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The UK Garrison were delighted to have one of our little fans visit us at the Manchester MCM Comic Con last weekend. Gideon and his family have been going through a rather tough time throughout 2019 so we were delighted to see him and his parents on Sunday, especially after he'd been though some 80 hours of chemotherapy that week.
Thank you to both our troopers and our friends on the stand at Rebel Legion UK for taking the time to make their visit to the con just a bit more special.
#ukgarrison #rluk #BadGuysDoingGood #mcmmanchester
Thought it would be nice to share this story from one of our members (David Forsey) about the journey our newest member has been on recently.
"One November MCM a small lady approached the UKG table to discuss her dream to become a stormtrooper but had fears that it could not be done due to her 5ft 1 height. Fellow member Chris Hobbs gave her some advice and pointed her in my direction as I was the First Order Stormtrooper armourer at the time.
After a few discussions I decided to set us a challenge to prove that whatever your dreams, with a bit of managed expectation, effort and desire, you can do things beyond what you often think yourself.
Stefan Wickham kindly allowed us to use his workshop to cut down the kit and prepare for sizing. As Stefan is our Chief Armourer, he also gave valuable advice and guidance during the critical phase of cutting the armour to fit a standard 6ft frame down to 5ft 1.
Once we all got stuck in, we ended up with something that looked like it could work, but there was still a long way to go with more cuts, height scaling and a ton of surface preparation.
Luke Daley at JJ Industries supplied a scaled blaster, so as long as we could pull together we had everything to conclude.
Many hours later, we got to a point of submission and the armour was cleared after a few helpful hints.
This weekend at MCM Manchester saw the conclusion and Jodi Hook was branded, completed her induction, and is now a fully fledged AND the first female First Order Stormtrooper in the 501st UK Garrison. It's been tough, it's been frustrating but it's been achieved...I present a snap shot of the journey, but it is a clear example of how our great club brings everything together to add value to others and new members.
Very proud helpers and a very proud new member."
Just shows we can make dreams come true for our members too.
Macmillan Cancer Support were in attendance for both Saturday and Sunday, with four volunteers on Saturday and three on Sunday. The volunteers were all (bar one) from Swinton Insurance, who kindly release their staff for Charity Days. Only one of the staff had actually attended a Comic Con before, and they all enjoyed their experience.
They, and you, managed to raise the following amounts.
£422.81 on Saturday
£328.63 on Sunday
Which is an amazing grand total of £751.44
Well done to all that costumed and staffed in the muggy and rainy Manchester heat, and I would like to thank you all for making the Charity Volunteers welcome.
Starwars Costumers from the 501st UK Garrison presented Jim Parker, Community Fundraiser from the Royal British Legion, with a cheque for £5,000 today at the RBL Weekend Event in Thatcham.
The Royal British Legion is one of the UK Garrison's regularly supported charities. Many UK Garrison members are current serving or are ex-military and the RBL heavily supports Service personnel and ex-service personnel and their families in times of need or hardship.
#badguysdoinggood #starwars #rbl #charitydonation #royalbritishlegion #501st
The 501st UK Garrison was out in force this weekend at Stars & Cars 2019 in Lancashire - one of our biggest non MCM, Comic Con or film Premiere events on the calendar for our members, and our biggest charity event so far this year... and whilst we await the final total, the profits and collections counted so far equate to over £17,000 for the weekend.
Stars & Cars 2019 was organised by two of our very own UK Garrison members, Colin Wilby & Mick Croskery. The annual event is intended to raise funds for Derian House Children's Hospice. The hospice provide respite care and support to children battling life limiting or life shortening illnesses.
Whilst providing ticket holders with a fantastic movie & TV themed experience, we also invite many children who benefit from the services the hospice provide, to help create some amazing memories for them and their families.
The UK Garrison played a fundamental part in the show, entertaining the crowds and providing great photo opportunities, alongside our Rebel Command and Reel Icons members, Rebel Legion and the R2 Builders.
Our chosen charity to support at the March 2019 MCM Comic Con weekend was Meningitis Now - a charity very close to the hearts and minds of our friends at R2 Builders, whose member Ian Yates sadly lost his teenage daughter, Joanna to meningitis not so long ago.
We are delighted to announce that across the weekend the UK Garrison along with our friends at R2 Builders, Rebel Legion, Mando Mercs, the 15th Cyber Legion, and Silver Sabres, we raised a whopping £2,531.53.
Ian Yates said "Wendy, Denholm and I are elated at the love, care and support shown by so many from across all the groups at MCM Birmingham and it is an experience we shall never, ever forget.
We are very, very grateful for everyones efforts, I know that Kirsty and the rest of her team at Meningitis Now will be delighted.
Thank you so much once again for this incredible gesture and show of support."
And we would like to say thank you to everyone who donated over the weekend. Your support as ever is very much appreciated.
#meningitisnow #501st #ukgarrison #reelicons #rebelcommand#r2builders #rebellegion #rluk #mandomercs #15thcyberlegion#mcmcomiccon
