NEWSLETTER  2007

Hello Everyone

We are so sorry it has taken this long to get the first Newsletter out but we have not been slacking. There has been so much to do but we are making progress with things now. As this is all new to us we have had to pick lots of brains to get this far and we thank everyone who has come alongside to help.

I expect many of you will know that the Website is now up and running at www.sarahmerrittfoundation.co.uk   There is still a lot more information to put on and this will be done in the coming weeks and months.  Pressure of time is a big factor but also some of it is very difficult to write at this time but we are working on it.  We are going to add a page for “Memories of Sarah” so if anyone has a special memory or thought of Sarah they would like to see on the Website please email it to the contact email address and we will make sure it is included.  Also, if you have any special photographs you would like on please let us have them.

You will see that a work colleague of Peter, Peter Longyear, is running in the BUPA Great South Run in Portsmouth on Sunday 28th October and he has agreed to run for SMF.  If anyone would like to sponsor him let us know and we will let you have a sponsor form.  If you feel able to come along and give him moral support then please come and join us.  We are intending to get some ‘T’ shirts printed with Sarah’s photo and the Website address to give added publicity at fund raising events.  We hope to have a price for these shortly and if you would like one please let us know.

You will see from the Website that a lot has been happening regarding the Charity. We are still in the process of setting this up and we need to have the charity number before we can take donations.  We have another meeting next week and hope to move it on quickly now.

Also you will see that Peter and Margaret had a meeting with John Denham the MP for Southampton Itchen, Detective Chief Inspector Jason Hogg of the Major Crime Department (who, incidentally, was the senior investigating officer in Sarah’s murder enquiry), Ann Dyton, Inclusion Manager of the Pupil Support Service and Revd Paul Finn, Pastor of Southampton Christian Fellowship. This meeting was as a result of the comments made by John Reid in the House of Commons just after Sarah died when he said all of society should work together to combat violent crime.  As well as the SMF Charity we also want to run a Campaign against knife and gun crime and we hope to link with the campaign being run by the Southern Daily Echo.  Once we have everything in place we intend to hold a public meeting where we can give everyone more information on what we intend to do and how far we have got.  We will write and inform you of the date of this meeting once we have details.

After the Crown Court Hearing the family were approached by several newspapers and women’s magazines looking for an interview.  At first we declined but once we started to set up the charity we agreed to give one of them an interview and we chose “Pick Me Up”.  Although we don’t think Sarah read this particular magazine as it is fairly new she did enjoy reading this sort of magazine and so we felt it would be fitting to give a story and raise some money for the Fund.  At first we worried about doing this but then decided we needed the publicity and we needed the money and if Sarah enjoyed reading these sorts of stories then that was good enough for us.

Margaret watched a Jeremy Kyle programme back in the summer in which an American family who said they were Christians made the comment that if you lose a child it is because you have done something evil.  She was incensed and phoned the programme and offered to go on to put her comments forward.  They contacted her and although they didn’t want to do another programme on “religion” they asked her to go on and discuss how she was coping with the bereavement, which she agreed to do.  At the eleventh hour the filming of the Show was cancelled as the producer herself had a bereavement and felt she couldn’t cope with it and they said basically “don’t call us, we’ll call you” so we thought that was the end of that.

However on Wednesday 12th September at about 4pm the show contacted her again and asked if she could be ready to leave for Manchester by 7pm.  She was keen to go to gain the publicity for the Charity and Website.  Aimee said she wanted to go so the taxi picked them up and off they went.

It was a strange experience and a nervous few hours for both of them but the show was recorded and should be aired around the end November or some time in December.  Again we will keep you informed.  Margaret was on stage and Aimee was in the audience and gave a statement which Jeremy Kyle read out.  Margaret says she was a bit disappointed that time was too short to say all she wanted about Sarah and never got the chance to mention the Charity or Website but the Producer promised to put the Website address at the end with the credits so lets hope they do.  In any event we are going to put details of the programme on the Website so that we can say more about what happened.

All in all it has been a very hectic time for us.  In some ways it is good as it has given us something to focus on.  The family are so adamant that something good must come out of this tragedy and that Sarah’s name must live on.  She will, of course, always be in her family’s hearts and minds but we want the whole world to know what a wonderful caring person she was and we want to see other families benefit from the funds we can raise in her name.  As we have said on the Website “….to set up the Foundation in her name will be a fitting tribute to a person who loved life itself, but spent most of it dedicated to helping others”.

Some people may look at us and think we have all moved on and outwardly we have and we are trying to get on with living but inwardly we are still devastated. However, we do all love to talk about Sarah so if you meet any of us please do not be embarrassed to mention her or talk about what she meant to you because we love to hear the things people tell us about her and what she meant to them.  Also please don’t be embarrassed if you or we shed a tear – none of us would be human if we lost someone so precious and never let our feelings show.

We send our thanks to all of you for your continued support.  We are enclosing a form for you to complete to enable us to put your contact details on the database.* Without this form we wont be able to include you because of the Data Protection Act.  If you have an email address which you have not already given us perhaps you would include it so that we can keeps costs down as much as possible.

Again many thanks to each and every one of you and we will be in contact again once the Charity is registered and the Campaign up and running.

Peter and Margaret and all of Sarah’s family

* If you would like to receive up to date information on SMF please email and we will send you the form to complete