Phil Portway, counsellor and Di Levantine, chairman of The Sussex Snowdrop TrustPhil Portway, counsellor and Di Levantine, chairman of The Sussex Snowdrop Trust
Phil Portway, counsellor and Di Levantine, chairman of The Sussex Snowdrop Trust

Sussex charity marks 30 years of care at Arundel event

The local charity, The Sussex Snowdrop Trust marked 30 years of care with a special anniversary dinner at the Arundel Town Hall.

Invited guests included past nurses, counsellors, volunteers, snowdrop parents, grandparents, and supporters. In the King’s Coronation year, the charity thought it would be appropriate to dine on one of the King’s apparent favourite dishes, ‘Pheasant Crumble’ which was prepared by local chef, Helen Clegg.

The King’s pledge this year was to raise awareness of volunteer opportunities and one of the current counsellors, Phil Portway from the Snowdrop Care at Home Team gave a speech of thanks for the chairman and co-founder, Di Levantine who has been a non-paid CEO for 30 years. Several guests shared their stories of their involvement in the charity, including one of the first nurses appointed, one of the first families who needed support and Colin Tebbutt MVO, who had spoken about his time as a Royal Protection Officer with Princess Anne and Princess Diana at various fundraising events for the charity.

Guests also enjoyed hearing choral scholars, Claire Gale, Ella Blair and Sam Hancock from Arundel Cathedral with their medley of songs including, The Flower Duet (Lakme).

Di Levantine comments: “The dinner celebrating our 30th anniversary since we founded, ‘Snowdrop’ was wonderful. I was delighted to welcome guests to the special evening who were representative of supporters, nurses, businesses, families and many others, who had made a significant difference to the charity, over the past 30 years. It was a very happy event with people who really love the charity. We are a local charity helping families whose child has a life-threatening illness within a 15 mile radius of Chichester and we have been so fortunate that local businesses made this event possible including Arundel Town Council, Digby Fine English, Hennings wine, Goodwood Farm Shop and Pitch Up & Co. It was a memorable occasion, and we hope others will take on the joy of volunteering in their community in the Coronation year! “

Pictures – credit: Sophie Sitwell Photography

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