Last Friday (25/0), local AM Helen Mary Jones and Myfanwy Davies showed their support for Macmillan Cancer support by visiting a coffee morning in Lakefield School, Llanelli. They joined pupils, parents and teachers as part of Macmillan’s World Biggest Coffee Morning.
The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest and best known annual fund raiser. It has a simple yet compelling objective: share a cup of coffee and raise funds for the fight against cancer. These funds provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support for better cancer care.
Last year, thousands of coffee mornings were held all over Wales, raising nearly £290,000. This money helped Macmillan continue to support services and professionals working to help people affected by cancer across Wales.
Plaid's Helen Mary Jones said:
"In the UK today 2 million people are affected by cancer. I know that many of my constituents have personal experience of the problems a cancer diagnosis can bring to both patients and their family. Macmillan Cancer Support is there for people from the moment they are diagnosed, with really practical help and support. Holding a coffee morning is an easy way to make sure Macmillan has the money to continue its vital work and I hope lots of coffee was consumed today in Llanelli!”
Plaid’s Westminster candidate for Llanelli, Myfanwy Davies added:
"I know from my own family's experience how devastating a diagnosis of cancer can be and what a huge difference a Macmillan nurse can make in so many ways. I was delighted to be able to join in the fun today at Lakefield school. It is amazing that just enjoying a cup of coffee and catching up with friends can improve things so much for people affected by cancer.”
Rhian Kenny, teacher and organiser of The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning at Lakefield School said:
“We are delighted to be supporting such a worthwhile cause that helps so many people in Llanelli. In addition, it is fantastic that we can use fair-trade products at our coffee morning and bring together the great work that both Macmillan and Fair-Trade do. We believe that education outside the classroom but within the school, is a brilliant way to raise the children’s awareness of such great causes and of the wonderful work that is done within the local community.”
Fundraising Manager for South West Wales, Sue Reece said:
“The help we provide people with cancer is absolutely essential. We want to be able to give support to everyone who needs it and that’s why we need to raise more from this year’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning than ever before. It’s a really fun event that is so easy to take part in, especially as you can tailor it to suit yourself, in fact it’s a piece of cake to help Macmillan!”
Showing posts with label helen mary jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helen mary jones. Show all posts
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Myfanwy and Helen Mary fight against County’s puppy farm shame
Puppy farms in Carmarthenshire are keeping dogs in cruel and dirty conditions, says Dr Myfanwy Davies, Plaid’s Llanelli Westminster candidate. Following a recent Channel 5 film on unacceptable conditions at puppy farms that had been visited and given licences by Carmarthenshire County Council, Myfanwy has joined forces with Helen Mary Jones Llanelli’s Plaid AM, to tighten up the Council’s control of puppy farming.
Myfanwy has written to Helen Mary asking her to raise the matter with Elin Jones the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Rural Affaris. In her letter Myfanwy explained:
“I am concerned that the Council’s inspection practices are inadequate and require scrutiny especially given Carmarthenshire’s history as a centre for licensed (and also unlicensed) puppy farming. In its response to the programme, the Council also indicates it would be willing to revise its license conditions if required to do so by Welsh Assembly Government Ministers”.
Speaking this week, Myfanwy added:
“ I am very pleased that a pet superstore that has been buying puppies from these farms has agreed to stop sourcing puppies from them. I am disappointed by the Council’s response. It is shocking that council inspectors visited and passed those puppy farms shown in the film and I hope that the response Helen Mary’s receives from Elin Jones will help clarify the standards of animal welfare that the council needs to ensure”.
Helen Mary Jones added:
“I have seen a recording of the Channel 5 news item since Myfanwy contacted me and it raises some very worrying issues about animal welfare standards in the County. I am pleased Myfanwy has raised this with me and I will be discussing the issue with Elin Jones within the next weeks to make sure that the standards followed are made clearer and if needed are changed protect dogs and puppies from the levels of neglect shown in the film.”
Myfanwy has written to Helen Mary asking her to raise the matter with Elin Jones the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Rural Affaris. In her letter Myfanwy explained:
“I am concerned that the Council’s inspection practices are inadequate and require scrutiny especially given Carmarthenshire’s history as a centre for licensed (and also unlicensed) puppy farming. In its response to the programme, the Council also indicates it would be willing to revise its license conditions if required to do so by Welsh Assembly Government Ministers”.
Speaking this week, Myfanwy added:
“ I am very pleased that a pet superstore that has been buying puppies from these farms has agreed to stop sourcing puppies from them. I am disappointed by the Council’s response. It is shocking that council inspectors visited and passed those puppy farms shown in the film and I hope that the response Helen Mary’s receives from Elin Jones will help clarify the standards of animal welfare that the council needs to ensure”.
Helen Mary Jones added:
“I have seen a recording of the Channel 5 news item since Myfanwy contacted me and it raises some very worrying issues about animal welfare standards in the County. I am pleased Myfanwy has raised this with me and I will be discussing the issue with Elin Jones within the next weeks to make sure that the standards followed are made clearer and if needed are changed protect dogs and puppies from the levels of neglect shown in the film.”
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Dafydd Iwan, Helen Mary and Myfanwy to close Breaktho’s 25th anniversary celebrations with one-off fund-raising concert on Saturday
Popular singer and Plaid Cymru President Dafydd Iwan will join Dr Myfanwy Davies, Plaid’s Llanelli Westminster candidate and Helen Mary Jones AM together with and parents, volunteers and young people with a range of disabilities to close Breakthro’ s 25th birthday celebration with a special concert at Stebonheath Club on Saturday. Dafydd Iwan has been a disability campaigner for many years and is a founder member of Antur Waunfawr a successful community enterprise based outside Caernarfon which is part-run by people with disabilities.
The group’s birthday celebrations began on 25th of July when Dafydd Iwan visited the Coleshill Centre to cut an enormous 40 inch birthday cake. He and Myfanwy served the cake to volunteers and Breakthro’ members and Dafydd closed the visit by singing especially composed songs to the young people. Last weekend a group of Breakthro volunteers led by Jessica Sheehan completed a sponsored climb to the summit of Snowdon to celebrate the group’s birthday. Before beginning their climb, they were met for breakfast by Myfanwy and Hywel Williams MP, who represents the Arfon constituency in which Snowdon stands.
Tickets for Saturday’s concert are selling fast with some sold to people from Neath and one man travelling by bus from Swansea to Burry Port solely to make sure he had a ticket in advance. Dafydd Iwan will be waiving his usual fee and it is hoped that the group will make over £1,000 to support its activities.
Dafydd Iwan said:
“I am fully supportive of the work of Breakthro’. It is enormously important that young people with disabilities get to meet and socialise with each other as well as learning skills in mainstream schools and colleges. The young people have developed exceptionally strong friendships and they have learnt to depend on each other and to support each other. Developing that kind of trust takes years but it is crucial if people with a range of disabilities are to have a full social life. I was delighted that Myfanwy asked me to become involved with the group and am looking forward to Saturday very much.
Myfanwy said:
“We are very grateful to Dafydd for coming down once again to support Breakthro’. The impromptu concert he gave the young people last month was an extraordinary event with some young people who are usually quite withdrawn coming out of themselves and singing and dancing to the music. Next Saturday’s concert promises to be even better and tickets are going fast. I’m pleased that Helen Mary will be able to be there too. Like me she is very proud of Breakthro’ Llanelli because of the work it does but also because of the unstinting support the group has from people and groups across Llanelli”.
Christine Darkin, who has been Breakthro’s organiser for over 10 years said:
“Just a few months ago we were facing a drastic cut in our budget and we were considering how we could continue to keep the club going for our members who are now adults and who have grown up with the Club. Now thanks to an intervention by social services, we are looking forward to going into our 26th year and the support we’ve had from people across Llanelli has been amazing. I’m really looking forward to Dafydd’s concert !”
Notes to Editor
The concert will take place at Stebonheath Football Club in Llanelli at 7pm on Saturday 15th August. Tickets will be available at the venue and are priced at £10 or can be ordered on 07940122776
The group’s birthday celebrations began on 25th of July when Dafydd Iwan visited the Coleshill Centre to cut an enormous 40 inch birthday cake. He and Myfanwy served the cake to volunteers and Breakthro’ members and Dafydd closed the visit by singing especially composed songs to the young people. Last weekend a group of Breakthro volunteers led by Jessica Sheehan completed a sponsored climb to the summit of Snowdon to celebrate the group’s birthday. Before beginning their climb, they were met for breakfast by Myfanwy and Hywel Williams MP, who represents the Arfon constituency in which Snowdon stands.
Tickets for Saturday’s concert are selling fast with some sold to people from Neath and one man travelling by bus from Swansea to Burry Port solely to make sure he had a ticket in advance. Dafydd Iwan will be waiving his usual fee and it is hoped that the group will make over £1,000 to support its activities.
Dafydd Iwan said:
“I am fully supportive of the work of Breakthro’. It is enormously important that young people with disabilities get to meet and socialise with each other as well as learning skills in mainstream schools and colleges. The young people have developed exceptionally strong friendships and they have learnt to depend on each other and to support each other. Developing that kind of trust takes years but it is crucial if people with a range of disabilities are to have a full social life. I was delighted that Myfanwy asked me to become involved with the group and am looking forward to Saturday very much.
Myfanwy said:
“We are very grateful to Dafydd for coming down once again to support Breakthro’. The impromptu concert he gave the young people last month was an extraordinary event with some young people who are usually quite withdrawn coming out of themselves and singing and dancing to the music. Next Saturday’s concert promises to be even better and tickets are going fast. I’m pleased that Helen Mary will be able to be there too. Like me she is very proud of Breakthro’ Llanelli because of the work it does but also because of the unstinting support the group has from people and groups across Llanelli”.
Christine Darkin, who has been Breakthro’s organiser for over 10 years said:
“Just a few months ago we were facing a drastic cut in our budget and we were considering how we could continue to keep the club going for our members who are now adults and who have grown up with the Club. Now thanks to an intervention by social services, we are looking forward to going into our 26th year and the support we’ve had from people across Llanelli has been amazing. I’m really looking forward to Dafydd’s concert !”
Notes to Editor
The concert will take place at Stebonheath Football Club in Llanelli at 7pm on Saturday 15th August. Tickets will be available at the venue and are priced at £10 or can be ordered on 07940122776
Friday, 17 July 2009
Myfanwy fights to keep Jobforce scheme to help Llanelli’s children out of poverty
Responding figures that show an increase in the number of children living in poverty in Wales, Dr Myfanwy Davies Plaid’s Westminster Candidate for Llanelli has strongly criticised Government plans to cut funding for a scheme that helps Llanelli’s lone parents back into work or training.
Myfanwy is joining the fight to save a scheme offered by jobforce Wales that provides free childcare to lone parents so the can work or complete the training they need to return to work.
Myfanwy said:
“The official figures show more children in Wales slipping back into poverty which will have a huge effect on the choices they have in life. Next week Parliament will discuss the Child Poverty Bill that aims to take some of the positive steps our Assembly has already taken towards eradicating child poverty. I welcome the debate and it is a wholly good thing to introduce targets for raising parents’ income such as those proposed in the Bill. But those targets are meaningless while Gordon Brown is still planning vicious cuts in schemes that help parents back to work”.
“One very concrete example of the UK Government’s failure to deal with child poverty is the fact that the New Deal for Lone Parents in Llanelli has come to the end of its funding. There are dozens of lone parents in Llanelli who have expressed an interest in taking up training but can’t do so because they do not have the resources to look after their kids. I will be raising this issue with our AM Helen Mary Jones in her role as Chair of the Assembly Children’s Committee”.
“It is all very well for Gordon Brown and his self-serving MPs to set targets they know will not be met they need to take this chance to put the needs of our families in Llanelli first”.
Diwedd / Ends
Notes to Editor:
In Wales, 32% of children now face living in a home which has less than 60% of the average UK household income. In 1999, the average level of risk that that Welsh child would be in a household that fell below the poverty line was 35%.
While the level of poverty appears to be rising in Wales, in Scotland the rate continues to fall, now standing at 25% of children at risk. Northern Ireland has also kept poverty levels stable at 26%.
Link to the full Rowntree Foundation Report:http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/end-child-poverty-wales-summary.pdf
Next Tuesday Parliament will begin to discuss The Child Poverty Bill that will require the Government reports on progress towards eradicating child poverty and includes targets on increasing family income
Myfanwy is joining the fight to save a scheme offered by jobforce Wales that provides free childcare to lone parents so the can work or complete the training they need to return to work.
Myfanwy said:
“The official figures show more children in Wales slipping back into poverty which will have a huge effect on the choices they have in life. Next week Parliament will discuss the Child Poverty Bill that aims to take some of the positive steps our Assembly has already taken towards eradicating child poverty. I welcome the debate and it is a wholly good thing to introduce targets for raising parents’ income such as those proposed in the Bill. But those targets are meaningless while Gordon Brown is still planning vicious cuts in schemes that help parents back to work”.
“One very concrete example of the UK Government’s failure to deal with child poverty is the fact that the New Deal for Lone Parents in Llanelli has come to the end of its funding. There are dozens of lone parents in Llanelli who have expressed an interest in taking up training but can’t do so because they do not have the resources to look after their kids. I will be raising this issue with our AM Helen Mary Jones in her role as Chair of the Assembly Children’s Committee”.
“It is all very well for Gordon Brown and his self-serving MPs to set targets they know will not be met they need to take this chance to put the needs of our families in Llanelli first”.
Diwedd / Ends
Notes to Editor:
In Wales, 32% of children now face living in a home which has less than 60% of the average UK household income. In 1999, the average level of risk that that Welsh child would be in a household that fell below the poverty line was 35%.
While the level of poverty appears to be rising in Wales, in Scotland the rate continues to fall, now standing at 25% of children at risk. Northern Ireland has also kept poverty levels stable at 26%.
Link to the full Rowntree Foundation Report:http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/end-child-poverty-wales-summary.pdf
Next Tuesday Parliament will begin to discuss The Child Poverty Bill that will require the Government reports on progress towards eradicating child poverty and includes targets on increasing family income
Monday, 15 June 2009
Myfanwy and Helen Mary fight to save Llanelli Bingo Clubs
Myfanwy and Helen Mary slam Gordon’s Bingo Tax
Dr Myfanwy Davies, Plaid’s Llanelli Westminster candidate and Helen Mary Jones Llanelli’s Plaid AM have spoken out against the double taxation on bingo clubs that MPs voted on last week. Myfanwy has accused Gordon Brown’s government of placing Llanelli’s bingo clubs at risk.
The warning comes after Welsh Labour MPs defeated a Plaid-backed SNP motion to reverse the increase in the rate of duty from 15% to 22%. Other forms of gambling such as casino or online poker will remain taxed at 15%.
Myfanwy said:
Bingo clubs are an important part of social life in Llanelli. They provide safe entertainment and are places where women in particular come to meet their friends. This is a tax hike on bingo, when duty on other forms of gambling will remain the same. This is entirely unfair.
She warned:
“Bingo clubs may have to close in Llanelli over the next few weeks. Along with Helen Mary Jones, I will be supporting customers and staff at Llanelli’s bingo clubs who are very concerned about the situation”.
Helen Mary said
“There is widespread support for bringing down the rate of Bingo duty from 22 per cent to 15 percent in line with the tax rate for every other form of gambling. This is about fair play for one of the most popular pastimes enjoyed by people in all communities."
Myfanwy and Helen Mary will be talking to staff and customers at Bingo Clubs in and around Llanelli over the next few weeks.
Dr Myfanwy Davies, Plaid’s Llanelli Westminster candidate and Helen Mary Jones Llanelli’s Plaid AM have spoken out against the double taxation on bingo clubs that MPs voted on last week. Myfanwy has accused Gordon Brown’s government of placing Llanelli’s bingo clubs at risk.
The warning comes after Welsh Labour MPs defeated a Plaid-backed SNP motion to reverse the increase in the rate of duty from 15% to 22%. Other forms of gambling such as casino or online poker will remain taxed at 15%.
Myfanwy said:
Bingo clubs are an important part of social life in Llanelli. They provide safe entertainment and are places where women in particular come to meet their friends. This is a tax hike on bingo, when duty on other forms of gambling will remain the same. This is entirely unfair.
She warned:
“Bingo clubs may have to close in Llanelli over the next few weeks. Along with Helen Mary Jones, I will be supporting customers and staff at Llanelli’s bingo clubs who are very concerned about the situation”.
Helen Mary said
“There is widespread support for bringing down the rate of Bingo duty from 22 per cent to 15 percent in line with the tax rate for every other form of gambling. This is about fair play for one of the most popular pastimes enjoyed by people in all communities."
Myfanwy and Helen Mary will be talking to staff and customers at Bingo Clubs in and around Llanelli over the next few weeks.
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