2012

Added: 14th December 2020

FROM A LANCASHIRE JAIL TO WAR-TORN SRI LANKA
AUGUST 2012
We connect prisoners to people in need all over the world. Watch the short video – Wheelchairs from Lancashire – to see how wheelchairs restored by prisoners at Garth Prison in Lancashire have helped land mine victims in Sri Lanka — and given children in Chennai, India, mobility and independence. And please do share with friends and colleagues. Thanks!

GARDEN PARTY GUESTS GIVE £500
JUNE 2012
Thank you to everyone who came to our annual fundraiser at David and Susan’s house in Wilsden, Bradford. The sun shone, the band sounded great, and together you raised £500 to help us keep our new van on the road. The money will cover the costs of road tax and will make a contribution to the insurance costs. The van is out two to three days a week every week, collecting materials from donors around the country, delivering to prison workshops, picking up the restored goods from prisons and delivering them to the various charities that distribute them overseas.

Susan and David put in a tremendous amount of work to make the party a success (although David can only claim partial credit for the good weather!) and we will try something new next year to give them a bit of a rest. Do please get in touch if you have any ideas or would like to host an event at your house, club or society.

COULD YOU GUIDE OUR ORGANISATION AS WE DEVELOP AND GROW?
APRIL 2012
TRUSTEES WANTED:
Margaret Carey Foundation has grown hugely since our charity was registered less than two years ago. New staffing, new funding, and new projects have put us in a strong position to develop new restorative justice projects, generate new income streams, and deliver support for new communities.

We now seek to expand our Board of Trustees in order to ensure that we have the appropriate strategic skills, range of expertise, new ideas and sufficient trustee personnel to support our CEO and staff team effectively during the next stage of MCF’s development.

Becoming a trustee offers the opportunity to use your enthusiasm, initiative, passion and experience to make a real difference in people’s lives. It’s a chance to develop your skills and play a key role in steering the organisation over the coming years.

Our trustees are unsalaried and meet for Board Meetings for approximately 2 hours every two months, currently in the Bradford, West Yorkshire area, on or about the second Monday morning of the month. Travel expenses can be re-claimed, in line with our policy. Cake and refreshments are provided.

As the majority of MCF correspondence and communication is undertaken by email or is internet / web based, it is essential for all trustees to have computer access. We remind all interested applicants that they will not be eligible to become trustees if they are legally disqualified for being so in any way.

BRADFORD RESIDENTS DONATE BIKES TO UGANDAN ORPHANS
JANUARY 2012

More than 50 people brought their old bikes to Margaret Carey Foundation’s recent bike drive in Bradford. Many were lucky enough to get a new bike for Christmas and were happy to donate their old one. Others were just glad to clear out their sheds and garages. All the bikes will be cleaned and restored by trainees in prison workshops, and then sent overseas to help an orphanage in Uganda.

Margaret Carey Foundation’s chief executive, David Brown, said: “Not many children in Africa will have had a new bike this Christmas. We’re delighted by the generosity of all the people here in Bradford who have played “Santa” to these kids. These bikes also give meaningful work to trainees in prisons across the North of England. They work hard to fix up the bikes so they are just about good as new, before we hand them over to the charity that will get them overseas in the Spring.”

That charity is BeCycling for Africa, led by Chris Armstrong of West Yorkshire. Chris has raised money for shipping the bikes and has formed links with the Uganda National Cycling Association to set up classes to teach young people basic bicycle maintenance and riding skills.

He is also organising the distribution of the bikes. Some of the bikes will go to an orphanage in the isolated town of Fort Portal and some will be used to provide eco-friendly cycle tours of the Kibale National Park for tourists, which the home runs to generate a profit and support the children. Other bikes will be given to young people who work on community projects.

Margaret Carey Foundation is still collecting, so if you have an old bike, please get in touch. Telephone 01535 275530.