On a Sunday morning in November we took part in a NICLT charity event, read on to find out what we done and why we done it.
Who are NICLT?
NICLT are a charity in Northern Ireland. Their main purpose is fulfilling the dreams of terminally ill, life limited and deserving children, by taking them to see Santa in Lapland. This creates wonderful memories for them and their families, who will cherish them forever.
Why we supported?
We love to travel, thankfully our only restriction on travel is during school term time. We wanted to help give families that feeling which travel gives and the memories it creates.
How we supported?
Picking an event
We had a look on the NICLT website and spotted an event we could do as a family, walking to Scotland! When we told Megan about it, she was very confused. “Mummy daddy, how can we walk, there is the sea between us and Scotland?” After explaining we would walk laps of the boat, she agreed and started practising.
The big day
On the day of the walk to Scotland, we arrived at the Stena line Terminal and were greeted by the coolest host Brian, who at the time of writing is 6 and a half years old, and a rugby playing millionaire ninja. Brian explained to us what would happen and if we needed any help on board he would be around the play area. He also gave us a Santa hat to wear during the walk.
The walk
When we boarded the boat, we took our seats amongst the rest of the walkers, in an area reserved for us. Although this was short lived as the host and President of the charity Gerry Kelly, had us up and at the starting point to begin our walk as soon as the boat set sail.
The walk took us on laps of the boat, both inside and outside. Surprisingly for us although it seems it’s the norm for this event, the weather was beautiful and apart from the odd jolt the sailing was pretty smooth.
We also got to take in the wonderful scenery as we got closer to Scotland.
The walk time was approximately 2.5 hrs. We did make a 15 minute pit stop to take on some liquids, then got back to more laps, finishing just as we reached the port of Cairnryan.
We made it
This was a non landing sailing, so sadly we didn’t get off the boat. However, I don’t think Megan would have appreciated anymore walking.
The entertainment
Just before the sailing started everyone settled down in the bar area for the entertainment on the way back. The atmosphere at this point was amazing. There was an announcement made over the tannoy, that anyone on the boat could come down and sit in the area and enjoy the show. The area soon packed out and everyone was getting involved, by buying ballets or throwing spare change in the charity buckets.
The highlight for us was Fiddler Adam. What an outstanding performer, made even better by his little dance partner who danced her way back to Belfast (A Star in the making).
We also heard about two little boys; Oliver who has cerebral palsy and Ethan who has spina bifida. Both boys have previously been on the charity trip to Lapland. They are now doing their bit to raise money for the charity by swimming the length of the English channel in Coleraine swimming pool. If you need inspiration in your life today, read this article.
Happy faces
The boat docked in Belfast port and everyone left the boat wearing their Santa hats with smiles on their faces. An absolutely wonderful way to spend a Sunday.
Would we recommend?
We would recommend if anyone has the opportunity and they are looking to support a charity in Northern Ireland, that you make this your one for 2020. NICLT is a superb charity and the memories they are creating for families is simply amazing.
Our justgiving link if you still wish to donate is here.
Supporting a charity.
We really wish we had supported a charity from an earlier stage. Our plan now is to support a local family based charity for one year at a time. If you have the opportunity to support a charity as a family please do.
Thank you for taking the time to read about how we supported a local charity.
The Lewis Family.
