In 2011 when Tia was just 6 she set up Tia's Treasures fundraising for various charities by selling her handmade keyrings and bracelets and within 5 years over £10,000 had been raised.
Nearly 10 years on and Tia's Treasures is still going strong, we have just funded our 20th Seizure Alarm.
The Tia's Treasures Team which consists of Mum (Lisa), Dad (Richard), Alex (17), Tia (15), Adam (12), Jamie (10), Tommy (4) and Toby (3) have been fundraising for various charities, deserving and individuals as well as participating in lots of Random Acts of Kindness.
Throughout 2020 we sent Random Acts of Kindness as a much needed morale boost as well as to show our appreciation to Ambulance Stations, Police Stations, Fire Stations, Bus Stations, Hospitals, Dental Surgeries, GP Surgeries, Schools, Nurseries and many more.
Back in November Tommy (4) and Toby (3) had posted well over 100 letters, drawings and photos to various Ambulance Stations as part of Tracy Carters Hit the Ambulance Gamers Facebook Group where Mum Lisa is a member of the Admin team. They decided they would set themselves a challenge to send a letter a drawing and a photo to every East of England Ambulance Service Trust Station starting with Waveney, our local station just down the road which we have been sending treats to for the past few years.
90 envelopes were posted to the East of England Ambulance Service Trust Stations on the way to School and Nursery. 8 stockings were also filled with treats such as crackers, balloons, biscuits, sweets, crisps and drinks for the Waveney Station who kindly arranged to collect in an Ambulance which made Tommy and Toby's day. Waveney Station also hit Tommy and Toby back with a large box of treats.
The challenge was soon completed and lots of positive feedback about how what they were doing was boosting morale which spurred Tommy and Toby on to continue. Before long they had a plan to hit 999 Ambulance Stations with their letters, drawings and photos.
999 seemed an appropriate number. Before long members of the Hit the Ambulance Gamers Facebook Group were asking if they could support Tommy and Toby by sending them stamps, paper, envelopes etc so an Amazon Wishlist was set up. This challenge was one we expected to continue into 2021 but with all 8 of us getting involved and lots of dedication and determination....
130 hits were posted to Scottish Ambulance Service, 55 hits were posted to North East Ambulance Service, 62 hits were posted to Yorkshire Ambulance Service, 104 hits were posted to East Midlands Ambulance Service, 90 Hits were posted to East of England Ambulance Service, 70 hits were posted to London Ambulance Service, 66 hits were posted to South East Coast Ambulance Service, 22 hits were posted to South Central Ambulance Service, 1 hit was posted to Isle of Wight Ambulance Service, 16 hits posted to South West Ambulance Service, 3 hits posted to The Channel Islands Ambulance Services, 32 hits were posted to West Midlands Ambulance Service, 121 hits were posted to North West Ambulance Service, 3 hits were posted to Isle of Man Ambulance Service, 46 hits were posted to Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, 90 hits were posted to Welsh Ambulance Service, 23 hits were posted to each Air Ambulance Charity and 65 hits were posted to individual Ambulance Staff.
Added all together came to 999. The challenge was completed by the end of 2020. We hope that all 999 hits will help start 2021 with a smile.
Tommy and Toby have already mentioned future challenges including The Police Force and The Fire Service and due to Tommy and Toby's (Toby's especially) love of Ambulances Tia has decided to focus Tia's Treasures on Hit the Ambulance Gamers Random Acts of Kindness as well as fundraising for TASC (The Ambulance Staff Charity).
Tia's Treasures Monkey Mascot named Nee Nor Monkey by Tommy and Toby has already been lending a hand.
For more details and links to our social media pages visit www.tiastreasures.net
Wishing you all a Happy and Safe 2021 and remember not all Heroes wear capes.
On 21st May Tia's Treasures will be celebrating 10 years of fundraising and participating in Random Acts of Kindness.
Over the 10 years over £10,000 has been raised for charities, deserving causes and individuals and 20 Seizure Alarms and 13 Fingertip Pulse Oximeters have been fully funded.
Tia was just 6 when Tia's Treasures began which is a year older than the age of Tommy one of her brothers.
Tommy (5) and Toby (3) are following in Tia's footsteps when it comes to creativity, dedication, determination and selflessness they have already created their '999 Challenge' where they sent 999 letters, photos and drawings to Ambulance Stations over the UK which featured on the BBC News, Radio, Magazines and Newspapers.
Tia has decided to help Tommy and Toby keep showing their love and appreciation of the Ambulance Service by encorporating their latest project 'Norfolk Nee Nors' with the Tia's Treasures 10th Birthday Fundraising plans.
As today (30th March 2021) marks 3 years since Toby's first of 5 Ambulance rides in less than 2 month resulting in an Epilepsy diagnosis so we thought now would be as good of a time as any to announce our fundraising plans for Tia's Treasures 10th Birthday.
It was on this day 3 years ago where Tommy and Toby's love, respect and appreciation of Ambulances began.
As a Family we have always had total love, respect and appreciation for the Ambulance Service and its Staff as well as all of our front line Heroes and not forgetting our amazing NHS but it's when you require their services that makes you realise just how much love, respect and appreciation you have.
As a Team we have thought long and hard about how we could celebrate the Tia's Treasures 10th Birthday by fundraising for East of England Ambulance Service Trust and as much we would have loved to have organised a large scale Fundraiser as we have in previous years given the current situation with Covid 19 this just isn't possible therefore we have decided to incorporate Tommy and Toby's Norfolk Nee Nors into our fundraising plans which means we will not only raise funds but raise smiles too.
To show their love of Ambulances and their appreciation for the Ambulance Service, Tommy and Toby from Tia's Treasures have been busy creating Norfolk Nee Nors with the help of their older Siblings Alex, Tia, Adam and Jamie.
Norfolk Nee Nors are Ambulance shapes made from clay and Ambulances painted onto rocks which are then varnished and hidden for you to find.
The Norfolk Nee Nors will start their journey in our home town of Gorleston On Sea, Norfolk and with your help they will begin to travel further a field.
If you come across either a clay Norfolk Nee Nor or a Norfolk Nee Nor rock you are more than welcome to keep it or re-hide it to see how far it can travel, what ever you decide please share a photo with the group tag us on Instagram @NorfolkNeeNors .
Tommy (4) and Toby (3) have been busy drawing pictures and writing letters (with Mum's help) to send to as many Ambulance Stations as they can as part of Hit the Ambulance - a Facebook Group that began in February 2020 which encourages people to hit Ambulances with Random Acts of Kindness (and as many other services that need recognition, appreciation and a morale boost).
Toby was diagnosed with Epilepsy in 2018 after 5 Ambulance rides, Asthma in 2019 and a Chromosome Deletion in 2020, he is due to have an over night stay at Addenbrookes Hospital for a Video EEG, MRI and Lumbar Puncture for his Epilepsy and Dystonia.
As a Family we have a great amount of appreciation not just for the Ambulance Service but the NHS as a whole as well as all Keyworkers not just through out the current Corona Virus Pandemic but all the time, we have sent Random Acts of Kindness to Police Stations, Fire Stations, Bus Stations, Dental Surgeries, GP Surgeries, Schools, Nurseries etc and some have even got in touch to say Thank you which has given Tommy and Toby more of a boost to continue.
The Tia's Treasures Team are well known not only for fundraising but for participating in Random Acts of Kindness.
With the imminent return to College, School and Toby due to start Nursery the past couple of weeks has been spent making sure all uniforms are ready for the return after almost 6 months due to the Corona Virus.
Whilst unable to attend or organise any fundraising events other than Lisa braving the shave for Young Epilepsy Random Acts of Kindness have still been something we've continued with as we believe they are needed more than ever right now.