The bi-annual Fishathon, lovingly called FAT, concept is the brainchild of Steve Vigar who, after a chance conversation way back in February 2005 decided to raise funds for the Special Care Baby Unit at Kings Lynn Hospital through a fishing based diary of events.
So, along with the other 2 originals, Edgar and Wobbo, he set about 3 months of hard organisation to get Fishathon1 ready to go by the end of May the same year!. 3 months of blood, sweat and tears that actually paid off as we managed to raise a very nice sum of 2.2k!
With the success of FAT1 firmly behind us, Steve decided to give it another go and in late 2006 he set about organising FAT2 in aid of the Children's Ward at his local Kings Lynn hospital, mainly as a thank you to the staff on the ward that looked after his son, who nearly succumbed to a very nasty allergic reaction to, of all things, a pecan nut! The professionalism and care shown at such a distressing time was fantastic and Steve was of the mind set that this was the least he could do in return. This was also at a time that Ward budgets etc had been cut to such an extent that play equipment and rehabilitation equipment could no longer be purchased nor maintained.
Steve and his team gave themselves a longer period of time, which certainly paid off as a magnificent figure of over 5k was raised dirng the event in 2007, and was all spent on equipment for the Ward, including a huge tropical fish tank, all the necessary equipment and fish, PlayStation's, DAB radios, portable DVD players, headsets, games and soft furniture for a reading area. A huge effort which was so rewarding for all concerned.
There was then cries of never again, but, off we went again with FAT3!!.
The organisation was started in July 2008, 11 months prior to the event, in 2009 as we has somehow got hold of 2 Charities to raise funds for this time, which will not happen again, for a variety of reasons.
The first Charity was the Norfolk Riding for the Disabled based at the Magpie Centre near Downham Market, and the second was the Norfolk Young Carers project. Both of these Charities were, at the time, very close to my heart as each of my partners twins used one of them.
A lot of effort once again went into the project and we managed this time to get such celebrities as Gary Lineker, Chris Tarrant, John Wilson, Jonathon Ross and Stephen Fry to come on board and donate signed items, which was fantastic.
More events within the project were initiated which all culminated in the raising of just over 4k, which was split between the Charities.
So to date, a staggering amount in the region of 12k has been raised for local Children's Charities, and the story does not finish there, oh no!!
May 2011 was to see FAT4, but outside interference caused the cancellation of the project, much to Steve's chagrin. However, it will take more than that to keep him down and when Scotty's Little Soldiers popped up on Steve's radar, off we went again.
So, now we are here and once again sailing on the Goodship Fishathon, and this time, for a Charity that doesn't need bells, whistles and big neon signs to let people know that this is such a powerful cause, and if you just take a look at http://www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/ you will want to jump aboard yourselves!
We have the space to accommodate you, can you accommodate us?
Take a moment to find out so much more of this, our latest project at www.facebook.com/fishathon4 and find out how you can help us Help Their Children Smile.
Thank you and keep watching.
Steve and Team
