Our 18th Anniversary
This year on the 17th of September 2007 (on what would have been James' 20th Birthday) the James Hopkins Trust will be 18 years old. During the year we will be holding various events to help us celebrate, including a special 'Birthday Party' for all our parents and families. Of course, we couldn’t have reached this important milestone without the help of YOU! the people of Gloucestershire, so please accept a big thank you from all the children we have helped over the years.!

Alec Brown M.B.E. 1919 - 2007

It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of Alec Brown who died peacefully at home on 22nd February 2007, on the eve of his 88^th birthday.

Most of you will know Alec as the artist who painted the wonderful designs of the Gloucestershire area for the Christmas cards and pictures that we sell. Alec was a true friend to the Trust and supported us in many other ways to raise money to help the families that we provide respite care to. He always donated original watercolour paintings to our annual auction which consistently won one of the highest bids of the evening, and more recently he produced a beautiful book of his paintings dedicated to his late wife Machili, donating all the proceeds of the sales to us. 

Alec only started painting after his retirement, however he painted an impressive 2000 pictures. But this is just one part of Alec’s long and interesting life which saw him playing Rugby during his school days and later for the British Army touring side, spending 5 years in a number of POW camps during the second world war & joining the Military Police. After marrying Machili, his childhood sweetheart and wife for 59 years, he had three children and finally worked for Bruton Knowles for 30 years, the last 25 as a Partner.  

Alec’s story is told in greater detail at the start of his book. If you are interested in a copy of Alec’s book please contact us. Alec was a valued friend to the Trust for over 14 years and he will be greatly missed by us all.

Kite's Corner Update
Respite Care
We now have 35 nurses working for the Trust, and 50 children are regularly receiving respite care in their homes. A total of 1000 hours respite care are provided each month. In addition another 25 children use Kites Corner for Holidays Clubs, Sibling Groups and other activities during the term time. 
Sibling Groups
This caters for brothers and sisters of Trust children, and covers an age range of 3-8 years.  We hope to arrange meetings approximately once a month on Saturday a.m., as we’ve heard from parents that the children are keen to meet up again.  We’re looking forward to being able to use the garden at Kites Corner and we’re hoping to arrange outdoor activities and outings in the future. If anybody out there has any useful skills e.g. crafts which would appeal to children, or sports coaching, and could spare an occasional Saturday morning, we’d love to hear from you. It would also be good to hear if anyone can offer the use of sports facilities or play venues.  Any ideas ? Please contact us at Kites Corner if you can help on (01452) 612 216

Newspaper Archive
Click on the Gloucester Citizen Website www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk then enter "James Hopkins Trust" in their Archive Search facility to see articles on the Trust. Happy reading!