How you can help and support us:
Namibia Project:15-24 October 2011
BookRelief UK are working with Across the Divide (www.acrossthedivide.com) to send one or more volunteers from amongst our supporters on a 10-day trip to Namibia in order to help undertake repair work on the A. Gariseb Primary School.
This is a project that Across the Divide have run on a recurring basis for several years years for the Anixab community at Sorris-Sorris in Damaraland. The Anixab community are predominantly livestock farmers who try and eke out a living in this very harsh environment that borders the Namib Desert to the north of Brandberg, the highest mountain in Namibia.
Namibia is one of the few places on earth where the natural environment rules supreme. This is the land of the famous desert elephant, as well as black rhino, giraffe, zebra, springbuck, oryx, kudu and hyena. The area is vast and children can travel a long way, primarily by foot, to attend the A. Gariseb Primary School, which offers hostel facilities that can accomodate up to 200 pupils. The government supports the area by providing water and mains electricity but this is all they contribute. As a result the school and the community find it very hard to cope with the costs involved in educating the children and maintaining the school.
Whilst some previous renovations have been made to the school buildings, many of them are still in a state of disrepair, and any further renovations will greatly improve the learning environment and be of real benefit to the children. Previous experience is not essential, but a willingness to help out with manual work is required!
The work consists of manual labour - basic building and general repair work - such as fitting window panes, painting, sanding and plastering.
Accomodation: You will be camping for 7 nights and spending 1 night in a lodge.
Itinerary:
Day 1 - Fly from UK to Windhoek
Day 2 - On arrival in Windhoek we are met by our expedition leader. We board our coach and transfer to the Anixab community. In the evening we will meet some of our local hosts.
Days 3-7 - leaving our campsite we will walk about 1km to the project site, where we will meet the school committee and the local chief. After introductions and a formal project briefing, we will begin our work. During the day we will have the opportunity to mix with the locals and understand more about their culture and community before returning to our camp for the evening. each day we will walk to the project site to work on renovating the school buildings.
Day 8 - On the final day of the project we have an official opening ceremony in the afternoon with all of the community and children present before celebrating a job well done at our lodge for the evening.
Day 9 - Today the opportunity to enjoy a game drive in the local area, with hopefully a chance to spot the famous Namibian desert alephany, before transferring to the airport early evening for our return flight home.
Day 10 - arrive back in the UK
Parties interested in this project should, in the first instance email bookrelief.uk@tiscali.co.uk with regard to discussing fundraising - including registration and tour costs.
By doing a parachute jump for FREE and raising money for BookRelief UK at the same time!
Thanks to a link-up with Skyline Parachuting we can now offer you the opportunity to do a free parachute jump at Honiton, Devon - or any one of some 20 jump sites throughout the UK - subject to you raising a minimum sponsorship fee. In the case of a tandem jump - where you jump in tandem with a qualified ionstructor - and which is generally recommended as the best jump for beginners - the minimum sponsorship you will need to raise is £395.
If you would like to learn more, or receive a Starter Pack (including Sponsorship Forms) and Registration Form please email us at bookrelief.uk@tiscali.co.uk
By volunteering in North Devon
Volunteering at the Bookrelief UK stall at a local village fete
We are always looking for volunteers - particularly people who are based in the Bideford and Barnstaple areas of North Devon where most of our work is carried out.
At present, we particularly need more volunteers to help with the following:
In Barnstaple:
We need volunteers who can help out in our charity bookshop at 10 Litchdon Street (behind the Imperial Hotel).
We also need volunteers who can help us to sort donated books that we have in storage at Silver Street in Barnstaple (location is very close to the Bus Terminal) - both for our charity shops - where we sell books to raise funds for our projects - and for direct donation to the various groups we support under our Books Overseas Programme.
In Appledore:
We need volunteers to help out in our charity bookshop at 26 Market Street.
If you can spare a few hours, a half-day or even a whole day each week, please call either Barry on 01237 477728 or John on 01271 343774.
you can also take a look at our Volunteer Form which can be accessed and downloaded through the link below.
By joining BookRelief UK
You can become a member of BookRelief UK at very little cost, and from anywhere in the world. For more information, please see a copy of our Membership Form which can be accessed and downloaded through the link below.
By signing up for Everyclick and using them to make a donation and/or seach the web
We have recently linked with Everyclick, which allows us to raise funds each time you use them to seach the web. You can also use everyclick if you wish to make a donation to BookRelief UK using your credit card. For more information - and to sign-up with us at Everyclick - please go to: http://www.everyclick.com/bookreliefuk
By shopping online at buy.at
Just click through to www.buyat.com/bookrelief uk to visit a wide array of online retailers from Amazon to M&S to Virgin Media. As an every purchase counts fundraising affiliate of buy.at we will earn a small commission on any purchases you make with these retails through buy.at.
By recycling the following items
Apart from donating your used books and related items such as CD's and DVD's (CD's and DVD's should be operable and include casing with artwork), we can also accept the following items:
Stamps and Foreign Coins and Banknotes
Used stamps, both British and foreign are welcome, as are all foreign coins and banknotes. We can earn money from these by passing them on in bulk to specialised dealers, or by selling selected lots/items directly to the public.
Empty Toner and Inkjet Cartridges and Mobile Phones
We now have an arrangement with Recycle4Charity.co.uk who will accept the following: All Mobile Phones as well as Inkjet and Toner cartridges from Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark and Canon (BC01/02/05/06/20, BX2, BX3 only).
Recycling Collection Point: We can accept used books, stamps, coins, empty toners, inkjet cartridges and mobile phones at the National Uniform Shop, 36 Boutport Street, Barnstaple.
By making interest-free loan
To support us with working capital to develop our book storage and online sales facility in Barnstaple, we are pleased to consider interest-free loans from individuals or institutions. These constitute an indirect gift of the interest earned by the capital loaned to us - and the donor is not taxed on the interest income while the loan is still outstanding.
Should you be interested in supporting us by way of an interest-free loan please contact us by email or telephone.
By holding or sponsoring an event
We'd be pleased to hear from you if you want to working with us in arranging an event - such as:
Sponsored Walks - particularly if they have a 'literacy' theme - such as the ones we are organising along parts of the Tarka Trail in North Devon - or anywhere else where there is a connection with a particular author or book. These, we think, are a great idea, as they also draw attention to what we are doing at BookRelief UK.
Quiz Nights - again, if you can throw in a round or two of questions with a literacy theme, then so much the better.
Or even if you just want to jump out of an aeroplane for fun...
Please get in touch to discuss any ideas you might have.
BookRelief UK - Registered Charity Number: 1134724