Dear Supporter

Waiting to drive off in a minibus - a group of volunteers at the bothy in Glen Affric. We need your help now to take groups like this to their work sites in the Caledonian Forest this autumn.

Spring is here, our volunteers are hard at work in the Caledonian Forest, and we’ve just signed a deal to purchase the Dundreggan Estate – Trees for Life is in top gear! I’m writing to you today because I need your help to maintain this exciting forward momentum, and to literally keep us in top gear, with the purchase of a much-needed new minibus. It’s vitally important that we raise £15,300 for this, to get our volunteers to their work sites this autumn, especially as we are taking a huge step forward with the acquisition of our own Highland estate for forest restoration!

I’ve been deeply touched by the tremendous response to our last appeal, for the purchase of Dundreggan. General donations totalled over £42,000, while 2 members gave £100,000 each, and I’m delighted to say that we’ll soon take title to most of the 10,000 acre estate, together with an option to purchase the rest of Dundreggan next year. This is a fantastic achievement, and I’m very grateful for all the support we’ve received!

Now, we need to build on that success, and keep our practical work of tree planting etc. moving forward. Key to this is the purchase of a new minibus. An appeal in 2004 raised all the funds to replace one of our two minibuses, then 7 years old, and now it’s the turn of the second one, which is well-loved but almost 9 years old. Many charities replace their minibuses every 3-5 years, so ours has done very well to last this long, especially given the rough unpaved roads we drive over to get to our work sites. The old bus has given good service, but now it’s time to move on!

Driving forward - with your help!

Keep us in the driving seat! – Trees for Life Field Projects Manager Adam Powell at the wheel of a Transit minibus similar to the one we plan to buy.

Most of our forest restoration work is carried out by our volunteer groups and it’s crucial that we have reliable minibuses to transport them in, so that they can bring their enthusiasm and hard work to the return of the forest – this autumn the first work weeks will take place on Dundreggan! Buying a new minibus is now our top priority, and we’ve just been given a grant of £5,000 by the Linley Shaw Foundation towards the purchase of one. This leaves us needing to raise a total of £15,300, and I’m asking you to help us reach this target. 18 months ago, we raised just over £20,000 from our members and supporters for our other minibus, so I know that we can do this again - with your help now!

The key points about the new minibus we plan to buy are:

• It’s a Ford Transit minibus with a 2.4 litre diesel engine and 6 speed gearbox. The 17 seat capacity provides enough space for 10 volunteers and 2 Work Week focalisers, plus all their food, tools and luggage. This minibus also has double rear wheels which are important for carrying heavy loads and providing traction on rough forest tracks.
• Our minibuses are driven by many different work week focalisers, so buying the same model as the one we already have provides the advantage of familiarity, both for driving and for routine maintenance checks. The vehicle will come with a 3 year warranty and AA cover.
• The price of the minibus is £19,495, exclusive of VAT (which we can reclaim). On top of that we need to add the road fund licence and the cost of installing a safety cage for tools in the back of the vehicle. This brings the total to approximately £20,300. Deducting the £5,000 grant we’ve just received gives us the target figure of £15,300 that we need to raise now.
• As with our other minibus, we’re offering the opportunity for our supporters to "Sponsor a Seat" for £900, either individually or by getting together with friends, family or colleagues. Just 17 people sponsoring a seat each will provide all the funds we need! Sponsors will be gratefully appreciated in our newsletter, Caledonia Wild!, and on a small acknowledgement in the bus itself. Are you one of the special people we’re looking for to do this? Whatever the amount, though, your donation now is key to our success in this appeal!

Please help to keep us in top gear and driving forward with our work!

Our minibuses are essential to the effectiveness of our project – without them, we cannot transport volunteers to the work sites in the Caledonian Forest! Please send a donation now and be a key to our success in purchasing a new minibus – you will literally be keeping us driving forward in top gear with our award-winning restoration work!

To make a donation online to this project, please go to our order form, and thank you in advance for any contribution which you can give - your support will help to make all the difference!

Yours sincerely,

Alan Watson Featherstone
Executive Director

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If you would like to make a donation for a different aspect of our work, please see our Appeals for Funds.

If you would like to make a donation to our appeal or indeed to fund any other part of our work, please send cheques or postal orders in Pounds Sterling to 'Trees for Life' at the address below. SSupporters in the USA can make tax-deductible donations via the Hygeia Foundation, PO Box 1176, New Canaan, Connecticut 06840, USA, marking the donation as being for 'Trees for Life in Scotland'.

You can also make an on-line credit card donation on our multi-purpose order form via a secure server.

Last updated: 26 January 2010