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Newsletter No 2 - The Purchase of Walton Firs

We have Reached the Starting Blocks

The agreement has now been signed with the Scout Association to enable Walton Firs Foundation to proceed with the purchase of the site. 

We have now launched the fund-raising appeal, aiming towards our target of the £800,000 we will need to finally complete the purchase.  If you can support the purchase of the site and would like to make a donation, please do it now to give us a good start.

Donations Now

Those who would like to donate monies to help us can find information online at our website www.waltonfirs.co.uk. 

Donations can be made online or by cheque.  Please remember to complete the Gift Aid form.

Please view the website to see who has supported the appeal so far.

Brochures

The distribution of appeal brochures and appeal letters has been organised this month.  Brochures are also available from our office in Esher and include donation forms enabling the Gift Aid tax refund to be obtained.

Spread the News

Please forward news of the start of the fund-raising on to those who have had, in the past, connections with the site and who may have fond memories of times spent there.

We hope there will be many who will be able to assist with the purchase and preservation of the facilities at Walton Firs for future generations.

Please send us names of people we might contact to discuss with them whether they are able to help and suggest they register their email address to receive future copies of these newsletters.

Our Gala Event

We aim to finish the fund-raising activities by June 2007.  Whether this is pie in the sky or not, we do not yet know, but a gala event has now been agreed for 9th June 2007, which will be held at Painshill Park in Cobham, to celebrate what we hope will be the culmination of our goal and a further money-raising occasion.

We will need help and participation.  Please keep the date free if you would like to use this moment to support the final fund-raising efforts.

London Marathon

I am pleased to confirm that John Brown, Surrey County Scout Treasurer, ran in the London Marathon with Walton Firs Foundation as one of his sponsored charities.  He achieved a very commendable finishing time and found sponsorship to secure a substantial sum towards the purchase of Walton Firs.

Website

Information on our progress towards collecting the money is available on our website.  Please stay in touch and watch as the fund grows.

Would you all please post information of intended money-raising events on the website to encourage participation by others.

Members of Walton Firs Foundation

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee and members are invited to join by donating some funds.  Please visit our website and see if you can become a member or whether, through your District, you would like to support their efforts, since a founder membership by Districts will give an ongoing camp fee reduction.

Magic Circle Member

We are delighted that Mick Smith has become our first Magic Circle Member, giving £50,000 to the Walton Firs Foundation at the Patrons’ Day at Walton Firs on the 7th May.  Mick Smith has many memories of Walton Firs and long connections with the site.

Patrons

Patience Lady Baden-Powell has agreed to become our Founder Patron and has signed the initial appeal letters.

Other individuals of note have also agreed to become Patrons and lend their names to the fund-raising efforts.

Information on the Patrons can be found on our website.

Friends of Walton Firs

We are also launching a broad-based support for the efforts to purchase and retain the site by encouraging as many supporters as possible to become a Friend of Walton Firs.

Separate brochures will be distributed with a donation form, on which again we can secure a Gift Aid contribution.

We are seeking a minimum donation of £20 from a Friends of Walton Firs supporter.   We only therefore now need 35,000 Friends and we are more than there. 

A Date for your Diary

The next meeting of the Walton Firs Fund-raising Group is scheduled for 8 pm on the 14th September at St James’s Church Hall, Weybridge.  Please join us then to hear what is planned and to see what you can do to help.

100 Years of Scouting

The first 100 years of Scouting is being celebrated on the 1st August 2007.  The World Scout Fellowship has agreed that they will celebrate the Centenary at a Sunrise Ceremony at Walton Firs on the 1st August 2007.

The World Scout Fellowship are supporters of Scouting from around the world and has as its President, the King of Sweden.  The King has confirmed he hopes to be there, and we hope that this celebration therefore on the 1st August 2007 will also celebrate the completion of the raising of monies to provide for the purchase of Walton Firs and its permanent preservation as a camp site and activity centre for all young people.

Donations so Far

Many donations were received in advance of the ability to launch the fund-raising exercise and are reported now on the website.  We are grateful to all those who have contributed so far.

If anybody needs any more brochures, Friends of Walton Firs donation forms, or information on fund-raising activities, please email funds@waltonfirs.co.uk or send cheques directly to Walton Firs Foundation, Hillbrow House, Hillbrow Road, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9NW.

Standing Orders

Requests have also been made for forms to enable payments of small donations on a monthly basis.  If you would like to do this, please request the form by email to funds@waltonfirs.co.uk.

Help

As always, we need help and ideas.  We particularly need suggestions as to potential donation of items, both for an auction at the gala event planned for June 2007 and for a raffle to be drawn at the same time.

Please give your financial support NOW by joining
Walton Firs Foundation.