AREA 7 - Fundraising & Resources

Surplus Resources and "FREE" items

BIKES FOR AFRICA

Do you have a spare bike? Jole Rider (based in the UK) is shipping bikes to Africa, so that kids can get to school. Over 50,000 children in The Gambia alone, can't get to their nearest school because it's too far to walk. Some children walk 10k EACH WAY, every day, and many have further than that to travel.

Jole Rider sets up permanent, fully equipped bike repair workshops in schools in Africa and provides training for school students in maintaining their own bikes.

Their aim is to establish bike maintenance workshops in African and UK schools, and to provide opportunities for UK students to travel to Africa for a 7 or 10 day programme, to combine with fellow students of different cultures and to gain practical, engineering-based skills development around a favourite teenage topic - bikes.

To find out more, see their website here, Bikes 4 Africa here, African School Linking here and Schools Baton Relay (John O'Groats to Lands End) here.

TOOLS for developing countries - "TWAM - TOOLS WITH A MISSION - is a Christian Charity which sends gifts of good quality tools into many countries. It enables those who receive them to earn a living and change their world" - website at http://www.twam.co.uk.

The types of tools TWAM sends is very wide-ranging - see current list of tools needed / accepted here - everything from hammers, chisels, feeler gauges and wire brushes, to sewing machines and wheel nut spanners - and there are specific country coordinators listed here (though we understand TWAM have contacts in many other countries also).

If you have any sorts of tools going spare, why not find out if TWAM could use them?
Full contact details (e-mail, phone, postal) on their website.

CHANGING THE WORLD ONE GIFT AT A TIME

Take a look at the Freecycle network. This covers the UK, right across the USA, Canada and Germany, and their "International" page includes countries across the globe, ranging from Australia and New Zealand to Argentina, Trinidad, the Philippines and Spain [Freecycle operates in over 50 countries at time of updating this page].

Basically Freecycle allows people to give away items to those living near to them (all items advertised have to be *FREE*). There are endless groups within the UK, USA, Canada and Germany, and the UK alone has well over 100 groups. If there isn't an existing group in your area of the world ... then start one, to make it possible for people in your local area to join. Instructions here.

If you're under 18 we'd request that you ask your parents to join Freecycle (rather than you signing up). Freecycle enables making contact with people in your local area, to give things away or receive them, but obviously we don't recommend *any* situation where you yourself meet up with strangers. See the Freecycle FAQ page here [scroll down] for more about the risk/liability factor.

The Freecycle project is however a *wonderful* concept and will potentially make a whole lot of difference to people across the world, particularly those on low-incomes or otherwise disadvantaged. Our congratulations to Deron Beal, of Tucson Arizona, who founded this amazing organization.

Books for developing countries? see ALA resource page; scroll down for non-USA addresses.

Computers for developing countries? see Computer Aid International who accept surplus computers; there is also a facility on their website for educational institutions and community organizations in developing countries to apply for donated computer equipment. See also the entry on the Resources Required page about Recycling Computers.

Do you need paint, or have unused cans to donate? see Community RePaint

SCHOOL DESKS AND CHAIRS

Our thanks to Tony Smith, parent governor at an infants school in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire, England) for the offer of 60 desks and 200 chairs.

Update (21st June 2007): All items have now been successfully allocated.

CHILDREN'S RAIN MACS in bright colours, ages 18 months to 6 years

Our thanks to Blue Fish Kids for their kind offer of 100 children's rain macs :) We're delighted to say that these have all now been successfully allocated.

SURPLUS DESKS and Free-standing Bookshelves in good condition

Our thanks to Natasha McEwen at Caps Solutions Ltd, in Speen, Newbury, Berkshire, for the offer of a large quantity of office furniture.

Update [4 days later]: All items have now been successfully allocated.

FREE TELEPHONE SYSTEM

We'd like to thank Jonathan Hare at Scott-Grant in Manchester for the offer of a second hand telephone system - GPT DXE2470 switch with 17 standard and 3 executive handsets, extra extension cards and memory, 10 years old but fully maintained.Update: This kind offer was taken up by Child Advocacy International and the telephone system has been forwarded to a hospital in Cameroon. Judith Flacke at CAI wrote with some details: "It's in Bamenda, 400 miles from the capital, and has never had any NGO input. Facilities are basic - even getting drugs is difficult. Phones will improve communications."

BABY CLOTHES - we get regular enquiries from people in different parts of the country, asking where they can usefully pass on children's outgrown clothing, to help disadvantaged kids in some way, so the following may be of interest .... [discovered on the NCT website]:

NCT Nearly New Sales in your area - at NCT Nearly New Sales you can buy top-quality baby and children's clothes and equipment at much reduced prices, straight from their owners. Buyers and sellers are all welcome as Nearly New Sales raise funds for the NCT's work. You may be asked to pay an admission price at some sales.

You'll find more details about sales being held in many areas of the UK at the NCT website - click on "News" on their site, for sale dates etc. For the National Childbirth Trust entry in the Project HappyChild Directory, please click here.

SURPLUS OFFICE FURNITURE & IT EQUIPMENT - this resource has now been withdrawn as all the surplus IT equipment etc. has been allocated.

COMPUTER RECYCLING

See the Resources Required page for details of organizations accepting surplus or replaced computers for recycling to benefit non-profits, schools, children in low-income families, etc.

If you have any surplus resources you would like to make available to schools or charities in your area, please use the "contact" link below to get in touch with us.

Update on OFFICE DESKS ..... all 25 desks allocated - our thanks to Amber Agha for making this generous offer.

Update on Computers: we were able to put the commercial firm in Los Angeles offering free pentium computers for disabled children, in touch with an LA-based organization which relocates computer equipment with schools and charities in that area.