News:- Multiple Sclerosis News Surrey

Several of you will have seen the email that came out on 24 March from Robin, our Chairman.

Our Trustees have some very difficult decisions to take regarding finances and how we operate as a Centre when we are in a position to re-open. The government will be able to provide some support towards staff salaries, however the Centre has a considerable amount of ongoing monthly expenditure that we will need to meet from our own cash resources.

While we are shut, we are unable to run any fundraising events and this will create a big hole in our finances. The Centre has always been about self help. It was set up for people with MS by people with MS. If you know anyone who is able to provide a donation to the Centre during these very challenging times, please email
Many thanks for your continued support and understanding. We can get through this if we all stick together.

A very proud moment for John Hambly, our Vice-Chairman when he received a Sport Gives Back award at the Royal Institution in London on 5 March. A very special evening with some well known faces from the sporting world in evidence.

The 2nd photo shows John with his Actonian Rugby Club friends who nominated John for this award. The Actonians have raised a huge amount of money for the Samson Centre for MS over the years and remain huge supporters of John and all that he has done for the Samson Centre for MS.

Click to See Full Event Brochure.

Click Image to watch a short Video.

So our very own John Hambly is going to receive an award next week at the Sports Gives Back award ceremony in London.

John was a committed rugby player and Captain of the Actonians team before his diagnosis of MS. The Actonians have raised hundreds of thousands for the Samson Centre over the past 17 years and still remain supportive of John and his tireless fundraising.

An amazing example of sport giving something back to John and the Samson Centre and an award so well deserved for our own Cornishman, John Hambly.

Click Image to View a short Video about John and the Actonians 

Click to Enlarge Image.

A big thank you to Guildford Lions for raising a really helpful £1500 for the Centre from the Hatchlands Run that they organise every year.

We were lucky enough to be their chosen charity for the Hatchlands Run in 2019 and this resulted in a lovely donation today. Many thanks to everyone at the Guildford Lions for your support.

Click Image to watch the Video

We recently had That’s TV South East here to do a little bit of filming.

The below link takes you to the film that some of you may be interested in.

To Watch the Video, Click on link or the image.

https://www.facebook.com/thatstvsoutheast/videos/176559896991162/

So today we had a lovely informal gathering for Guy Williams so that he could unveil a plaque to thank him and his colleagues for the refurbishment work they have done on our oxygen chamber.

We would not be where we are today with an operational multi-chamber without the help of folk at Centriplant and a very kind donation from the Ratcliffe Trust.

John Hambly, our Vice-Chairman said a few kind words of thanks to Guy on behalf of everyone at the Samson Centre for MS.

Peter, David and Linda from Care for Guildford very kindly presented a cheque for £5,500 today to cover the bulk of the cost of an air cooling system for our large oxygen chamber.

We will need to keep the oxygen chamber cool when the weather gets a bit warmer, so an air cooling system will be hugely appreciated.

A very kind donation from the lovely Trustees of Care for Guildford. Thank you so much.

A great session held this morning for the Thursday Samson Kayakers. Huge thanks to Dave again for creating such a fun activity for a few of our members. Brilliant example of collaboration between the Wey Kayak Club and the Samson Centre for MS.

What a day! An incredible £15,600 has been raised by West Surrey Golf Club who kindly supported us last year as their chosen charity.

Pat and Andrew from West Surrey Golf Club presented this amazing donation this morning to John Hambly, our Vice-Chairman.

A massive thank-you to everyone at West Surrey Golf Club for their incredible fundraising for our Centre.

Please get in touch via if you know anyone who would like to find out more about volunteering as an oxygen chamber operator at the Samson Centre for MS. A half day or more a week or half day a fortnight or ad hoc cover is the time commitment required. Full training is given in our New Bradbury Annexe .We would love to hear from you if you are able to commit to an interesting and rewarding volunteering opportunity with us.

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What more fitting way to celebrate West Surrey Tennis Club’s  60^th Birthday than with TennisFEST, a Davis Cup style knockout tournament to win the Club’s coveted ‘Charity Cup’. An afternoon of fun and some fast-paced and exciting tennis saw teams of varying abilities competing in a noisy and well supported fundraising event, raising £926 for us here at the Samson Centre for MS.

To mark this special occasion the Tennis Club decided to join forces with its parent West Surrey Golf Club in supporting us. West Surrey Tennis Club’s, Glen Waterfall said, ‘ Our 60^th Birthday was a fantastic opportunity for us follow in West Surrey Golf Club’s footsteps and embrace the charity that they have been supporting this year. Our event will ensure that even more money is raised to support local people who are living with Multiple Sclerosis’.

Over 100 members and guests took part in TennisFEST and were watched over by an audience of friends, family and Team-mates. An amazing sum of £926 was raised through proceeds from entry fees, araffle and a barbecue.

If you know anyone who plays tennis, golf or any other team sport remind them that the Samson Centre would welcome their support whether it be for one match or adopting us as their charity of the year.

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What an amazing result! The disco organised by Megan Hambly last month raised a fantastic £1379 for the Samson Centre!

An additional £700 was raised for the Brain Tumour Charity – another great cause.

Thanks so much to Megan and all those lovely ladies who supported this event. A great night was clearly had by all!

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Although Surrey Police Headquarters at Mount Browne regularly hold quiz evenings in aid of the Samson Centre for MS, their recent one was a very special event indeed.

Not only did it raise £600 for the Centre but the winning team, out of a strong field of 18 teams, included Tim Barrett a Samson Centre for MS member.

Tim guided his team to victory and the prestigious trophy too, fuelled on brains or ‘watching many tv quizzes’ as Tim puts it himself, and a curry supper that was enjoyed by all.

We are proud of Tim for being a winner, with the help of daytime tv quizzes or not and thank Surrey Police once again, for supporting us in this way.

James’s Liftoff- Click to enlarge

You will remember that Chris Boys and his crew were flying high for the Samson Centre recently. All in a good cause, all to raise valuable funds.

Even though at the eleventh hour two of his crew were swapped out, the team went on to complete their challenge.

The Team:- Chris Boys, James Gregory, Hilary Birkinshaw, Allan McDonald, Claire Dean, Dean Hemmings, Shaun Leake, Vicky Corner

However, there is good news and not such good news to report.

The good news is that they have raised over £1,200 for us to date.

The not so good news is that Chris dislocated his shoulder during his I Fly – a painful and distressing experience which resulted in him being taken to hospital by ambulance. A big “Thank You” to the crew for undertaking this Skydive and all of us at the Samson Centre wish Chris well.

If you would like to donate to their fundraising efforts, it is not too late. It would no doubt lift Chris’s spirits while he is nursing his injury and it will also help even more people who are living with MS.

justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-boys