Charities

2024

During 2024 the USC will be raising money for the following good causes:

Woking & Sam Beare Hospice and Wellbeing Care is a charity that cares for thousands of patients and their carers and families each year. They specialise in delivering holistic care for patients with complex life-limiting and terminal illnesses. They treat all kinds of people from North West Surrey providing palliative care and end of life care to patients with life-limiting and terminal illnesses. Woking borough provides 33% of their referrals, closely followed by the Borough of Runnymede with 28%.

At The British Bee Charity, we’re raising funds and promoting initiatives to help the welfare of bees. With an array of fundraising events and volunteer projects, we welcome you to join our endeavours aimed at making the world and our environment a better place.

Operating in Lower Sunbury, CAMEO covers the Spelthorne and surrounding areas. CAMEO is a friendly and caring charity run by a team of enthusiastic fun-loving people who want to enhance the lives of those living with dementia, and their families.

We provide stimulating activities in a safe and engaging environment, connecting and caring for people as individuals.

2023

Our local charity for 2023 was Thames Sailability, who provide accessible boating for wheelchair users, people with reduced mobility, and those with learning challenges.

Our cheque for £1,000 was presented by Runnymede Mayor Cllr Shannon Saise-Marshall to Derek Beake (far left) & Nigel Horsfield (far right) from Thames Sailability during our 41st Egham Beer Festival on 9th November 2023. Also present was Keith Wright, President EUSC.

Dreams Come True was another worthy charity we supported during 2023. A sum of £1,028 was raised during a great Race Night held on 13 Oct 2023.

2022

Our 2022 charity appeal has raised money for two charities. The Soldiers’, Sailors’ & Airmen’s Families Association –  SSAFA. will use the money raised to help service personnel, veterans and their families in need in Surrey. A cheque for £1,000 was presented to Bryan Jones of SSAFA on 3rd Nov 2022.

Our second charity donation was to the British Tinnitus Association (BTA). The cheque for £1,000 was presented to Rebecca ‘Becky’ Emery from BTA by Julie Black, Hon Sec on Friday 4th Nov 2022. 

2020


Our second supported charity for 2020 – coincidentally, also in their centenary year – is Combat Stress.  This charity helps former servicemen and women deal with issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. They provide specialist treatment and support for veterans from every service and conflict, to give them hope and a future.

The charity is dependent on donations for 90% of its income, and was in the headlines recently, after announcing that due to a shortage of funds, they have had to suspend new referrals in England and Wales. Their 24-hour helpline (0800 138 1619) remains open.

2019

During 2019 the EUSC  supported  Aerobility and Dementia Carers Support.

Aerobility is a registered charity using the challenges of flight and exposure to aviation as a tool for improving the lives of those with a disability. Whatever the age and whatever the impairment, be it physical, learning, or mental, or an injury acquired in conflict – Aerobility gives everyone the chance to fly and participate in aviation orientated activities.

Aerobility operates adapted aircraft, supporting equipment and offers specialist instruction to ensure access for all. The charity also acts as a representative body for disabled aviators working with regulators and the aerospace industry to promote access and awareness.

Aerobility provide ‘experience of a lifetime’ lessons for individuals and groups, and specialised flying training to disabled people leading to pilot licence issue where possible, along with adapted aircraft hire for disabled licence holders.


Dementia Carers Support is a registered charity (Charity No 1146832) providing support to carers of Dementia sufferers in Runnymede, Surrey.

Caring for someone with dementia can be extremely complicated. Getting time to be alone or to have a break can be just as complicated, and often leads to carers feeling isolated.

Dementia Carers Support is a group of carers who are all struggling with the same challenges and we are here to listen and help. We offer weekly support groups to monthly lunch clubs and social events, to ensure that you do not go through this difficult time on your own.

2018

USC President Alan presented a cheque for £1,000 to Julian Forth, Chairman of Hounds for Heroes on 2nd August 2018 at the 30th Egham Beer Festival.

Hounds for Heroes provide specially trained assistance dogs to injured and disabled men and women of both the UK Armed Forces and Emergency Services. Through this provision we aim to provide help and practical support leading to an enhanced quality of life.

At the end of March 2018 (during EBF29) we presented a final cheque to Alan Spencer from outgoing charity Coming Home plus a further £100 in cash raised on the day!

2017

In 2017 the USC presented a cheque for £300 to Manor Mead School in Shepperton. Manor Mead looks after seriously disabled children and kids with learning difficulties.

June 2016

Old & Bold – Battlefield Challenge

Hand Cyclist Alan Spencer was among a group of 8 ex-Servicemen novice cyclists who toured the Battlefields, Cemeteries and Monuments of France and Flanders, aiming to raise £20,000 for the charity Coming Home.

Alan set up a dedicated website at JustGiving to receive donations.

Coming Home is Haig Housing Trust’s campaign to raise funds to provide specially adapted housing for injured and disabled Service personnel in need of rebuilding their lives. The club donated £1,000 to this worthwhile cause.

2016

EUSC will continue to support Coming Home and Manor Mead School during 2016, and we hope to be able to present a sizeable cheque to Manor Mead at the 25th Egham Beer Festival (EBF25) in November 2016.

2015

Our two charities for 2015 are services charity Coming Home (since 2014) and local charity Manor Mead School in nearby Shepperton.

At the 21st Egham Beer Festival during August 2015, EUSC were very pleased to be able to present a cheque for £3000 to Coming Home. On hand to receive the cheque were charity representatives Alan Spencer [ex-serviceman] , and Anna MacLeod, Fundraising & PR Director at Coming Home (Haig Housing Trust).

2014

Due to disastrous flooding in the Egham area in Jan-Feb 2014 the USC made the ‘Egham Hythe Flood Relief Fund’ one of our nominated charities, in an effort to help local residents start rebuilding their lives and homes.

We also started to support ‘Coming Home’, a Forces charity that supports injured servicemen and women when they return home.

Get Surrey news – Cheers all round for drinkers at Egham Beer Festival

Pictured: Councillor Gill Warner, Mayor of Runnymede, Yvonna Lay, Bob Inman and Coming Home Charity representatives, Anna MacLeod, Jo Houghton and Henny Gregg.

November 2013

The USC  held a weekend of fundraising (16-18th Nov) on behalf of the Philippine Disaster Appeal (Typhoon Hainan) and collected some urgently need items such as tins of food, toiletries and bottled water, in addition to more than £160 in cash donations. Many thanks!

March 2013

Thursday 28th March 2013 (Day 1 of the 14th Egham Beer Festival) saw the United Services Club proudly present cheques to two very important charities.

First off was a cheque for £1000 presented by club president Margaret Hutchin to Julia Peacock on behalf of the local  White Lodge Centre  in Chertsey.

A little later that same afternoon, Captain Darren Pridmore of the Welsh Guards gratefully accepted a cheque for £2500 from USC Vice President Tim Smith on behalf of Help For Heroes.

 

Framed letters of thanks along with photographs from these two presentations are now proudly on display in the club. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to our charity appeals over the past several months.

July 2012

Help for Heroes, the members raised £1338.20 during a charity day for this very deserving cause.

June 2012

£700.00Race for life

July 2012

£50 donated to Sam Beare Hospice Weybridge in memory of Stephen Duff-Turner.

November 2011

During 2011 (the club’s 90th birthday year) we collected for the umbrella charity organisation ‘Ale4Forces’ which was set up with a target of raising £100,000 to be divided equally between the Royal British Legion, Help For Heroes and the Irish Guards Association. On Friday, 4th November 2011 a small contingent from the Irish Guards paid a visit to the 10th Egham Beer Festival being hosted at the club to receive the fruits of their labours – a cheque for £2,500 presented by the USC President Margaret Hutchin. Much of the money has been raised by generous donations made by visitors to the three beer festivals held during 2011.

There was also a second cheque presentation made by Willie Calvert, one of the directors from the Windsor & Eton brewery. Captain Robbie Willmott from the Irish Guards, who gratefully received the two donations, made a very humbling speech stating that although the death of every soldier on active service in Afghanistan gets press coverage (quite rightly) it is not always appreciated that a further 10 sustain life changing injuries such as loss of limbs or brain damage plus all the psychological scars sustained from duty in that theatre of war.

The regiment’s mascot Irish Wolfhound ‘Con Mael’ was also made a very welcome guest!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2011

£244.80 – Help for Heroes