Dear Islanders
In my last article for the Islander in the March edition, I reviewed our progress during our first two years of operation. I thanked everyone who had helped us along the way and invited you all to continue to do so in what would be another challenging year for us all. Well, it hardly required a crystal ball to predict “another challenging year” but we did not foresee that not only would the superyacht community continue to help us but that their support would increase so substantially!
So far this year over 200 yachts have made donations of the things we need which are:
- Food & soft drinks (unopened and in date)
- Clean clothing in good condition
- Personal hygiene products & cleaning materials
- Bedding, towels & bathrobes
- Toys & nappies
- Other miscellaneous items in very good condition
Many of them also continued to prepare delicious ready meals for the homeless every week.
It is difficult to measure the amount of materials we receive but 400-500kg a week seems like a reasonable average – so what do we do with it all? Well, we couldn’t do anything without our “head office” container, so kindly supplied to us by STP, and the additional storage units provided by Planet Space but, once we have everything sorted, it is all shared out between the following charities who are doing great work to help Mallorca’s homeless, hungry and other people in need:
- Assocación Tardor, (soup kitchen, food bank and two homeless shelters – Kurt and Inge)
- Mallorca Sense Fam (food bank and charity shop)
- Es Refugi (homeless shelter and soup kitchen)
- Can Gaza (homeless shelter)
- JoyRon Foundation (helping children in need across Mallorca)
- Shambhala Foundation (supporting young people in need)
- SOS Mamas (helping mothers with little or no income and their children)
- Siloe (hospice for AIDS patients who would otherwise be homeless)
In addition to all the material donations, we have also been overwhelmed by the financial support we have received. We have received great donations from:
- Medical Support Offshore.
- The Superyacht Charities Foundation.
- RadioOne Mallorca in another amazing Radiothon by Richie Prior and Ayesha Wood.
- 6Points Cycling Challenges men’s and ladies’ events supported by donations from Mallorca Senses Hotels, Ticket Travel and Pinmar.
- Pete, Tim and Jo, the snorkelling and kayak team, who circumnavigated Mallorca to raise funds for YGB.
- e3 Systems and Cobham SATCOM who organised two cycling events for YGB during the year.
- TP 52 Super Series who provided many hundreds of meals to Tardor during this year’s two regattas.
All of these great donations mean we can do more things for more charities.
WHAT DID WE SPEND IT ON?
Thanks to all the bedding donations over 160 people between the five different shelters now have good quality bedding and towels. However, although all this second-hand bedding has many years of life left in it, a clapped-out, second-hand washing machine is not going to cut it in a shelter with 60 residents!
So, thanks to all these donations we have been able to pay for the following:
- 4 washing machines
- 4 tumble dryers
- 2 freezers
- 1 walk in fridge (installation)
- 1 large commercial oven
- 1 pallet stacker
- Various microwaves, computers and printers
- A new electric roller door at Mallorca Sense Fam
- A new floor/ceiling at Es Refugi in order to re-open accommodation for up to 12 residents
All of the above items have been bought new, with warranties, and mostly through Pinmar Yacht Supply who have passed on their commercial discounts to us so we are very grateful to them all and especially Liz Wood and Gitte Jenshoj.
And, of course, there are some lovely people who like to make their contributions directly like MTSea, who installed another drinking water fountain and filtration system in Llar Inge in a cabinet made by Classic Yacht Shipwrights saving lots of money just like the one they previously installed in Llar Kurt.
As well as being able to invest in these substantial items we have been very proud to be able to fill a wide range of ostensibly smaller but equally important needs by supplying the following:
- A life-changing new hearing aid for one of the Llar Kurt residents and new prescription glasses for another.
- Major dental treatment for one of the Shambhala youngsters and many of the supplies needed so that another 6 of their “Warriors” could move into a new flat.
- School books and clothes for the children of some of the single mums who can’t afford them.
- 20 new mattress protectors for Siloe and another 40 for Es Refugi kindly provided at cost by Bob The Bed.
- We are currently planning to pay for new windows to be installed in Llar Kurt in order to add another bedroom and to fund a part time psychologist at Es Refugi to help residents overcome trauma and get back on their feet.
Thanks to the support of over 50 volunteers who have helped us since we started, we have continued our very successful food collection on behalf of Tardor at the Bendinat Eroski and have already collected over 100 trolleys this year.
In addition, we have made regular deliveries of a Land Rover full of food, toiletries and cleaning products to the various shelters in order to fill in the gaps in their other supplies. These visits also give us the opportunity to spend time with them and find out what else they really need. They often need some coaxing to ask for things so it is all the more rewarding to see their reaction when, thanks to our wonderful supporters, we are able to say yes! As a result, although we have been busy, I don’t think any of our team really think of it as work. It is such a pleasure to deliver the assistance which you enable us to provide. We are regularly greeted by the charities we visit as “Papa Noël” or the “Reyes Magos” to which we like to reply “well, not really – it’s other people’s money!”
It is a great privilege to spend your money on your behalf, but it is also a great responsibility, so we take very seriously our obligation to put it to the best possible use and that includes having ZERO overheads so that every Euro we receive will be spent helping people who need it most.
With heartfelt thanks to everyone who has given us the means to do so,
Nick, Louise, Paddy, Anne and Aila
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The Yachting Gives Back container inside the STP shipyard is open to receive donations on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 0930-1030. If you cannot get to the yard, please contact me and we try to arrange to collect where possible.
Donate directly to the Yachting Gives Back bank account:
Bankia: IBAN ES81 2038 3480 5160 0019 8061
Please help us to help those in need.
Nick Entwisle
Mob: 619 117937
NIF G16659773
