Villas Crete Holidays Tourist Office | Villas and apartments in Crete

Charities

CHARITIES THAT WE SUPPORT

As our regular guests will know, we at Villas Crete Holidays have been supporting The Sara’s Hope Foundation since we first heard about it over 2 years ago.

The Sara’s Hope Foundation was started by Ged and Julie Hoburn after they tragically lost their 16 year old daughter, Sara, to cancer. Inspired by Sara’s bravery and positive attitude, the foundation aims to successfully manage a holiday retreat in Crete offering respite for children and young people with cancer and their families.

The foundation’s mission is to give families affected by the devastating impact of cancer, a much needed break from long hospital stays, traumatic medical procedures and cancer related treatments – so that they may spend quality time together recuperating and enjoying life as a “normal” family – strengthening relationships and creating happy memories.

The last few years have been spent tirelessly fundraising in the Newcastle area of the UK where Ged and Julie come from. With the help of their many supporters, including the celebrity patrons, Anthony Kosta (from the successful band “Blue”), Colleen Nolan, Amanda Lamb, Bill Nelson and Ray Fensome, the foundation has recently been able to sign a lease on 2 villas in the village of Kambia (near Almyrida). Julie and Ged have given up their jobs and will soon be here on Crete to set up the villas for the expected arrival of the first guests in May, 2011.

The Sara’s Hope Foundation is dedicated to giving a personal service to each child/young person and their family, and in memory of Sara, giving them “smiles, hope and precious memories”.

The local community in Crete is gearing up for the opening of the Sara’s Hope Foundation villas in Kambia. Many local cafes and tavernas have offered complimentary meals each week to the families that will be staying at the Sara’s Hope villas. The Villas Crete Holiday book library has over 2000 books (many of which are recent publications) that can be borrowed for a 1 Euro Donation that goes to the Sara’s Hope Foundation. From April, 2011 the book library will be located in the Almyrida Beach Hotel. If you are coming on holiday and do not want to bring heavy books with you, please come to the book exchange.

Alternatively a donation can be left for The Sara’s Hope Foundation at The Villas Crete Holidays desk inside Francoise Café on Almyrida Beach. Please give generously and think about how essential your holiday is to you, and try to understand that it is even more essential and precious to families with children with cancer. Every donation is very gratefully received.

For further information or to make a direct donation, please go to The Sara’s Hope Foundation Website at www.sarashopefoundation.co.uk

The Animal Protection Society of Chania (Noah’s Little Ark).
The Noah’s Little Ark Animal Shelter and information centre is the only animal shelter in Chania with a proven record. It specialises in helping the starving and injured animals on Crete. The shelter also plays a very important role in neutering many of the stray animals, and educating the children of Crete how to treat animals with kindness. The original shelter was started by an amazing woman named Silke Wrobel. In 2003 she was presented with Germany’s highest medal of honour for her tireless work helping animals (the equivalent of Britain’s MBE). She has opened a quarantine / holding centre at 40 Daskologianni Street in Chania. This is where all the new arrivals will be taken to be cleaned up, vaccinated, microchipped and seen by veterinarians before going to their new homes abroad or to the main shelter. Visitors are very welcome at the centre – during usual shop hours.

Silke was a nurse in Germany who came to Crete to recover from cancer. Whilst recuperating here she came across the very run-down municipal animal shelter. Silke took over the running of the shelter and has devoted since dedicated her life to working tirelessly for the helpless injured and abused animals on Crete. During this time Silke has always put the animals first. After spending her life’s savings on the animals she spent a number of years sleeping in her car, and now often sleeps in the Noah’s Little Ark office so that she can wake every few hours to feed the very young puppies and kittens that are regularly dumped on her doorstep.

Villas Crete Holidays sometimes gets calls from guests who have found an injured or stray animal. Julie, Ian and I have also found and helped animals. We would not have been able to adequately help any of these animals if we did not have Silke and the many volunteer vets at Noah’s Little Ark to turn to. The animals that Villas Crete Holidays, or our guests, have taken to Silke have all spent time at Noah’s Little Ark and then been sent to loving homes in England, The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. I have seen some lovely photos of “our” dogs - transformed into happy, healthy, much loved animals. I found my beloved “Molly Dog” (who most of our regular guests know) injured on the side of the National Highway. She was vaccinated and neutered at Noah’s Little Ark, and I am sure you will agree that she is a credit to them. Julie also has a beautiful dog, “Lady”, who came from the shelter and is now a much loved family pet.

Noah’s Little Ark is still a work in progress. It is entirely funded by donations from private individuals. Noah’s Little Ark has set up two state registered charities – 1 in Germany (where the bulk of the funding comes from), and one in England. If you would like to make a donation, or if you have any coins left over at the end of your holiday, a collection box is available at the Villas Crete Holidays desk inside Francoise Café in Almyrida. No amount is too small. Silke provides receipts for everything she buys with the money we give her – ranging from medical supplies and equipment, a van for picking up and transporting the injured animals, and renovating and refurbishing the quarantine/holding centre. Without the help of our many animal loving clients, the desperately important work at Noah’s Little Ark could no longer go on.

For further information, or to make a direct donation please contact Silke at 0030 28210 55030 or see the facebook page