Fiona Strong Memorial Fund

29th April 2019

The Fiona Strong Memorial Fund was set up in Fiona’s legacy, to champion her strength and determination, and to provide vital support to those in need in Surrey.

Fiona Strong was a strong willed, kind and generous young woman, who was diagnosed with an exceptionally rare form of cancer in 2015 and sadly passed away in 2018. Fiona will always live in our hearts and minds and her enthusiasm for life remains infectious to this day. She will never be forgotten, and to commemorate her life, a Carol Service is held every December at St Mary’s Church, Battersea. This allows her friends, family, and the wider public to not only come together to remember her, but also contributes to raising vital funds for the Memorial Fund.

From time to time her family and friends come together to celebrate her life and raise funds. This has been on an ad hoc basis but is essential in gathering monies for the Fund’s chosen charities. Apart from the Carol Service, other events which have been held include a day at Bocketts Farm where a memorial bench and plaque are located in the Kitchen Garden. Friends, family and visitors are invited to ponder their thoughts from the bench as they gaze across the Surrey Downs. Others have taken part in physical challenges such as cycling LEJOG, the Three Peaks Challenge and walking the entirety of the River Thames National Path amongst many other worthy challenges.

Fiona’s family worked with the Community Foundation to create the Fund, tailoring the criteria and priorities to ensure that it achieves their charitable goals which were very much to do with supporting disadvantaged youngsters whether in financial difficulty or illness/disabilities. The Fund has in the past supported such charities as the Riding for the Disabled, Look Good Feel Better, and React amongst many others.

How the Fund is changing people’s lives

In 2022, the Fund Committee decided to focus their attention on two specific charities so that the funds provided would not only fit the criteria but it would allow the FSMF to align itself in accordance with the objectives to specific charities. These are local non-profit organisations who provide support to help disadvantaged young people and or give respite care to relatives through challenging times.

To meet these aims the Fund has decided to support the following Surrey-based charities for the forthcoming years (2022-2025).

The Surrey Young People’s Fund distributes essential funds to persons aged 16-25 who are experiencing disadvantage to enable them to gain access to training, education and employment. By supporting this Fund, even the smallest donation can make a huge impact on the young person’s development and aspirations.
Cherry Trees is a charity providing exceptional home-from-home, specialist short-break respite visits for children and young adults aged 0-19 with a range of complex disabilities including learning, physical and sensory impairments.

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If you would like to contribute to Fiona’s legacy then please see the Fund’s Enthuse page. This is a simple and secure online giving platform that allows you to make an immediate online payment.

You can also contact us at any time on 01483 478092 should you need further support.

David Tyson Memorial Fund

17th March 2017

The David Tyson Memorial Fund was established in David’s memory to provide financial support to enable young people to develop their skills and pursue a career within the engineering field.

The Fund supports budding young rail engineers with grants (up to £500) that can cover the following costs:

Course fees;
Accreditation;
Resources such as books or additional computer software;
Travel to courses and training sites;
Equipment, materials or tools to enable young people to take up training; and
Work-based training costs.

To apply to The David Tyson Memorial Fund please complete an Application Form here. Please be sure to read the accompanying Guidance Notes also. You can contact us at any time on 01483 478092 should you need further support.

“The David Tyson Memorial Fund provided me with invaluable financial support throughout my university journey, alleviating the burden of educational expenses. Thanks to their generosity, I could focus on my studies without constant financial worries, paving the way for a successful academic experience.”

Grant recipient, 2023

David Tyson (1948 – 2015) was a highly respected permanent way engineer who became an established figurehead and head of discipline for several railway consultants and who successfully established and managed the permanent way departments of a number of companies. With his expansive railway knowledge, intuition and unparalleled flair for track design, he influenced major railway projects and inspired many colleagues both in the UK and overseas. He was also a Fellow of the Permanent Way Institution.

David had a natural eye for track layouts and alignments and towards the latter stages of his career was virtually peerless in his ability to see a smooth line and to realise it effortlessly through a nimbly draughted sketch. A sixth sense for how a train rides the track was equally his gift and this culminated in the writing of sophisticated computer programs that not only married the modern world with his understanding of the first principles of track engineering but also belied an acknowledged and envied skill in the ability to develop complex software tools. This was one of his many strong points and often seemingly a passion that ran alongside his continued love for building model railways.

Such was his experience and knowledge, to have David involved in a project was considered as having one of the very best in the business and this was reflected in the high regard in which he was very quickly held by those with whom he worked for the first time, including clients. His attention to detail, together with a generous attitude and easy manner, lent themselves to a highly effective application of track engineering know-how to complex and high profile projects. While working on the HS2 project, on which he was the lead track engineer for Parsons Brinckerhoff for over two years, he conceived and wrote an advanced software tool for the in-depth analysis of track geometry. This remains in extensive use today and leads the way in processing substantial volumes of alignment data with unsurpassed efficiency, in-built intelligence and the means for indicating compliance with a variety of standards and recognised good practice.

His attributes made him a natural and effective mentor and with his inspiration and caring nature his students and team members gravitated towards him. He was able to assemble and lead teams wherever he worked. Track engineers felt privileged to work for David and his teams were dedicated to him.

Outside work, David seemed to have countless varied interests, and an energy and adventurous spirit that put many a younger man to shame. He owned his own yacht on which he lived and worked with his wife, Elif, for several years in Turkey. A keen traveller, he embarked on European road trips in their motor-home. David was also a guitar player and photographer and tried his hand at painting, and of course continued to turn his hand to model railway building.

By Tony Jory, friend and colleague

David Tyson Memorial Fund - Information booklet

Focus on Local Philanthropy

10th August 2016

Our Deputy Director was recently interviewed by Martin Bamford, Managing Director of Informed Choice Independent Financial Planning. The podcast has local philanthropy as its focus, and the interview includes information on:

How you can make a difference here in Surrey; and
How the Community Foundation for Surrey can provide professional guidance and support to make your local giving effective and enjoyable.

Questions answered in the podcast include:

What are the Community Foundation for Surrey’s main aims and how does it work?
How does philanthropy differ from charity?
How can philanthropy fit into financial planning? Where would someone start if they were thinking about allocating some of their financial resources to important local causes?
What are the main issues facing Surrey’s community and how can philanthropy help?

Click below to listen:

Mamie Mollan Community Fund

27th April 2016

Mamie Mollan was an artist and writer who, in her lifetime, supported anyone in difficulty or in need of recuperation. The Mamie Mollan Fund in her memory enables her spirit of generosity and warmth to live on.

The Mamie Mollan Fund awards grants to charities, community and voluntary groups, supporting people at a time of need or crisis. This includes supporting people who are experiencing difficult circumstances due to an illness, injury, disability, bereavement, financial difficulty or domestic violence.

The Fund also awards grants to groups who support people seeking solace or a way to overcome a particular difficulty such as respite, counselling, training and the development of new skills.

Example grants from this fund:

Topic of Cancer – £3,000

Topic of cancer provides local support services for cancer patients and their families in social meetings, exercise classes, and a choir. The charity manages 3 support groups which are funded by MacMillan and are designed to provide emotional, educational and social support for patients and their families.

This funding will support the operational costs for the charity’s weekly choir that helps both cancer patients and their families through difficult times. Singing is very beneficial to patients in treatment and recovery, and complements the other Topic of Cancer support groups available to people at this time.

Rainbow Trust’s Children’s Charity – £1,500

The Rainbow Trust provides practical and emotional support to families throughout the country who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness. The charity provides individually tailored support to approximately 1,000 families each year.

This funding supported the Surrey Care Team to host a series of Sibling Support Days over the course of 12 months for families who have a child diagnosed with a terminal illness. The charity were able to provide a day’s outing to Bockett’s Farm, Drusilla’s Park and a trip to the seaside, as well as a Christmas pantomime visit, a trip to Legoland and a cinema outing, in order for families of terminally ill children to spend much needed quality time together.

Dora Fedoruk Memorial Fund

The Dora Fedoruk Memorial Fund was established in 2012 in memory of Mrs Dora Fedoruk and her dedication to helping people in need.

After graduating as a Research Chemist, Dora helped produce and research vaccines for a variety of illnesses in humans and animals. It was in the early days of immunity and part of Dora’s work was to evaluate the strengths of each batch of Schick Toxin used as a skin test for Diphtheria. She also evaluated the strength of each batch of Tetanus Toxoid which was being produced to protect soldiers in the World War II from the disease should they be wounded.

In August 1940, Dora joined the H.M. Factory Inspectorate organising fire watching orders in factories to support the firemen. These orders prevented thousands of fires and saved lives. At the age of 27, Dora became the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Director of Scientific Research and Development during the war. She then went on to become a Factory Inspector at Peek Frean & Co where she met her future husband Janek Fedoruk, a Polish Army Captain. They married in 1955 when Dora was 39.

With little money Dora and her husband Jan built up South Park Farm in Grayswood, Haslemere. The farm was an open house to the community and especially the Polish contingent. Her philosophy would embrace those in hardship with her generosity and kindness, extended to animals as she was passionate about their protection and rescue.
Following the death of her beloved husband Jan in 1974, Dora spent her years supporting families in need in Poland thorough the Haslemere Polish Relief, sending over food, clothing and medical supplies.

The Community Foundation for Surrey is delighted that Dora Fedoruk’s legacy lives on through the Dora Fedoruk Memorial Fund which awards grants to support people at time of need or crisis in Surrey.