February was another mixed month as the loss of the first draft of this website lost me a week of evenings. The great thing about a sponsorship though is the fact you simply can’t hide, so a number of evenings when I would have been calling it quits were interrupted by some training.

Jefit gym sessions 10, cx rides 3 and TraineRroad sessions 6. Mileage total for February 200. Lower than I would have wished but factor in a through the night sportive and my first cx race and the month had its positives.