Manda Slater Memorial Fund was set up by her family to raise money for charity following Manda’s sudden death following a brain haemorrhage in September 2020. She was just 49 years old.
The generosity of our donors has made it possible for us to donate around £15,000 to three charities to date: Salcombe RNLI, Dorking Men’s Shed, and Headway, the brain injuries association.
Our aim is to continue fundraising, and we have recently extended this group of charities to include Stripey Stork, another that we think she would like us to support in her name.
We aim to register Manda Slater Memorial Fund with the Charity Commission. Registered status will bring tax benefits, including Gift Aid, and will mean we can apply for financial services in the name of the fund.
Manda’s greatest loves were her daughters, Abbie and Mimi, the rest of her family, and her friends. She was our support, our companion, our entertainer, our carer - and we all miss her presence in our lives more than words can ever express.
Manda loved life. She was happy, brave, curious, caring and funny. Her passions were varied. She loved the natural world, especially the swifts that visit her home town of Dorking every summer.
Manda co-founded Dorking Swift Conservation with her very good friend and neighbour, Julia Hemsley. Programmes presented by David Attenborough were among the very few that could make her sit still long enough to watch the television.
Manda worked as a nanny, and as manager at Butterhill Play Group in Dorking. It was impossible to walk along Dorking High Street with her without greetings from many of her past charges.
Manda loved music, and had a borderline obsession with Jack Savoretti, and earlier in her life, with George Michael. Rugby Union was another passion. She especially loved watching England play at Twickenham, and was never more vociferous than when the opponent was Wales!
Manda loved to travel and saw much of the world while working as cabin cabin crew, when backpacking with her sister, Mary, and on many adventurous holidays with her children. But Salcombe in Devon was always her favourite place, and that is where her ashes were scattered in the sea by her daughters, Abbie and Mimi, on a glorious, balmy evening in June 2021.
To date, we have supported Salcombe RNLI, Dorking Men’s Shed and Headway, the brain injuries association.
Our donations have allowed Salcombe RNLI to buy radio equipment which means that the lifeboat is now able to stay in touch while at sea with the lifeboat station, the coastguard and emergency services ashore. They have also bought a Go-Pro camera to record stills and video of ‘shouts’ (rescue missions) for training and PR.
A plaque to thank Manda Slater Memorial Fund for our donations is displayed in the Salcombe RNLI shop and museum.
Dorking Men’s Shed have built more than 100 swift nesting boxes with donations received from us. These were made available to residents of Dorking to put up on their homes, and the town and its surrounding area now have a multitude of potential new homes for Manda’s beloved swifts, many of whom are losing their existing nest sites to new housing developments and refurbishments.
Our donation to Headway was in recognition of the amazing help their telephone helpline provides to those suffering from head injuries and their families. Headway’s support and advice was invaluable to her family when Manda was first taken ill.
Stripey Stork is the Surrey baby bank, collecting donations of clothes, toys, and essential items for babies and children, and rehoming them with local families experiencing hardship.
Manda’s family commissioned a bench in her memory. It was unveiled to her friends in December 2023.
The bench is made from locally-sourced oak and was built by our clever friends at Dorking Men’s Shed. Its feature back panel is carved by the very talented local artist and sculptor, Iain Hamilton Crafer. Manda loved our Surrey Hills – its beautiful landscapes and precious wildlife – and Iain’s exquisite carvings illustrate just a few of her favourite plants and animals. We think it is fabulous and hope you do too!
We want Manda’s bench to be a place for those who loved her to sit and rest a while, to remember all she brought to our lives, and to smile to the sky! You will find it at one of Manda’s favourite places to walk, Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking. Our thanks to them for allowing us to site it there.
Our beautiful swift boxes, made by Dorking Men's Shed, are now available to buy from Buckland Nurseries Garden Centre on the A25 near Reigate. Or order for delivery.
Price: £35.00
+ £8.00 P&P
Manda was the inspiration for her sister Sarah’s story, Apricity the White Pheasant. The picture book is beautifully illustrated by the very talented artist, Susy Jones. It is a simple, joyful, gentle tale of love, family, friendship, loss, acceptance and hope. It is suitable to be read by, or to read to, anyone of any age. Through its sensitive and engaging exploration of death and grief, it is hoped that it will be helpful to anyone suffering the loss of loved one.
Price: £9.99
+ £2.50 P&P
Every visitor to Salcombe quickly learns it is a very special place.
This book shares some of the less well-known things that make it special, facts about the fabulous creatures who live here; the olden days, including pirates and treasure; tragic disasters and shipwrecks; the special people who live and work in the town (both now and in the past); and other random and
fascinating things.
It has taken the author nearly 60 years to learn these facts and she thought you might like to know them more quickly!
The book showcases the work of talented artists and illustrators, many from the local area, who offered their beautiful work free of charge. Very many thanks to all of them.
Proceeds from sales of the book will go to Salcombe-based charities supported by Manda Slater Memorial Fund.
Price: £4.99
+ £2.50 P&P
This book tells the incredible life story of a swift called Mwepesi. It is full of facts about swifts that will surprise and amaze your children (and you!).
Swifts are extraordinary birds, but they are increasingly threatened by the impact of human activity on their world.
If we want to continue to see swifts in the summer skies, our children will be instrumental in helping them. We must try to engage them in the story of these amazing birds. That is the ambition of this book!
Price: £7.50
+ £2.50 P&P
