Press Release: Horley Charity on the Move.
The Horley-based Romanian Aid Foundation is seeking a new UK base for its humanitarian aid operations. The charity has been taking aid to the town of Dorohoi in northeastern Romania since 1992. Dorohoi is a similar size to Horley, but it has poor communications and an unemployment rate of some 70%. Each year, over 120 tons of aid is sent from Horley, including clothing, food, household and educational items.
In Romania, the aid distribution team uses these gifts to help those in need. During the past year,
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1,300 families have received clothes, food, toiletries, toys and medical items;
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600 families have received clothes for children under 5 and food from the office;
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100 families have received furniture items;
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50 students have received computers;
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40 families have received money or medicine;
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Help has also been given to 12 hospitals - food, clothes, disinfectant, computers;
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The municipal soup kitchen in Dorohoi has received food and disinfectant;
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3 schools in Dorohoi received 4 computers each;
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1 village school has received a computer.
Each family averages 5 people. 50% of these families are from the town of Dorohoi, the remainder are from the surrounding villages. As well as this assistance, there are about 100 people a week who receive meals at the Centre of Hope in Dorohoi, approximately 5,000 meals a year.
Donated goods are prepared and packed by volunteers at the charity’s warehouse at ParcelForce in Salfords prior to dispatch. Now that ParcelForce is relocating its operations to Crawley the charity will no longer have this warehouse facility.
Steve Humphreys, Technical Co-ordinator for the charity, said "The feedback from the team in Dorohoi is that the situation for the poor there is getting worse and will not improve for perhaps another generation. Throughout the time that we have been taking aid to Romania we have enjoyed the hospitality of ParcelForce, particularly in allowing us the use of warehouse space, but also helping with transport and logistics. We would not have been able to provide relief to so many people without the support from Royal Mail and ParcelForce. Now the complex at Salfords is to be sold and redeveloped, and the charity must find a new home by the end of 2005. We need a warehouse unit of about 900 square feet, preferably in the Gatwick area. We are able to pay rates and other operating costs but we can offer only a nominal rent, in order to maximise the help given to people in Romania."
The following summarises the accommodation that we need in order to continue with our work:
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- approximately 400 sq ft of internal floor space (for sorting and packing).
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- a further 400 sq ft of internal floor space for storage prior to dispatch.
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- space for loading one 15 metre articulated lorry (one consignment per month).
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- access on Friday afternoons and all day Saturdays.
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- parking for 4 cars, including visitors.
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- rolling tenancy agreement of at least three months duration.
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- electricity, water and drainage (costs reimbursed).
- Rates rebate - As a registered charity, RoAF is entitled to a statutory rates relief of at least 80% for those areas that it occupies. Additional relief may be available at the discretion of the local authority. It is our current practice to underwrite the balance of the rates charges not covered by these rebates.
- Publicity - We are happy to acknowledge and publicise the support given by corporate sponsors, including the use of website links, publications and vehicle signage as appropriate.
- Occupancy - An occupied building is less likely to fall prey to unwelcome visits or illegal trespass. As occupants, we can also identify possible problems at an earlier stage and thus save the landlord the increased costs of later remedial works.
- A nominal rent - not much by commercial standards, but enough to cover expenses and more than the income from an empty building.
- Flexibility - because all our assets are intended to be given away we can move out of premises at fairly short notice.
- Feel-good factor - the sense of being involved in something worthwhile that is making a difference to the lives of poverty-stricken people in our own continent.
The charity can be contacted on Horley (01293) 403888 or by email via mail@roaf.org
