BUTTONS AND BOWS : HELPING CHILDREN EVERYWHERE – JANUARY UPDATE

Change of Plans for Burnley Collection

Buttons and Bows Lancaster UK 

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Can I thank everyone for your support in the collection for Burnley.  Although the weather was bad, wet and cold it was heart-warming to see so many bring their black bags. All labelled as requested, which made the rest of the procedure much easier. Howard was able to list them as they came in and then stored in the car. With everyone’s help we were able to collect as much as we did in October. Thank you.

On Wednesday morning on the 13^th January Howard and I were due to deliver the goods to Burnley when we had a message to say that one of the pastors ‘Alex’, had developed COVID-19. So, our plans were changed at the last moment. From Wednesday morning when the change took place until Friday tea time, I contacted all our old and new leads that were given to me. It was a positive time in as much as we were able to re-assess what was happening in our local area. Things had changed since last time I spent so long on gathering information on local charities, plus the devastating effects of COVID-19 on every area of distribution. The same process took place as we always do in finding the right outlet for our work. As we value each person who works hard for our cause and each item that is given. Our aim is always the same, to get our work to children who are in need of some extra care.  With the stipulation that nothing gets sold.

I was given the name of a group in Lancaster called ‘The Ripple Effect’. Please read all about their work on their website; The Ripple Effect Lancaster. Carole Roberts is one of the founders. The website gives a good account of their work plus they work with Greek families hitting hard times. Due to Carol having a heavy work load and problems this end, we actually only met up this afternoon to exchange goods. All went well and our goods are on their next stretch of the journey. Thank you everyone for your confidence and trust, in our pursuit of finding the right organisation to distribute our work.

This work is totally amazing, ladies you are totally amazing, who would have thought that we could raise the same amount of work as in October?

This little exercise has helped us realise that this last effort in storing and collection and new distribution contacts are the way forward. Our list of people with the skill and expertise in getting our goods to the right children have widened, meaning we are now reaching more children in another country.

What an achievement for a small community group. Remember the Starfish?

Your friend Susan