Supporters’ Day – September 2nd

Thanks to all of you who supported the event we held in September – whether you made it or not!  We thought it was a great day and hope that those of you who attended, did too.  Unfortunately there were some who were unable to come on the day – hopefully you will make it next time. We also had lots of support by way of words, videos, photographs etc. from our overseas friends.   

Our supporters, in attendance, ranged from under one to over 80, and from our next door neighbours to friends and family from Central Scotland and Northern England – and everyone participated!  We had hoped to have live video links with supporters across the world, but our limited technology skills and internet connection, not to mention time differences prevented this!   Again, maybe next time!  If you think you can help us with this, please let us know. We had amazing weather for the event, and after a short resume of the Trust, a brief outline of his trip to India, by one of our recipients, Callum, and a picnic lunch we split up for afternoon activities which included shorter and longer walks and bouldering. Our idea was to discuss the Trust, informally, during the course of the day and get ideas, as well as meeting and introducing new people, and having an enjoyable and active day.  The day concluded with a barbeque which lasted well into the evening, and a beautiful impromptu clarsach recital by Emma!

It is, of course, impossible to include all that we discussed, but several thoughts came out of the day, and they are still coming.  As a result we will certainly be, and have already started:                      

Approaching businesses, trusts & other organisations towards publicity & fundraising

Spreading the fundraising load – what can you do to help?               

Considering keeping a local focus for recipients   

Finding ways to reach people who didn’t know they needed assistance  – including giving talks and communicating with mental health charities      

Using the resources of Foundation Scotland to find beneficiaries     

Having more interaction with recipients to encourage help from them

We would be very grateful for any help with any of these and if you have any thoughts or ideas of your own that you would like to share, please contact us on the email opposite.

Fundraising:

40km for 40 years.

Caroline, Neil’s sister and two of her pals walked 40k through the Corrieyairack Pass in the Monadhliath Mountains from Laggan, near Kingussie on August 19^th to commemorate Neil’s 40^th birthday. The weather was not the best of the summer, with high winds and downpours, but they made it to Fort

Augustus for a celebration at The Boathouse Restaurant.  A big thank you to Caroline, Audrey and Diana for their efforts and, of course to their supporters – they raised a massive £1150.  Click for more details.

• Supporters’ Day  Although this was not a fundraising event, with donations from supporters and sales on the day our funds were boosted by over £400.  Thank you to all who contributed.

Future Fundraising:  We have a number of small local events planned over the next few months including Farr Hall -11^th November, and Wildside Centre, Whitebridge: 8^th/9^th December.   Keep an eye on Facebook for details of these and other events and please let us know how you can help with fundraising.

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Expedition News

After 14 weeks of hard graft, delivering their rowing boat, Hermione, to their start in Baffin Bay, and rowing the North West Passage to Cape Alexander, Tuppence Mellish and the team reluctantly had to bow to the forces of nature, in order not to jeopardise their safety, so returned to Cambridge Bay.  Find out more about her story here.

We assisted 7 young Polish Scouts from Perthshire attend a summer campin Angus.  Their report came in the form of a wonderful non-digital diary, with pictures, words and photos from them all.

The three Ayrshire teenagers we helped to go to the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea gave a presentation, in Ayr, at the beginning of October.  Unfortunately we were unable to attend, but we look forward to hearing directly from them with their thoughts following their expedition.

Glasgow University Exploration Society trip to Thailand, in June, attracted an Educational Expedition Grant from us and they completed diving training before undertaking underwater data collection towards three research projects on coral reefs.  Follow the link here.

VOC Kazakhstan expedition sent us some photos on their return – we look forward to their report.     

Reminders:   2024 VOC NMAG applications must be in by the end of January and Educational Expedition Grant applications close on 31^st March 2024.  Our skills training and expedition grants are available all year.  If you are interested in applying, contact us to let us know your plans, and if appropriate we will send you an application form.