OUR publications are much more than just free magazines which drop through everyone's letter-boxes each and every month. They are important threads in the fabric of two local communities.
Active8 and Dronfield Eye have supported hundreds of charities and good causes by publicising fund-raising events, shows and concerts. And we support the people of S8 and S18 in other ways too:
Woodseats Festival
ACTIVE8 provided the springboard for the first Woodseats Community Festival which was staged in 2006. People had commented that as our magazines were full of stories about local talented folk, we should organise an event to provide a platform for them.
After an appeal in Active8, other local community members became involved and the first Festival, run over three days and featuring a parade the length of Woodseats, was a big success. The annual summer event has gone from strength to strength since then.
Dronfield's Got Talent
NOW an annual event which is eagerly looked forward to by many young performers and their families, this event showcases young performing talent from the Dronfield area and beyond.
Dronfield Eye organises the show at the Civic Hall, with the help of the Town Council, and it features an array of singers, dancers and musicians.
To date, Dronfield's Got Talent has raised more than £2,000 for local good causes by supporting the annual charity appeal by the Town Mayor.
Shoebox Appeal
ACTIVE8 and Dronfield Eye have supported the Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoebox Appeal for several years.
Hundreds of readers use our offices to drop off shoeboxes which they have decorated and filled with gifts and we pass them on to the local sorting warehouse.
The shoeboxes are then loaded onto transporter lorries and despatched to needy children in some of the world's most desperate countries.
Gabby Ellis Appeal
DRONFIELD Eye supported Holmesfield teenager Gabby Ellis with a fund-raising Hallowe'en fright night event at the Birchall Golf and Leisure venue.
Gabby had spent more than a year in hospital in Sheffield after the removal of a tumour from her spine left her without the use of her legs.
The party night raised in the region of £780 which was handed over to Gabby's family towards the cost of a specially adapted wheelchair.
Dronfield Station Appeal
A MAJOR success for Dronfield Eye and its readers, this campaign began in 2006 and resulted in a massive improvement in train services for commuters using Dronfield Station.
After the issue of the town's poor rail timetable was highlighted in the magazine, dozens of readers wrote in to add their support to the campaign and Dronfield Station Action Group was formed.
Dronfield Eye kept the issue in the public eye thanks to monthly features and the issue of car stickers and December 14th, 2008, was a red-letter day with the introduction of the town's best-ever railway service.
A recent survey showed that Dronfield Station is now used for more than 1,700 train journeys each week - and passenger numbers are continually rising.
Belarus Charities
THE lives of hundreds of people living in the shadow of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have been enriched thanks to the generosity of Active8 readers.
The magazine supports the work of local couple Brian and Freda Harpham who support those living in orphanages, old people's homes and a girls' prison in Belarus.
Our offices at Beauchief are used as a collection point for art and craft materials, clothing and toys which the couple take with them on their frequent trips to Belarus.
