We couldn’t let Comic Relief slip by without spreading some fun and happiness with our chosen charity ‘The Laughter Specialists’ – a small local charity who bring laughter and humour to those who need it the most. They usually work in wards of hospitals such as Great Ormond Street, Addenbrookes and Broomfield, entertaining sick children, their families and carers. They also visit special needs schools across East Anglia, bringing smiles to many faces. During the pandemic they have been unable to meet children face to face, but they have been able to provide part of their service via Zoom.
We decorated one of our vehicles with balloons, ready for us to drive by a number of schools in the Uttlesford area. We started at Bentfield End School in Stansted to commemorate what would have been the 21st birthday of an amazing young man, Joel Shears, who sadly passed away far too soon. He was a gorgeous boy and the inspiration for the creation of The Laughter Specialists tag line and logo, ‘Spreading the Laughter Bug’. Joel was a pupil at Bentfield End and his mum, Karen Shears, is a Trustee and currently Acting Chair of the Laughter Specialists. We thought it would be a fitting start to our Comic Relief Laughter Stop Drive-By visits.
The Laughter Specialists said “it was great to team up with Containerlift, who drove us around to the various locations throughout the day. To see so many children at the school gates was wonderful; visiting over 100 children and having lots of fun along the way was just what everyone needed after a strict lockdown. Some of the schools we visited were Bell Nursery, Meadows Montessori and The RA Butler Academy. We had pre-authorised our visits to allow us to be Covid-19 safe, and would like to thank everyone for their kind donations to Comic Relief”.
