The
David Williamson Rwanda Foundation, which was set up
in late 2008 and formerly recognized as a charity registered
in Scotland in March 2009, came into existence as a
memorial to the life of David Williamson, owner and
Managing Director of Glasgow-based coffee roasters,
Matthew
Algie.
The Foundation's
aims are to work with the communities attached to the
coffee-growing co-operatives in Rwanda - a country whose
people and amazing spirit greatly moved David when he
visited there in 2007 - to alleviate poverty and assist
in the improvement of health and welfare.
The Foundation is administered
by four Directors; Morag Williamson, Ewan Reid, Ian
Bretman and Wyndham James and had its inaugural Board
meeting at The Fairtrade Foundation offices in London
in April 2009. As well as the Board of Directors,
The David Williamson Rwanda Foundation has two very
involved Patrons in actor Colin Firth and musician
and actor Shirley Manson.
Tuesday 01st June 2010
Marathon Effort
Despite the heat Caroline made it through the gruelling Edinburgh marathon course in a respectable 5 hours and 22 minutes. The other great news is that she has provisionally raised £681 so far through her JustGiving page. The final amount will be most generously matched by Matthew Algie so funds raised should be in excess of £1,300.
Thursday 06th May 2010
Keep on running...
So that's one down, one to go for Morag! Completed the Edinburgh 10K run in 62 minutes or thereabouts and now hoping to go a bit faster in Glasgow. Thanks to everyone who has donated so generously so far....... £570 to date!!!
For more info see: http://www.justgiving.com/Morag-Williamson
The word is that Caroline preparations are going well for the Edinburgh marathon later in the month and she's raised £480 so far which is fantastic.
For more info see: http://www.justgiving.com/Caroline-Rosney0
Tuesday 06th April 2010
JustGiving
We've set up our JustGiving account and you can now fund raise on our behalf through the JustGiving portal (http://www.justgiving.com/rwandafoundation).
First to take the plunge is Caroline Rosney. You might remember that Caroline is running the Edinburgh Marathon on May 23rd 2010 and you can support Caroline and DWRF by donating via her JustGiving page (http://www.justgiving.com/Caroline-Rosney0).
Big thanks again and best of luck to Caroline.
Wednesday 17th March 2010
Money for old rope?
Old coffee sacks actually...the majority of coffee imported into the UK arrives in 60-kilo jute sacks: over 4 million in 2006*. Although it is the contents of these sacks that carry the main value we believe that even an empty coffee sack has worth and definitely should not find its way into landfill!
Those inventive people at Elvis & Kresse ( www.elvisandkresse.com) have started an initiative in conjunction with Sainsbury’s to up-cycle these waste coffee sacks and turn them into the ultimate in environmentally friendly shopping bags. This waste is produced in the UK, they collect it in the UK, re-manufacture the shoppers in the UK and then sell them in the UK. What’s more, Jute (the raw material) is a completely natural fabric and ultimately biodegradable. On top of that DWRF receive a donation for each bag sold through Sainsbury’s (big thank you) and we are grateful for the first funds from the sales of these bags which we plan to use for our water projects.
Thursday 04th March 2010
Running for DWRF
In 2008 Caroline, an employee of Matthew Algie, decided to complete a 10k run in Manchester, much to the amusement of her friends and family as before this point running up the stairs was a challenge. Managing to complete this run in one piece spurred her on to continue running, skywiring, scrambling etc all in the name of charity. Finally bringing her to the biggest challenge, the big one: 26.2mile Edinburgh Marathon taking place May 23rd 2010. She immediately decided to run in the name of David Williamson Rwanda Foundation, hoping to inspire others to raise money for this worthwhile cause.
We are setting up a Just Giving page for Caroline and will let you know as soon as it's up.
Friday 26th February 2010
Official launch of The David Williamson Rwanda Foundation
Took place in Mono, Glasgow on the night of Sunday 5 July 2009, David's favourite music venue. Titled Throughout the Dark Months of April and May it was a night, which saw David's friends, family, colleagues, supporters and music fans, gather together and watch some of David's favourite bands play. With warm words and warmer hearts, the Foundation launched to the sounds of The Pastels, The Vaselines, Malcolm Middleton and Teenage Fanclub. It was a night to remember and marked a new beginning.
