Tom Chance, founder of fundraising organisation Give A Car
Now dont fall off your chairs at hearing from me twice in one month will you! Well it is March you know, almost springtime, which means Im coming out of my winter hibernation and getting out more. I even ventured down to London AGAIN last week, to celebrate MyZeroWastes shortlisting in the PEA Awards, where they were just pipped to the post by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Landshare campaign. Great news and well-deserved for the Landshare team but MyZeroWaste was also a real winner in my eyes.
The following day, while I was still in the big smoke, I also took the opportunity to find out more about an amazing but relatively new social enterprise that Id discovered only hours before Id left Suffolk. Called Give A Car, it wont surprise me if they too make it on to the green carpet of some prestigious awards during the next twelve months. Their concept is none other than genius!
Based in Putney, Give A Car was founded in January last year by graduate Tom Chance, with the aim of raising money for charity. Since its inception, the fundraising organisation has processed approximately 3,000 cars nationwide, distributing a whopping £250,000 amongst 250 registered charities.
And the idea is simple. When a driver needs to scrap their car, they simply contact Give A Car, who will arrange its collection at no cost to the owner. The vehicle is assessed and is either resold at auction or sold for salvage. Either way, 75% of the return to Give A Car is given to the charity of the donors choice . The remaining 25% is retained by the fundraising company to cover administration overheads.
And everyone benefits, especially charities who are always on the look out for new and inventive ways of raising much-needed funds.
So if you know a friend or relative whos about to send their old banger to a scrapyard, do tell them about Give A Car wont you. You can find out more about how the organisation works at its website www.giveacar.co.uk or call them on 020 0011 1664 for more details.
Im rather getting used to my trips to London and tomorrow its the turn of the Ideal Home Show, where I guess Ill be one of the rare breeds of bloggers specifically going along to hunt out recycling bins. If theres anything novel that jumps out at me, Ill be sure to report back. Yes, I know, thatll be three posts in a month, so youd better watch out and Id better be careful or my laundry will soon be piling up!
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