HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can help as an individual.

Become a crew member
At Hope and Aid Direct we are always looking for volunteers to join us in the field. We have two convoys a year (one at Easter and one in October) lasting around two weeks each.
Each volunteer who wants to come with us is expected to raise their own funds to get there and back, and if you want to drive a truck, you will also need to borrow, hire or provide your own truck, and obtain the aid to fill it - It may sound daunting, but it's not that difficult, and we can help you! (Our Handbook tells you all about what to do, and how to do it).

You might like to read A CONVOYERS DIARY written during an Easter trip to Kosovo

Raise funds and/or aid
As an individual there are a number of ways in which you can help raise funds and/or aid.

You can make a donation NOW using a credit or debit card. Simply click on the link below, select a one off or monthly gift and the amount.

Charles Storer is the founder of Hope and Aid direct. He formed the charity because he wanted to ensure aid meant for the poor and deprived was delivered directly to them.
All the aid taken on the convoys is distributed by the charity volunteers and is not left in storage for others to distribute.

Hope and Aid Direct work closely with other charities and NGO's who often advise on where the aid is most desperately needed and they may also offer assistance during the distribution by providing interpreters and guides. However, it is Hope and Aid Direct who make the final decisions as to what is taken and what they hand out.

Quite often contacts are made during one convoy that may mean they take specially required items. Medical equipment, educational items, bicycles, wheelchairs, computers and sewing machines are some of the specially requested items that have been taken on recent convoys.

All these special wish list items have to be obtained and the charities volunteers work hard for the six months before each trip to make sure as many of the requested items as possible are donated or funded.

From all the above you will understand there are many opportunities for you to become involved and for as much or as little of your time as you care to give.

Being a volunteer can be very enjoyable and rewarding with many new friends to be made.

You can help as part of a team.

A small team will find it a lot easier to raise the funds needed to take part in an aid convoy. Each truck that goes needs a crew of two or three drivers, and often these drivers have worked together to raise the funds to take part. Often the teams will either work for the same company, or drink in the same pub.
Each truck costs up to £4,000 to get to Kosovo and back again and this is best raised by sponsorship and/or active fundraising.

You can help as a business.

A major part of the aid raised by Hope and Aid Direct comes from corporations or their employees. If your company would like to raise funds or to help with the work of Hope and Aid Direct you will receive our full co-operation and support. One of our representatives will be in regular contact to give support and information.

If you would like to help Hope and Aid Direct on an ongoing basis without having to raise money or collect goods YOU CAN.

Please talk to your friends, employers, local schools and club members about using 'EveryClick' as their search engine.

If you choose 'Hope and Aid Direct' as your charity of choice you can help us to help those in Eastern Europe every time you search for something on the internet.

So far funds from 'EveryClick' have enabled Hope and Aid Direct to fund two 40 ton lorries when responding to an emergency situation in Romania during May 2006.

Please help us by using EveryClick!'

Fund Raising and Aid Collection with a SHOP-N-DROP
Shop and Drop days are one of the ways local groups collect food and hygiene items required for the aid boxes that are taken on the convoys. 
Supermarkets are kind enough to allow the groups to set up for a few days at a time, in their foyers where customers are asked to buy an extra item or two of suitable food stuff or hygiene items and drop into the charities collection boxes.
A lot of organisation goes into these days, not only gaining permission from the supermarkets but also ensuring there are enough volunteers to man the collection points and sufficient transport and storage space for the goods collected.
Afterwards all the goods need to be sorted and packed into cartons ready for the next convoy.

We hope to have stimulated your interest and that you now want to know more about joining the Hope and Aid Direct volunteers.

The next step is to speak with one of our volunteers in your area. The 'IN YOUR AREA' pages will help you to locate your current area organisers for Hope and Aid Direct. You will then be provided with the information required to enable you to download the Hope and Aid Direct Handbook.

Don't Forget you can help Hope and Aid Direct simply by using EvryClick the next time you need to search the web.

EveryClick donate to charity every time you use their search engine but by using the link alongside, Hope and Aid Direct get a bigger share.

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