Page 14 - April 2018 DIM

Grenfell Tower holiday hearted heroes’ welcome “and to show that
Cornwall cares”, the aim was to give the
The Rotary Club of Redruth was instrumental in firefighters and ambulance staff some well
arranging a week’s holiday in Cornwall during deserved time to rest and create some happy
December for the emergency crews who attended memories in the beautiful and restorative Cornish
the disastrous fire at Grenfell Tower in Kensington surroundings.
last June. Prior to the families arriving from London on
December 2, Rotarians and their partners
The move began when Mike Eddowes, a Redruth collected items to make a welcome pack for each
Rotarian, contacted the Gwel an Mor holiday family. The packs were tailored to their recipients
resort in Portreath, who readily agreed to help. and recognised the number and ages of their
children. The welcome packs were left in their
Bill Haslam, chief executive officer of Gwel an lodges before their arrival.
Mor, said: “Like the rest of the nation, the team
at Gwel an Mor watched in horror as the events The visitors enjoyed the activities at Gwel an Mor,
unfolded on June 14. Our hearts went out to the as well as the local attractions, with the week
victims, to everyone who helped, and, of course, culminating in a celebration party in the events
to all the families and friends impacted by this barn (see photograph above) to honour their hard
tragedy.” work and to show gratitude to the emergency
services.
It was soon agreed that the resort could offer In the end, there were more than 80 guests at
some respite and time to help recuperate, and so the sit-down Christmas meal and an evening of
there was a plan to offer a festive break to the
fire-fighters and paramedics who attended the
fire.

It was also agreed that this would be an
opportunity to honour Redruth’s local emergency
services for the work they did on a daily basis;
and thus the idea for a festive celebration was
born.

Working with the London Fire Service and
Ambulance welfare teams on this project
throughout the summer, Mike was able to offer,
on behalf of Gwel an Mor, a week-long festive
holiday for up to 50 families. Extending a warm-