Busy!

Now is a really busy time for Algerian Action, our Eid appeal is well underway and lots of fabulous items are being donated for children in need. One shipment of Eid gifts and clothes has already been sent over and we plan to send another two before the end of Ramadan.

If you would like to help us make children smile this Eid ul fitr we would love to hear from you! We need donations of sweets, small toys, balloons and clothing which will all be given as gifts to children that have very little.

Of course, all of our other projects are ongoing and lots of gorgeous things have been donated to those too, in particular some lovely things for our ‘Baby pack project’ and some beautiful knitwear.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get my sewing machine out but, these gorgeous dresses donated by Carole have really inspired me to make some time…..

Just to remind you, in a couple of weeks it is small charity week and we will be participating by holding an online Auction which will raise money for our food aid programme.

Lots of lovely things have already been donated to the Auction including a stunning candle set from this talented Henna artist.

 If you are a crafter,artist or business owner and would like to donate something that can be auctioned off do get in touch!

Have a great week everyone!

Emma x

Save the date!

 

Just like last year, we will be providing poor families with food parcels during the month of Ramadan. We run a food aid programme which assists such families all year round but, during Ramadan and at Eid ul Fitr we give to even more.

To coincide with ‘Small charity week’ we will  be holding an online auction with all funds raised going towards the cost of providing food parcels to those in need.

The event will be taking place on 21st-22nd June on our facebook page. So please do show your support by bidding on some of the fabulous items that will be up for grabs including gorgeous jewellery, fabulous perfume, books and much more.

If you are a business or a crafter or indeed, anyone else  and would like to generously donate something to be auctioned please do get in touch at info@algerianaction.co.uk Your help would be much appreciated!

Eid appeal 2013

As many of you already know, the vast majority of  people living in Algeria are Muslim and one of the most significant celebrations in the Islamic calendar is Eid ul Fitr, the event which marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

Eid is a time of great joy and celebration, it is a time when friends and family gather together, people eat delicious sweets and cakes and traditionally everyone wears new clothes-particularly the children.  It is an expensive time for everyone not least the poorer families.

For the past three years, at this time we have given sweets, toys and new clothes to hundreds of children living in Algiers. Last year we gave to just over 700 and this year, with your help we hope to give to even more.

As with previous years we will be distributing the gifts to children living within the community, to those sick in hospital and this time to children whose home is a women’s refuge.

So, how to help?

We need donations of sweets, small toys, balloons or anything else that children love!

You can give your donations in a number of ways:  If you live in London you might like to drop them off, further afield you will need to post them and if you live in Algiers you can phone to arrange a collection/ drop off – all of the contact details can be found here.   Or if you prefer, you can make an online monetary donation through the website or send a cheque.  No donation is too small and every item makes a difference.

*Eid will fall around mid August so donations made in the UK must be received by 1st July at the latest to ensure that they will arrive in time.

Spread a little happiness and make a child smile this Eid ul fitr!

It’s been a while…

It seems such a long time since I posted here, well actually it IS a long time since I posted here!

Lots has been happening to me personally, my family and I are planning a big move in the summer so really, every spare moment has been spent preparing for that. Along with a million other things that just seem to keep coming along……

`Anyway, despite my lack of reporting here, our lovely supporters have been as generous as ever- so many fabulous things have been arriving and the volunteers in Algiers have been working hard at distributing to those in need.

You may remember earlier in the year that we were fundraising for a wheelchair and thanks to your generosity two girls actually got chairs- here is one of them below with her new wheels. The girls and their families were over joyed!

Plans are moving steadily forward for getting the library up and running- the books are being shipped and other equipment is being bought- Exciting times! If you live in Algiers and would like to help with this project please do get in touch.

Details of our Ramadan / Eid gift appeal are just being finalised and once known I’ll let you all know.

Thank you so much for all your help and support.

Have a great weekend!

Emma x

Introductions

You may remember a while back I asked if anyone would like to help us by being a regional co-ordinator in their local area, well I’m very pleased to say that a lovely lady, who has been a long-time supporter of Algerian Action put herself forward to be a co-ordinator for Northamptonshire. So a very warm welcome to Carol- I know you will do an amazing job!

Regional co-ordinators will help us carry out our work more effectively and spread the word about Algerian Action and all that we do. If you would like to volunteer in this way and help where you live please get in touch ( info@algerianaction.co.uk ) and request an application form- we would love to hear from you.

If you live in Northamptonshire and would like to get in touch with Carol the email address is northants@algerianaction.co.uk

I am also very excited to introduce a corporate sponsor of our new travelling library project. ‘My Little Big Town’, a children’s book publisher that produce innovative and fun books for a variety of age groups have generously agreed to come on board and support our work. To find out more about the company please visit their website

Giveaway! ****closed************

As the regulars will know, this month is ‘bake for books’  month: where we are encouraging all and everyone to hold a coffee morning, tea party or any other event that involves cake to help us raise funds for our new library project………….. we are really hoping to buy some book trolleys!

     Anyway, as promised and to add to the fun we will be holding a few giveaways throughout the rest of March.

First up is a fabulous cookbook written by Edd Kimber (of Great British bake-off fame) The book, ‘Say it with cake’ is filled with over 80 show stopping recipes that are sure to delight even the most discerning tastebuds!

Featuring recipes from around the world, he includes, crowd pleasing cakes, biscuits, cupcakes,cheesecakes,meringues, pies, truffles, tarts and buns. The Author also shares several tips on decorating,assembly and presentation to help you make the most of your baking. The book is hard back,  has 192 pages and the most mouthwatering pictures.

To get your hands on our donated copy all you need to do is leave a comment in the box below telling us what your all time favourite cake is.

The giveaway is open to everyone worldwide and closes at 12.30pm (gmt) on Saturday 16th March. The recipient will be chosen randomly by an on-line generator.

So what are you waiting for?!

*UPDATE* …………………………………………….And the book goes to Mariel!!

I can’t seem to get the screen shot of the online generator here but, if anyone would like me to email it to them please let me know.

A fantastic month!

I know we are almost half way through March but, I have been away for the last ten days and didn’t get a chance to round up the month before I went away.  So, here we are a very brief recap on what happened in Feb:

Well, the most fantastic news of all was that we reached our target of 1,000 books! We are now almost in the position of being able to start the library- we still need to get the book trolleys but we are well on target for ‘opening’ in the Summer.

Continuing the book theme, we also participated in international book giving day on February 14th.

Lots and lots of fabulous items were also donated including toys, toiletries, blankets and clothing and craft materials, below is just a small selection of things given by our supporters in February.

As always, huge enormous thanks for all of your help and support. Have a marvellous March everyone!

We did it!

 

I am so pleased to let you all know that we have now exceeded the target for our book collection. In just two months we have managed to accumulate a massive 1,023 books all of which are of excellent quality and fabulous condition.

Huge, huge thanks to all of you that have contributed!

It’s amazing to think that we are almost ‘there’: we have the books and now just need to buy some book trolleys before we can get started. To aid our fundraising efforts we are holding a ‘bake for books’ event throughout March and are requesting that as many people as possible hold a coffee morning, cake sale, afternoon tea …….basically anything cake related. We will also be holding a number of give-aways so do look out for some fab cookery books that will be up for grabs during March.

 

Today is International Book Giving Day 2013!

 

This year we are participating in International book giving day by distributing books to children staying at the El Ketter Hospital in Algiers.

The day is all about getting books into as many hands as possible, a family member, stranger, local group, friend or charitable organisation it can be whoever you wish.

Along with distributing books to sick children we are also collecting them for our travelling library project: we are just 77 away from our target of 1,000! So if you are looking for someone to gift a book to then, look no further- we would love to have it! Our Amazon wish list can be found here or you can send new or gently used books to the usual address.

 

We also need to buy some shelving for the library so, to help with our fundraising efforts we are selling some original ‘one of a kind’ bookmarks that have been made from vintage books. There are only 100 available, they are priced at 50p each with an additional 50p (for however many bought) for uk postage and £1 (for however many you buy) for the rest of the world.  There are two styles to choose from but obviously the  image / wording on each will be different. You can buy by sending a cheque/postal order made payable to Algerian Action or via paypal using the email algerianaction@london.com Please remember to include details of how many you want and if you would like style 1 or 2.

Style #1

Style #2

 

So really all that’s left to say is: Have a great day!

Fab. Feb.

So far February has been a fantastic month for donations!

Lots of books have been donated and we are now less than 100 away from our target, which is a brilliant achievement in such a short space of time…

Some absolutely fantastic toys were also donated which will be perfect for the women’s refuge playroom.

There were also some rather lovely baby clothes too including some super baby packs aready made up………

So far February seems too have been a very busy month with lots of planning going on, which is fun! -I hope you’re all enjoying whatever it is you’re up to!

Emma x

P.S. It’s international book giving day tomorrow so check back then and see what were doing to spread a love of books!