charity

Charity brings Christmas cheer to children's wards

A generous Plymouth charity brought Christmas cheer and lots of cuddles to our children’s wards last week.

Representatives from Becca’s Bear dropped in to the Activity Centre on level 12 on Tuesday 16 December, armed with tons of teddy bears for donation to the children on the wards.

Santa and Build A Bear mascot, Bearemy were also on hand to help with distributing the bears...

DFS deliver surprise to local hero

DFS Plymouth delivered more than just your regular sofa order to the Hallam family household on Wednesday when they also dropped off a £250 donation to much-loved local charity ‘Hugs for Henry’.

After DFS colleagues realised their delivery was going to the Hallam family home they decided to surprise their son Henry with a generous donation of £250 to help support his treatment after...

Gorilla school is a barrel of fun

How do you learn how to be a good gorilla? You go to gorilla school, of course.

And 12-year-old Kivu is earning top marks when it comes to sitting in a barrel.

He was photographed at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon by Curator of Mammals Neil Bemment. “I’m not sure if he was being Father Christmas coming down the chimney, but he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself...

Charity launches public hunt for fancy fungi

A local conservation charity has launched a public search - for tiny orange ping-pong bats.

Naturalists in South Devon have found an unusual fungus – known as orange ping-pong bats – that has only ever been identified in the UK once before. And they are asking the public to help track its progress across the country.

The fungus – found in Africa - was discovered at Primley Park...

Trust’s zoos weather indifferent year

One of the South West’s largest conservation charities has announced its results for the year. The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust is the charity that runs Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, as well as several nature reserves in Devon.

And while Paignton Zoo visitor numbers were down, Newquay Zoo and Living Coasts both saw increases.

In the...

Online book of remembrance for charity zoo

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park has launched an online In Memoriam book for people with a special affection for the Zoo. And the first names in the book are those of two very special people.

Sylvia and Tony King were long-time Zoo supporters and volunteers. Their son Alan, also a volunteer, recalls: “My father’s parents were keen on the Zoo. They knew Philip Michelmore, who was Herbert...

Campaign launched to target speeding and careless drivers

Road safety charity Brake is today launching a campaign calling on all road users to look out for each other, to help stop the five deaths and 61 serious injuries that happen every day on UK roads, and particularly to protect people on foot and bike.

The call comes at the start of Road Safety Week, coordinated by Brake, during which police across the country will be stepping up traffic...

Plymouth to host first Christmas jumper day

Plymouth will host it’s first city-wide Christmas Jumper day this year on the 29th November to raise money for local children’s charity, "Jeremiah’s Journey".

After the success of last years Christmas Jumper day, Drake Circus have joined with Plymouth’s High Street Champions (Boots, Santander and Co-op) and The City Centre Company to make the event bigger than ever.

Retail...

Beach litter threatens wildlife, says charity

Staff at Torquay’s coastal zoo have spoken out about the amount of litter on the beaches and in the sea and highlighted the threat to marine life.

Clare Rugg, from Living Coasts, explained: “Beacon Cove is the beach on our doorstep. Some litter is brought in by the waves but much of it is left by beach users. The Council regularly cleans the beach – but it becomes littered again...

Can you ride to save a life?

Devon’s medical courier service, Devon Freewheelers, is on the lookout for new riders in all parts of the county.

The charity provides a free out-of-hours service to the NHS delivering blood, tissue samples, breast milk and other medical supplies to hospitals across Devon. Many lives have been saved through swift delivery of critical items.

All riders are volunteers who give...

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