Welcome to the Portfolio which I hope to update regularly with the latest coverage achieved by Acrobat PR.  Please see below for all the coverage so far generated by Acrobat PR for Weston Hospicecare, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, Clifton’s Cori Tap cider house, Style On A Shoestring, The Seagals and Aqua.

I have also been working on short-term projects and campaigns on a freelance basis with a number of large PR companies including Ascent PR, Berkeley PR, and Highlight PR.

June 2010

The start of June saw some coverage in Bristol media for the Seagals, a crew of female rowers attempting to set a new world record by rowing around the coast of Britain, led by a Bristol-based captain.

May 2010

More than 150 people turn out to support the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research bikeathon in Bristol.

With the  bikeathon just days away the charity gets the support of a local school which has raised £12K.

Student Charlotte Chinn is putting her best foot forward for Weston Hospicecare.

Weston Hospicecare branches out with a new shop in Cheddar.

April 2010

Clifton’s famous cider house The Cori Tap was hoping to hit the high notes in the final of Music Pub of the Year this month.

The annual Mendip Mercury Challenge was the focus for Weston Hospicecare supporter Liz Blyth this month.

March 2010

In March the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research charity launched an appeal for cyclists to join them in their first bikeathon to take place in Bristol for nearly ten years.

A unique pop-up boutique appeared in Weston selling a collection of designer clothes which once belonged to PR and journalist Pat Daniels, who had wished them to be sold in her memory. The sale raised thousands for Weston Hospicecare.

The Congresbury Weston Hospicecare shop celebrated a successful first year in business raising £80,000.

The intrepid Jailbreakers all made it home safe and raised thousands for Weston Hospicecare along the way.

February 2010

The year was off to a good start for one Weston couple who hit the Weston Hospicecare Lottery jackpot the first time they played it.

One of Weston Hospicecare’s most audacious fundraising events was launched this month as volunteers were recruited for the Burnham Jailbreak.

In February the hospice took the opportunity to say a huge Thank You to everybody who had supported their furniture appeal

December 2009

As thoughts were turning to Christmas dinners, one man from Uphill was busy training to walk Machu Pichu in aid of Weston Hospicecare, after a year of training and losing several stone in weight.

November 2009

Acrobat PR achieved it’s first front page coverage this month, with a story about a woman from Cheddar with terminal lung disease, who has defied her own diagnosis by living much longer than doctor’s predicted, thanks in part to Weston Hospicecare.

Thanks to the Cheddar Valley Gazette for the coverage:

The latest furniture appeal by the hospice took place in November

This month saw a couple of good fun events for Weston Hospicecare which drew some coverage, including a Big Breakfast in Congresbury and an abseil down the cliffs near the Uphill HQ of the hospice. Horse riders were also encouraged to saddle up for a ride over the Quantocks to raise money in memory of Annette Birkenshaw.

Footballers from Hutton were planning to do a ‘Full Monty’ in aid of Weston Hospicecare during November at a special Ladies Night fundraiser.

In the run up to Christmas shoppers were invited to join the Weston Hospicecare supporters at the annual Tree of Light Appeal.

Burnham’s very own Wrinkly Rappers were in on the act when it came to helping out with fundraising this month in the seaside town.

October 2009

At the start of the month Weston Hospicecare launched a major appeal for £160,000 as it also celebrated its 20th anniversary.

As well as the coverage of the launch, Acrobat PR produced a number of features which appeared throughout October and November in the Weston Mercury, as part of a media partnership.

The coverage of the appeal launch included several radio interviews and a piece on ITV Westcountry.

To celebrate their 20th anniversary the charity held a service of thanksgiving at Wells Cathedral, which featured a hymn that had been especially written for the day.

Leukaemia Research Forget Me Not Walk

It was also a big month for the Leukaemia Research charity in Bristol as they staged their first ever fundraising charity walk, which took place on the Downs in the first week of October.

During October the hospice enlisted the help of Wrinkly Rappers one afternoon for fundraising event in Burnham-on-Sea

September 2009

The amount of money raised from a couple of major fundraising events earlier in the year was handed over to Weston Hospicecare which attracted some coverage this month.

The Concert for Les Skidmore raised about £6,000 for the charity and the cheque was handed over in the garden of the hospice.

The Weston Chain Gang’s Land’s End  to John O’Groats cycle ride raised about £7,000 for the hospice and £14,000 for all charities.

The start of the month saw some coverage of a poignant fundraising event as the father of a woman who died of cancer tragically young, organised an annual golf tournament.

August 2009

August is usually the so-called ’silly season’, when things take a slide and everybody goes on holiday, but things have been pretty busy for me, which is a good thing in this economic climate.

The month started with more coverage for the intrepid Weston Chain Gang who returned triumphant from their Lands End to John O’Groats bike ride raising vital funds for Weston Hospicecare. During the ride they stopped to help a motorist who had crashed right in front of them.

The Weston Mercury carried a report of their adventure on page 3, and their return was also covered by the Evening Post.

Another intrepid fundraiser for Weston Hospicecare got the recognition she deserved after completing a South West coastal path walk in memory of her husband who sadly died in 2007.

Wendy Perry completed the walk on a rainy day in Minehead with a friend and helped to raise hundreds of pounds for Weston Hospicecare.

August saw the launch of a campaign by Weston Hospicecare to raise awareness of its furniture collection scheme, following a 20 per cent drop in donations.

This month Acrobat PR hooked up with another great cause, Leukaemia Research, as they prepare to stage a fundraising walk on Clifton Downs.

The charity now has a media partnership for the event with the Evening Post, which covered the launch of its appeal to get people to sign up for the walk.

August also saw some coverage of intrepid Gary Clements who managed to raise hundreds of pounds for Weston Hospicecare while battling a tempest in the English Channel during a yacht race.

July 2009

So far this month I have been busy helping to promote the fundraising efforts of the supporters of Weston Hospicecare. A group of more than 30 cyclists set off on July 4 to raise thousands on a Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle ride, and they are still out there somewhere.

This month I have also been helping out friends at Dangling Carrot with a release about Dragons’ Den guru Theo Paphitis coming to Bristol to see how well Rob Law has done with Trunki - a concept Theo rejected three-years-ago on the show and literally pulled it apart.

June 2009

June was a busy month for Acrobat PR with two campaigns to launch for Weston Hospicecare.

The first campaign was the re-launch of the Weston Hospicecare Lottery which has a new guaranteed jackpot of £1000, which is not to be sniffed at during these difficult times. As well as a good amount of press coverage BBC Radio Bristol and Star FM also covered the story.

The second campaign launch involved a bevvy of babes in pink on Weston beach for a flash-mob style event. About 50 women dressed in pink did a conga along the beach next to the pier to promote the launch of the Midnight Beach Walk, which takes place on September 12 and raises thousands for the charity.

As well as press coverage we made a video for YouTube which can be seen here

May 2009

This month we had the story of Jane and Matthew Bradbury who hail from North Somerset but have been living and working in California since early 2008. They decided to raise £3000 for Weston Hospicecare because the charity had looked after Matthew’s mother in 2007. So despite having never done any running before they trained for the Los Angeles Marathon and completed it.

Local fundraisers in Wrington were also busy this month organising a gig in the village to raise funds for the charity, and by all accounts it was a great night had by all.

The month of May also saw the Ebdon Arms at Wick St Lawrence hosting a week of fundraising activities, including getting the local firemen to stage a car wash drive for Weston Hospicecare.

As well Weston Hospicecare I did some work with Bristol restaurant Aqua, which was celebrating four months of successful trading in May after opening during the biggest snow storm for generations, and fairly stormy economic conditions.

April 2009

Acrobat’s first month was a very busy time with several stories for Weston Hospicecare and Trunki. Rob Law and his suitcase on wheels for children celebrated being three years old at the end of April with a special party. The Trunki has come a long way since being dismissed by the Dragons’ Den as worthless.

April also saw the third annual Fred’s Hospice Run when more than 400 bikers took a trip around North Somerset and cruised into Weston-super-Mare to raise money for Weston Hospicecare.

Weston Hospicecare was able to announce some good economic news this month with the opening of a new shop in Congresbury, bringing the total number of shops in the area to 11.

A former patient of Weston Hospicecare was the focus for a fundraising concert organised by Cheddar Male Choir this month as 12 choirs and singing groups got together to help raise vital funds.

Another important fundraising event for Weston Hospicecare is the annual sponsored walk over the Mendips. This year Tony Dent took part in the walk to raise money in memory of his wife.