Boots Without Borders
Fundraising campaign by
Richard Smith
-
£3,593.00Donated So Far
Campaign Story
Due to the current upheavals in the Calais refugee camp, this fundraiser has been extended and our distributions in Northern France have been put on hold while we assess the best way to distribute the boots. We are presenting a report at our public meeting at Wokingham Methodist Church, Rose Street, on Saturday 5th March, 11.00am - 12.15pm, all are welcome to attend.
***********************************************
250 pairs have been distributed so far - please keep up the donations so the next batch can go out soon!
***********************************************
Several thousand people live in appalling conditions at the Calais refugee camp, known as "The Jungle", and in the Dunkirk camp in Grande-Synthe. They receive practically no aid from the UK or French governments, or from the main charities. They need your help now.
My name is Richard Smith. My partner, Lizzy, and I spent a week visiting the Calais refugee camp distributing aid. I was surprised to learn how important resilient, waterproof boots are to people without proper shelter or sufficient resources. I watched several hundred refugees scramble for a small delivery of second-hand boots.
All the pictures on our website, www.bootswithoutborders.org.uk were taken in the Calais camp on Wednesday 30th December 2015, shortly after a hailstorm. Lots of refugees wear flip-flops or undersized trainers in the mud and the rain, because that's all they've got.
Their living conditions are worse than most of us can imagine. Many live on whatever food gets donated and get their water from a single stand-pipe. They try their best, but they live in cheap tents and under tarpaulins in the mud, near pools of stagnant water, and never far from piles of rubbish and human waste.
Solid, well-fitting boots give warmth, comfort and safety.
Lets get five hundred pairs of brand new waterproof boots to the camps!
For more information go to www.bootswithoutborders.org.uk
Organizer
- Richard Smith
- Campaign Owner
Donors
- Joy Smith
- Donated on Feb 28, 2016
Ooops! Sorry, Chris. You gave £20..... here's the second £10.
- Joy Smith
- Donated on Feb 28, 2016
Best wishes from Chris
Meeting tomorrow, 5th March, 11.00am
Update posted by Richard Smith at 08:00 amWe're looking forward to our first public meeting tomorrow, at Wokingham Methodist Church, RG40 1XS. It will last just over an hour, and starts at 11.00am. We will be joined by the Mayor of Wokingham Borough, Cllr Parry Batth, and the Mayor of Wokingham Town, Cllr Philip Mirfin, along with. . . . .
We did it! (but we haven't finished yet....)
Update posted by Richard Smith at 11:30 amHundreds of people in the Calais camp are now wearing safe, warm, dry, brand new waterproof boots, thanks to your generosity. We distributed the boots on Thursday in sub-zero weather, with snow on the ground and frozen puddles of water everywhere. We have more boots waiting to go out and
Thanks, Wokingham Baptists!
Update posted by Richard Smith at 12:55 pmThank you so much to the Wokingham Baptist Church for inviting us to talk, and for producing a magnificent £550 in the collection. We'll be going out to Calais with boots this week, and we look forward to letting you all know how we get on!
We've just bought 338 pairs of boots :)
Update posted by Richard Smith at 04:40 pmJust ordered 338 pairs of boots for us to distribute to the refugees in the camp this Thursday. Amazing, thank you so much to everyone who's supported the project so far. I'm extending the deadline, so please keep sharing & contributing.
Over £5000....250+ pairs of boots!
Update posted by Richard Smith at 12:21 pmThanks to a wonderful donation of £1000 from Norreys Church in Wokingham, we're over £5000 - that's more than 250 pairs of boots. We're busy busy busy trying to get the first delivery to the refugees by the end of next week.
Windsor's pulling together!
Update posted by Richard Smith at 04:16 pmWokingham's on board, now Windsor.....£485 raised today when we gave a talk at the URC on William Street. Big thank-yous to everyone who made it happen. It was great to meet you all and thanks so much for your help.Getting close to £5000 now, and it's only the start of
154 pairs of boots - over £3000 raised!
Update posted by Richard Smith at 12:38 pmWow....thanks to the generosity of the Wokingham Methodist Church, who raised £533 in an impromptu collection after the service, we're over £3000 now.Please keep spreading the word, sharing and donating!!!!
108 pairs....please keep spreading the word!
Update posted by Richard Smith at 10:12 amWe’re up to 108 pairs of boots - that’s 108 very happy refugees with warm, dry, safe feet! Thanks to BBC Radio Berkshire for the interview yesterday, you can hear it at 37:40 : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03fg1lx Please keep spreading the word. Visit the website www.bootswithoutborders.org.uk to watch an info video. Thanks!
Three days in, front page, and 60 pairs of boots!
Update posted by Richard Smith at 09:42 amMassive thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. We're three days into the fundraiser and we've already busted through the £1200 mark. Made the front page of the local paper today, too!So, we've raised enough money for 60 pairs of boots. That's fantastic. We want 500.
Donors & Comments
- Sarah Walker
- Donated on Mar 06, 2016
A fantastic project! Congratulations on all you are achievu g here. Best wishes from members of Windsor Methodist Church.
- Joy Smith
- Donated on Feb 28, 2016
Ooops! Sorry, Chris. You gave £20..... here's the second £10.
- Joy Smith
- Donated on Feb 28, 2016
Best wishes from Chris
- Anonymous
- Donated on Feb 25, 2016
- Valerie Weedon
- Donated on Feb 24, 2016
A second chance to donate to this great cause before it closes!
- richard millington
- Donated on Feb 23, 2016
- Anonymous
- Donated on Feb 22, 2016
Great job! Well done.
- Sarah Rutherford
- Donated on Feb 20, 2016
- Joy Smith
- Donated on Feb 19, 2016
With good wishes from a couple of Windsor U3A groups
- Anonymous
- Donated on Feb 19, 2016
This is a very worth while project and deserves greater visibility.
A fantastic project! Congratulations on all you are achievu g here. Best wishes from members of Windsor Methodist Church.