28/05/2026
EASTER FUNDRAISER PRESENTATION
At the Diplomat Hotel, Llanelli on 20 May 2026, Lewis Thomas, founder of Chickwood Poultry, presented monies raised by his Easter Fundraiser to Ty Bryngwyn Hospice and Prostate Cymru - both charities close to his heart.
He then gave a speech to the Ty Bryngwyn Fundraising Committee which was received with much acclaim and thanks.
The full speech from Lewis is below.
Diolch yn fawr iawn Lewis am eich cefnogaeth.
SPEECH GIVEN BY LEWIS THOMAS, FOUNDER CHICKWOOD POULTRY AT THE PRESENTATION OF MONIES RAISED FROM HIS EASTER FUNDRAISER – 20TH MAY 2026.
Good evening everyone
Thank you all so much for the opportunity to come along this evening. For those who may not know me, my name is Lewis and I’m the founder of Chickwood Poultry here in Carmarthenshire.
Many people know me through my poultry business but tonight is about my Easter fundraising. Earlier this year I launched an Easter Fundraiser selling hand-knitted chicks with Cadbury Creme Eggs inside with all proceeds being split between Ty Bryngwyn Hospice and Prostate Cymru. Because of the connection between Chickwood Poultry, chicks and Easter, it felt like the perfect way to raise money.
What started as quite a small idea quickly became something far bigger than I ever imagined. We brought together over 60 knitters from across the community with an aim of producing thousands of chicks. We emailed, sent messages to WI’s, Merched y Wawr, knitting groups etc. Some knitters even reported developing repetitive strain injury as they knitted 100s!
We also secured 1,002 Creme Eggs thanks to the generosity of local businesses, supermarkets and individuals and I bought 1,359 shopping around for weeks for the best deals in Home Bargains, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Amazon.
Through basket sales, events and donations we saw hundreds of
individual contributions and fundraising efforts across shops, schools, workplaces and community groups - 2,358 were sold in total.
Ty Bryngwn Hospice cared for my Wncwl Dai when he was just 54 years old after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The care he received there was incredible.
I also wanted to support Prostate Cymru in memory of my Wncwl Emrys who sadly passed away from prostate cancer at the age of 61.
I would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who helped make this fundraising possible:- everybody who knitted or crocheted chicks; - the shops and businesses who displayed baskets; - the supermarkets, retaileers and individuals who donated Creme Eggs; - everyone who donated on line; and - every single person who bought a chick, shared a social media post, or supported in anyway at all.
I hope the money raised helps support the incredible work of both charities and continues to do so.
So tonight it gives me enormous pride to present these cheques to Ty Bryngwyn Hospice and Prostate Cymru - £4,700 raised in total so £2,350 to both charities
