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Please Support GDCSP

Charitable Status

We are delighted to have been granted Charitable Status for tax purposes by HMRC. This allows us to claim Gift Aid on all donations from UK taxpayers who give their approval for us to do so.

To become a fully registered charity you need to raise a minimum of £5000 per year. Although we have done so most years we do not always do so, so are regarded as a smaller charity and do not have a full charity number.
However we are able to claim gift aid in exactly the same way as larger and richer charities so please make sure you give approval for Gift Aid when making any donation. This increases the value of your donation to us by at least 20%! To learn how to donate to GDCSP please see our 'Donations' page on this site. Thank you.

Donations

If you would like to make a donation to our work with deaf children in The Gambia, you can do so on-line via Virgin Giving. In this way we are able to reclaim any tax paid on your donation through Gift Aid.

It is very simple to do so.

Please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/GambianDeafChildrenSupportProject  and follow the instructions there.

Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to 'Gambian Deaf Children Fund' and send it to Malcolm Garner at:
3 Pump Court, Lax Lane, Bewdley, Worcestershire DY12 2DZ

If you would like us to be able to reclaim the tax through Gift Aid (and are a UK tax payer) please ensure you include your own name and address as we need to be able to give that to the HMRC if requested.

Thank you very much for helping in this way. We will make sure all donations are used effectively and directly in support of the projects we are undertaking.

Fundraising

To do what we do – we need money! Can you help?

You can see, from the activities listed in this website that money is always needed to support the valuable and life-changing work undertaken by GDCSP.

If you would like to organise an event or find out more about GDCSP please make contact with any of the team.

To give you an idea of what we have done already you can read some details of previous fundraising initiatives on this page.

 

Fundraising Initiatives

Sponsored Cycle Rides

Malcolm Garner is a regular, some would say keen, cyclist and has undertaken several long distance sponsored cycle rides.

In 2009, together with Kevin Bailey (a Headteacher from Worcestershire who also has Gambia connections), he cycled from St Malo in Northern France to St Sebastian in Northern Spain. The distance was about 650 miles and took 8 days, stopping at Gites (Bed & Breakfasts) on the way. Having reached Northern Spain they returned to the UK by ferry from Bilbao. Altogether Malcolm’s friends sponsored him for approximately £1500!

In 2010 Malcolm went one better and cycled all the way from his home in Bewdley in Worcestershire to the Mediterranean at a town called Valras Plage, a place of no distinction at all apart from the fact that it is the nearest point on the Mediterranean coast! This ride was 811 miles altogether and took 11 days, including one rest day en route. This time just under £2000 was raised.

After a rest from sponsored rides, to let his friends start saving up again (!) Malcolm in 2012 - together with Chris Mountain, a cyclist friend who is himself partially deaf – stayed in the UK, but actually cycled a greater distance – from Lands End to John O’Groats (colloquially known as LEJOG). They took a slightly longer but more scenic route in Scotland, taking in Arran, Mull and Skye. The final distance was 1066 miles (14 days) and the total raised was just over £2000!

(If you feel so inclined you can read all about it on Malcolm’s blog at malcolmgarner.blogspot.co.uk)

Amerton Express

This annual event is held at the Amerton Railway in Staffordshire where Malcolm is a driver. Once per year the railway allow him to run a special weekend service, usually using two trains, and to keep all the ticket money from the weekend towards the work of GDCSP.

Talks

Malcolm, Debra and Ruth have each given talks to a range of local groups, Women’s institutes, Probus Groups etc about their work in Gambia and been able to donate the fee and any collection to the work of GDCSP.

If you are a member of a group who might be interested in such a talk, or know of another group who might, please do get in touch with one of the Team. We’d be happy to help.

Sponsored Silence

One of the more imaginative ways of raising monies, and perhaps there was an ulterior motive on the part of the staff here, was for a school to have a day of sponsored silence. The school concerned was De Ferrers Academy in Burton on Trent where Mike York, husband of Debra who is one of the GDCSP Team, was the Head Teacher.

From 2008 to 2012 the school had an amazing initiative that involved all teachers and students working as much as possible in silence for the day in question! Sign language and writing were used to communicate and the pupils were sponsored by their parents and friends.

Over these years the sponsored silence raised an incredible £7,287.

Could your school help in any way?

Nimlet Singing School Annual Concert (March 2011)

Malcolm’s cousin Hilary Newman is a professional singing teacher and each year she organises a concert at which each of her students performs a song in front of their parents and friends.

The proceeds from ticket sales and refreshments, and from sales of the DVD of the performance are usually donated to a charity and in 2011 Hilary chose the GDCSP as the beneficiary.

It was actually a family affair as Hilary’s brother Noel, sister in law Judy, and her nephew Marcus all helped in one way or another with refreshments, filming etc.

Malcolm gave a short talk about the work of GDCSP and explained how the money raised would be used, then the concert proper got under way.

This was excellent with some lovely performances from the students who ranged in age from approximately 9 years to adulthood. Hilary is a gifted singing teacher and the rapport she has with each of her pupils was very evident, as was the excellence of the piano accompanist, Elizabeth.

At the end Hilary was able to present Malcolm with a cheque for no less than £562.00, with more to come once the DVD is complete and has been purchased – a fantastic result!

Any other ideas??

GDCSP relies entirely on donations so please think what you can do to help. Any sum raised or donated, large or small, will be much appreciated. Please feel free to get in touch with a Team member if you feel you can help.