An Evening of Rags and Muffins

We held another of our popular Rags and Muffins events a few weeks back. This time, we hosted the event in an evening, different to our usual afternoon slot and naturally the evening oozed style, local talent and class! We had catwalks with fabulous models, dance groups, make-up artists, hair designers and more as well as gorgeous cupcakes and vintage clothes to rummage through.

One of our Rags and Muffins models.

Some of the team behind the event: Karen Heritage, Karen Heritage Dancers and Sarah-Jane our community fundraiser.

The Karen Heritage Dance Group in Action.

More from the Dance Group

All clothes that the models wore were for sale by Vintageous Rags, who sponsored the event.

Some of our lovely models from the catwalk.

One of our Rags and Muffins models.

Sarah-Jane, event co-ordinator and volunteer Tom, who compared the evening for us!

As you know, these events are more than just a good time, they're vital to our funds for our work to continue, and also helps us to raise awareness of who we are and what we do. On that note, we would like to take a moment to thank Asda in Thornaby, Stockton, for making us one of their charities of the month, and if you live in the area - we would love your support if you shop at Asda!

Thanks to all those who participated in our Rags and Muffins event, and to all those who came. We couldn't do it without you!

Love from A Way Out x

Calling All Consumers of Tea and Cake, Total Warriors and Fashionistas!

We've been working on our events plan this week and we have so many exciting things to get involved in. It's a busy year and it all kicks off with our Transporter Bridge Bungee Jump and Abseil this Sunday and we can't wait! (We'll be posting pictures/ videos next week.)

But if you haven't got involved this time then there are still plenty of events coming up.

After much anticipation Rags and Muffins is coming to Durham! We've been busy collecting clothes and we're selling them all off for anything from £2 to £15. Come and check it out, but we recommend arriving early to grab the best bargains!

 Afternoon Tea at Crathorne Hall. We are hosting a beautiful Afternoon Tea at Crathorne Hall. There will also be a flower arranging demonstration and stalls selling gifts and homemade goodies, perfect for a Mother's Day or birthday present! This is a fantastic opportunity to make some new friends and to hear a bit more about A Way Out and the work we are involved in. We're hoping to have more of these events throughout the year that provide an opportunity to make new friends, learn about local projects and businesses and of course enjoy good food!

Total Warrior is back and sign up has begun! We already have seven people on board and ready to start training so we've nearly doubled last year's team! This is not for the faint-hearted but with five months to go you have plenty of time to get ready for the challenge.
To find out more about what you may be letting yourself in for have a look at the Total warrior website here. If you consider yourself a thrill-seeker then this is almost certainly the event for you!

If you are interested in any of these events or want to know about other opportunities to support A Way Out, then visit our website.

Love from A Way Out x

A flurry of Rags and Muffins

We're in the middle of two Rags and Muffins at the moment- one ran in Yarm last weekend and the next one is in Middlesbrough in just over a week. So the fundraising office is currently full of clothes, shoes, price tags and posters!

Here are some of the pictures from last week to whet your appetite for Saturday 8th October:

A cup of tea of coffee for 50p? What a bargain!

Chocolate orange cupcakes from The Cupcake Pixies

 

At the heart of everything we do; bringing hope, freedom and wholeness to women and young people

Things are well under way at Hide Bar

Earrings from Bean Designs went down a treat!

Rummaging for the best bargains

Beth seems to be enjoying herself!

 

With the The Cupcake Pixies, event sponsors and Sandra from the Soroptimists

Yarm Rags and Muffins was a relaxed affair with gorgeous cupcakes, beautiful clothes and a lovely stall of home-made gifts from Bean Designs. On Saturday 8th October there will be all of this and more! Bucks Fizz reception, fashion show, dance acts, stalls from local businesses, charity cocktails.... All for a mere £5 (£3 for NUS) and all to raise money to help those most at need.

What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We'll see you there!

Love from A Way Out x

Events, events, events...

We've been away at festivals over the summer promoting A Way Out and selling our brand new merchandise (details about this coming soon!) but we're back now doing what we love and running events around Teesside. 

The first of these is coming up this Friday at The Basement in Middlesbrough:

This will be open to anyone above the age of 14 and there'll be mocktails and cocktails on offer as well delicious cupcakes provided by The American Cake Company. Great music, great food, great company- we'll see you there!

Next up is Rags and Muffins Yarm. This is a slightly smaller event than our usual Middlesbrough one but it is well worth a visit. Supported by the Soroptimists International there'll be rails of clothes for you to browse as well as an open bar, cupcakes and featured local businesses present. And all that with free entry!

And of course, we promised that Rags and Muffins would be returning to Middlesbrough and here it is:

 This time around we are expanding to include menswear and children's clothes so this certainly won't be a girls only event. We're also keeping all our favourite features: fashion show, DJ, cupcakes, vintage corner, Bucks Fizz reception and charity cocktails. An event not to be missed!

Hopefully one of these takes your fancy, maybe more than one. If you coming along, why not pop over and say hi at the A Way Out stand? We love to meet friends new and old.

Love from A Way Out x

Rags and Muffins and some...

You may have already heard about all the new fundraising events we've been running this year. From golfing days to gig nights and tea parties to Total Warrior, there's something for everyone.

Some of the bargains up for grabs at Rags and Muffins

Sarah Jane (Community Fundraiser) and I (Jenny- Assistant Fundraiser) started work a few months ago at A Way Out and we've been working hard to put on some of the most exciting events in the area. Our first big event was Rags and Muffins, a jumble sale with a twist, held in the Dickens Inn in Middlesbrough. There were clothes rails crammed full of designer items at bargain prices, a champagne reception, scrumptious cupcakes and a catwalk show.

The day was a huge success, so much so that we promptly booked ourselves another date at the Dickens Inn to do the whole thing all over again. October 8th- keep the date free!

3 Foot Ninja entertaining

We followed up Rags and Muffins with a gig night, the first of many, at Doctor Browns in Middlesbrough. 3 Foot Ninja, fresh from INTRO festival were headlining and didn't disappoint with their energetic line up. The Graft supported with front man Pete Haley, our own multi-talented youth worker at A Way Out.

These events are lots of fun to organise and to attend but they're about more than just having a good time. Events raise vital awareness and funds for A Way Out which is so important to ensure the charity has a healthy future. Only last week we were able to rescue a girl from sexual exploitation and she now has a job, a home, friends and hope for the future; but that wouldn't be possible without events like this and the support of our friends.

Rummaging for bargains at Rags and Muffins

Delicious cupcakes provided by Truly Scrumptious cake designers

We'd love you come along to Rags and Muffins and gig nights to show your support- thank you so much if you've already done so! But we'd also love to see people engaging with what we're trying to do in Teesside whether that's by volunteering, joining our mailing list, following our blog, tweeting @awayoutcharity, joining our Facebook community, or simply telling your friends about us.

If you want to show support financially then our CEO, Jessie Joe is competing in Total Warrior in just one months time! This is a gruelling 10k test of stamina and mental determination set in the unforgiving Lake District terrain. Her aim is to raise £2000 for A Way Out and if you could contribute just a small amount towards that target then it could make all the difference. For every £1 we receive, we can fill a food parcel on a Monday afternoon with basic items that will feed someone for a week who may not otherwise get the balanced diet they need. You can give here and next month we'll show you the photos of Jessie's day out!

Well done for making it to the end!

Love from A Way Out x