On the day Brain Sharp, Colin Knight, Carole Swift, Tracey Morris, Martin Fletcher and Shelley Wright (pictured) picked up their certificates and were thanked by trustees, members and staff.

Overall, we handed out certificates totalling 950 years of voluntary service – an incredible amount! We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of our volunteers who continue to support Tools for Self Reliance and our work.

10 year voluntary certificates

Brian Alcock, Jim Aplin, John Bennett, Jack Bentley, Di Bond, Ray Bradfield, John Brightman, David Byers, Liz Campbell, Amon Cohen, Roddy Duncan, Jim Falla, DonFarthing, Graham Ferrier, Martin Fletcher, John Freeman, Tom Hendikson, Trevor Hodgskin, Stuart Hookey, Chris Humphries, Craig Kennely, Colin Knight, John Lakey, David Larby, Douglas McIntosh, Tracey Morris, John Newey, Jim Pearson, Bob Pownall, Rosina Pritchard, Diane Robertson, Jack Robinson, Tony Smith, Carol Swift, Ann Tong, Terry Townsend, Barry Wilmot, Simon Woodall, Shelley Wright and Gavin Wyse.

15 year voluntary certificates

Mike Fanstone, Joseph Gibney, Don Gill, Neil Goodwin, Keith Jeffreys, Patrick Keaney, John Mercer, Lance Middleton, John Morris, Ron O’Connor, Len Phippard, Ron Williams and Robert Yendell.

20 year voluntary certificates

Brian Baird, Jenny Barnard, Jim Cook, Keith Crouter, Raymond Halford, John Holder, Linda Ibbetson, RachelMazey, Bill Norris, Michael Potter, Brian Sharp and David Woodcock.

25 year voluntary certificates

Elizabeth Birmingham and Brian Borthwick.

30 year voluntary certificates

Paul Kellaway, Harry Lawton and John Phillippo.

Francis has now reached the top 5 unsung heroes in the awards and we want to help him win. All you need to do is visit the webpage here and vote – it takes just 30 seconds. Voting closes on 24th May so please encourage your friends and family to join us in recognising Francis.

You can find out more about our hard working groups here and locate your nearest branch. We would like to thank all of our groups who continue to support Tools for Self Reliance and our work – we couldn’t do it without you!

They were thrilled to be awarded a certificate and medal from the Rotary Club for completing the challenge; in particular Elin as the medal was in her native Swedish colours!

The team said that they had very sore feet and muscles after the event but had enjoyed the opportunity to take in the sights of the New Forest and raise funds for a cause now very close to their hearts, Tools for Self Reliance.

There is still time to sponsor them via their Virgin Money Giving page.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the New Forest Rotary Club for organising such a fantastic event. We’re already looking forward to 2014!

Tools for Self Reliance are one of the nominated charities for the event and our LTV team will be taking on the task of walking 8 miles through the New Forest, whilst dressed in some eye-catching and bright outfits. All four LTVs are volunteers working full-time at Tools for Self Reliance for a year through the European programme, Youth in Action. They come from all over the continent: Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Spain, and play an important role in the work at Netley Marsh.

The team is seeking sponsorship for their walk, having seen the importance of the work the charity carries out. If you would like to sponsor them please click here to visit their Virgin Money Giving Page. For every £1 you give to Tools for Self Reliance we will put tools and training worth £3 in the hands of someone who needs them to make a living.

If you want to take part in the event and raise funds for us it’s not too late! Visit the New Forest Rotary website to find out more.

Taking place from 2pm – 4pm, you can come along and grab a free cuppa and a piece of cake. There will be a tour of our workshop and a short talk about the work we do. Staff and volunteers will be on hand to chat to you about the charity and how you can get involved.

If you’d like to donate some tools on the day please see what we can and cannot accept here.

For further information please call Loraine on 023 8086 9697 or email loraine@tfsr.org.

(Left) The fully loaded container with our long term volunteers. From l-r Marcel, Zoraida, Elin, Anna and Operations Manager Jon. (Right) Elin loading the container.

The latest container full of tools, training kits and sewing machines left Netley Marsh this week and is heading to our training projects in Malawi. We are sending approximately 4,484 tools and 112 kits to 7 organisations. These will better equip 4 training centres and directly benefit around 230 individuals. All of these donated and refurbished goods will make a huge difference to the lives of those who receive them.

As always, we would like to thank all of you who have supported Tools for Self Reliance and worked hard to get this shipment prepared and completed.

A special thanks must be extended to our Bristol group who, alongside a number of other South West groups, refurbished many of the tools heading to the FESODEV project and who raised an incredible £8,830 to cover our Africa related costs.

The hard work now starts on our next shipment to Tanzania. Keep visiting our website to be kept up to date!

If you would like to donate towards our vital work please visit our donation page here.

Among the exciting activities we have lined up for you are…

Please remember – you do not have to be a member to attend the gathering. You can also attend the AGM but you won’t be able to vote.

Lunch will be provided for which we are asking contributions of £5 per head, by cheque or cash.

You can join us for the whole day or pop by for a few hours – it’s up to you!

Please RSVP by Wednesday 15th May 2013 if you are joining us. Get in touch with Loraine by calling 023 8086 9697 or emailing loraine@tfsr.org

Our four fantastic Long Term Volunteers Anna, Elin, Marcel and Zoraida, are taking part in a sponsored 8 mile walk through the New Forest to raise money for Tools for Self Reliance.

The walk will take place on Saturday 11th May, starting and finishing in Burley Park, and is part of the New Forest Rotary Club Horse, Cycle or Walk charity fun event.

All four LTVs are volunteers working full-time at Tools for Self Reliance for a year through the European programme Youth in Action. They come from all over the continent: Denmark,
Sweden, Austria and Spain, and are doing a
wonderful job working together here in the UK.

We are very proud of them all for taking part in this event to raise money for a cause they are so passionate about.

You can support the team now by sponsoring them on their Virgin Money Giving page.

We’re always amazed to hear about all of the different support we receive across the UK. To see what we mean, read this article about the fantastic work Gillian Wesley is doing for us in Knowle.

Thank you Gillian and all at Catwalk Cafe!

We would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who attended our Haberdashery Sale on Saturday 9th March. The event was designed to raise money from surplus haberdashery stock that is unsuitable to send to Africa.

It was great to see some new faces as well as some long term supporters, and a fantastic £1,053 was raised to support our work in Africa.