Rug Aid
Newsletter 5, June 2008

Problems viewing the newsletter? Click here for online version

We've got a huge amount to tell you about a busy year, some fabulous fund-raising events and our plans for the future, but first...

...Heather visited the United States in late May/early June and came back full of gratitude for the generosity of Rug Aid supporters there. With help from Gene Shepherd, who organised a rug making day with all proceeds going to Rug Aid at his Cambria Pines Rug Camp, £1,250 was donated to the cause. There will be a full report about this visit in the next newsletter because there's so much to tell you in this edition already: the US trip will be our main feature next time!

< Heather and Diane Stoffel at the Cambria Pines Rug Camp's special day to raise funds for Rug Aid.

(Photos by Gene Shepherd)

> Diane is working on this rug which Heather designed specially for the day.

* * * * *

We'll start with a report on our brilliantly good first year, and our first BIG ambition!

Rug Aid completed its first year as a community interest company at the end of April and there was great excitement (and quite a lot of nervousness!) as we met with our wonderful volunteer accountant, Alex, to go through the 'books'.

We were thrilled to discover that we have generated a small surplus of income over expenditure because we can use that money to kick–start our big ambition of building a permanent Rug Aid workshop at the GOVI school in The Gambia.

To achieve our goal we need a lot more money! You’ll probably be surprised when we tell you, later in this newsletter, just how little of your help we need to make a difference.

First we’ll tell you about our efforts to raise substantial funds from philanthropic organisations.

Heather addressed the City of Durham branch of Rotary International in 2006 and, when she was in The Gambia in December 2007, she addressed the Serrekunda branch of Rotary International. Both meetings left her feeling encouraged and confident that Rotary International will help Rug Aid.

At the end of our first year we had a surplus of a little over £2,500 to take into 2008–9 to fund Rug Aid activities. In order to make this money go as far as possible, we will suggest to Rotary International that the Durham and Serrekunda branches should each match whatever we can put towards our new building in Serrekunda. Our business plan, which is on the website (in Archives) and was approved by Rotary International in Serrekunda, suggests that an appropriate building will cost about £10,000. Our end of year surplus means that we are already 25% of the way towards our target and we don’t need much more before we are in a position to ask both branches of Rotary International to match the funds we can provide.

Please help! You’ve been wonderfully generous in you support of Rug Aid so far and we wouldn’t be working in The Gambia at all without your donations. We are happy to pass on to you the gratitude expressed by the trainees in The Gambia. Heather may be there on the ground but she wouldn’t be there without you. When blind beggars like Sausseh and Ernest are so enthusiastic in their response to this life–changing opportunity which Heather’s inspiration and dedication has brought to them, how could you not help!

New Rug Aid postcards

To remind you what Rug Aid is achieving in The Gambia and to show your support for that work, you might like to buy some of our lovely postcards, like the one shown left.

For a suggested donation of only £2.50 for five cards, including postage and packing to the UK, they are a colourful way to spread the word about Rug Aid and make a donation at the same time. (The cost of producing the cards was met by a donor.)

If we can raise more than £3,400 towards the cost of the building, we will be less reliant on the generosity of Rotary International.

We know how slowly the gears grind in big organisations like that, and we’d hate to lose the enthusiasm which Heather has nurtured by making our trainees wait for their building while committees are formed and meetings are held! You can see some of that enthusiasm for yourself on the Rug Aid website www.rug-aid.org if you click on the link to the Rug Aid in Africa page.

Of course, we need to keep funds in reserve to pay for Heather’s visits to the GOVI school during 2008–9: she has already booked and paid the deposit on a trip for December (of which more later) but she would like to return before then. Her last trip in March filled her with hope that the project will be self–sufficient one day but she’d still like to make certain that things are progressing properly.

You can send a payment to our PayPal account or post a cheque to our registered office. You can make a fee-free payment direct to our bank account, the SWIFT code and IBAN for which can be provided by email. And if you happen to own a large shed which is currently sitting idle in The Gambia, we’d love to take it off your hands!

December trip to The Gambia
December is a good time to visit the workshop in Serrekunda – the weather is cooler and flights are cheaper. For this reason amongst others, December is the time Heather has selected for her next visit to the GOVI workshop. She will be accompanied by two occupational therapists from Wales who recently spent time in Heather’s studio learning rug making. These wonderful women will fund their own travel. We are hugely grateful to them both for giving up their time to benefit Rug Aid.

March visit to The Gambia
Next March when Heather plans to return to The Gambia, two established UK rug makers have offered to accompany her. One of them needs to raise (at least some of) the money for her trip, so if you see her collecting box while you are at rug exhibitions and so on, do give her a little bit of money. By March the weather is still good and the travel costs have not gone up too much.

Exhibition in The Gambia
Rug Aid’s local administrator in The Gambia, Ebrima, wrote to Heather recently to tell her that the trainees want to put on an exhibition of their work. It would be wonderful if Heather could visit the workshop then: her presence at the exhibition would add so much. The timing has not yet been fixed but it is likely to be before the end of the academic year in The Gambia, very soon in fact, so it may not be possible. If Heather cannot go in person, we hope that Maggie, the woman she appointed to run the workshop when she is not there, will take some photos we can use in the next newsletter.
As we mentioned earlier, whether or not Heather makes it to the exhibition, she would like to return to the workshop sometime during the summer to check that everything is running smoothly in her absence. Having taught the ten teachers to finish rugs this visit would not entail Heather’s spending a week whipping the edges of rugs, unlike her March 2008 visit! Heather would like to make certain that the promised coaches on the tourist routes are going to the GOVI school and seeing rugs for sale. She’d also like to make sure that everyone is still happy and motivated. Sadly, the cost of travel is very high during the summer. Heather and her ‘pet’ travel agent are keeping an eye open for last–minute bargain travel deals but if anyone knows a cheap way to get to The Gambia in the Summer, we’d appreciate hearing about it.

Fund raising event in Durham
We were absolutely delighted with the result of the first event which raised funds for Rug Aid in 2008–9, the exhibition we promoted in the March newsletter. This was put on in St Nicholas’ church, Durham, by the Clayport Matters group. Heather teaches this group in the Clayport library on Mondays during separate sessions in the morning and the afternoon. Some of the members are very new while some have been making rugs for many years and all of them showed great generosity of spirit at this exhibition, the entire proceeds from which went to Rug Aid. The church serves tea and coffee during Saturday morning and the Clayport Matters’ 'tea ladies' took over the stall from noon until just after 4pm when the exhibition closed. As a result of the donations made instead of entry fees and from the sales of tea, coffee and delicious home–made cakes, scones, biscuits, marmalades and jams the wonderful sum of £225 was donated to Rug Aid at the end of the afternoon. It was a treat to meet such a wonderful group of people and to see so much of their work on display. As you can see from the accompanying photos, the church looked wonderful dressed in hooky rugs and proddy mats. Several people (of all ages) expressed an interest in joining the rug making group as well as in the work of Rug Aid.

Rug Aid supporters in Australia

In Australia, meanwhile, a group of felt makers in Canberra raised over $AU600 by holding a raffle for this fabulous creation, seen here at an early stage with some of its generous makers. Every year these wonderful people spend a creative weekend together and this year they chose to support Rug Aid at the same time. That was a marvellous gesture, and the result is such a gloriously colourful piece of work. Thank you!

Amongst other donations received, Richmond (North Yorkshire) Rotary Club gave £200 and the rug makers of Lostwithiel, Cornwall sent £65.

Individual support for Rug Aid
As an example of the support Rug Aid receives from individuals, Heather was recently sent £10 by an African woman who had heard about Rug Aid. When Heather sent her a thank you letter (which explains a little more about how the money is spent), this wonderful woman sent another £50, saying that she had no idea Rug Aid fed the trainees as well.

Every pound or dollar makes a difference, and we couldn’t do any of this without you! Thank you very much to everyone who has helped Rug Aid during this exciting year - sadly, there is never enough space in the newsletter to list all of you but we are very grateful for your support.

Don’t forget to have a look at the video of Heather’s visit last December by visiting
www.rug-aid.org and clicking on Rug Aid in Africa. The film also appears on YouTube

* * * * *

You can make a donation to Rug Aid in any currency through our website www.rug-aid.org where you'll find a lot more information about Heather and rug making. You can send a cheque (Sterling only, please) to Rug Aid's registered office, Greencroft, Reeth, North Yorkshire DL11 6QT

You can ring Rug Aid on +44 (0) 1748 884435 or send an email to heather@rug-aid.org

If you no longer want to receive email newsletters from Rug Aid, you can unsubscribe here.

If you're not on the Rug Aid mailing list but would like to be, you can subscribe here.

Rug Aid cic is an asset-locked community interest company
Registered in England Registration number 6204537