Fundraising Summary - 2010

30 November 2010.
As 2010 is nearing the end, we thought it might be good to give you a summary of the fundraising we have done this year, as well as highlight what the funds have been used for.

It has been a busy eventful year. We have attended over 40 shows up and down the country, including Patchings in Nottingham, Hatfield House north of London, and the Anglesey Show in North Wales. These were attended by various members of staff and volunteers as well as owl ambassadors, not least of which was Sparky the Barn Owl, who for the sake of logistics even had his own fridge, which went most places with him, including hotels.

This year’s sponsored walk was the most successful ever. We went up Pillar the hard way, via the High Level Traverse on Pillar’s North Face, and completed the Mosedale horse shoe, bringing in over £2500.

Fools Week at Muncaster was a busy time. The various events put on by the Trust rose over £1000 - on that week.

We also created an owl calendar for 2011. Andy Chafe managed to get the printing cost sponsored, and so far we have managed to sell over 350, bringing the total up to now to £1750. There are still a few left, in case anybody is interested.

Andy, Mortimer and I even went to the Maryport Blues Festival, where both Mortimer and I performed with ‘Buzzard’ a festival crowd favourite. We raised over £100.

Sticking with music, in September Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox, both from the North East and famous folk musicians came over ‘from the other side’ and did a brilliant gig in the Stable Yard in aid of the World Owl Trust. After expenses, this event cleared over £1000 - in profit. The success of this venture means we will be doing more musical events in the future.

One of our volunteers, Debs Smith did a sponsored skydive on the 16th of October at an airfield near her home town of Nottingham. This was attended by Andy Chafe, Sparky, and I. Debs did a brilliant job of fundraising through her Just Giving page on the web, and raised £2317. Incidently, Debs is now a Trustee of the World Owl Trust.

Debs Skydive

Film courtesy Wulf Ingham

During the last week of the visitor season we did Spooky Owl Tours after dark. Again, Debs and her husband Roy helped out as ‘sinister ushers’. We were also assisted by Sparky and Metro. We raised over £800.

More recently Andy and I went to Ulverston Victoria High, where anther of our Trustees, Graham Smith is a Teacher. This day was in aid of Children In Need, but with the help of Graham and his pupils, we also raised £240 for the Trust.

To round things off, we even worked with the film industry, namely Warner Bros. We helped to promote Legend of the Guardians, and went as far afield as Blackburn and Carlisle. We managed to raise several hundred pounds and raised awareness for the plight of Barn owls in the UK and owls the world over. (pics of Sparky and Chocolate).

Some of the money raised, went on re-equipping the office with state-of-the-art computers. This has helped to make the office more efficient and able to deal with enquiries promptly, which in turn means we don’t lose business. There has been some very positive feedback from satisfied members and customers. (Pics of Peter Hands installing the new computers)

The money raised from Debs Smith’s skydive is earmarked for a webcam in a wild Barn Owl nest box. This will be invaluable for our research. We will update you on this as soon as a suitable site has been selected.

All in all, a busy year. Andy is already planning a busy itinery for next 2011.

Wulf

World Owl Trust Registered Charity Number: 1107529 Limited Company Number: 5296745

The World Owl Trust is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). The Trust relies on a dedicated membership, visitors, donations and legacies.