Bridge2Aid urgently needs your help

Due to circumstances beyond their control, Bridge2Aid needs to raise £50,000 before the end of March 2014 to ensure the charity can continue its vital work.

 
Why do they need such urgent help?
 
In the past few months, two things have happened resulting in a significant financial challenge.
 
Firstly, Bridge2Aid (B2A) was the victim of a financial fraud in Tanzania.  Neither the police investigation or their own review has shown any link with the B2A team. It appears that the charity was targeted by an organised crime ring using high quality counterfeit cheques the day after a grant payment was received, and they managed to extract a large sum of money illegally. To date they have not been able to get the bank to repay this although they are continuing to pursue this course of action. They no longer use this bank.
 
Secondly, they received notification from their largest funder, a commercial enterprise, that they would, by necessity, be reducing the final payment of a three-year grant by almost 70%, as they have experienced a big fall in profits.
 
These two incidents combined mean that instead of starting 2014 with a low reserve, which they could manage, they now have a significant challenge to deliver treatment and training programmes in the first part of the year.
 
Their long-term strategy remains the same, and with their supporters, track record, reputation and impact, we are very confident they can continue to fund B2A from June onwards.
 
The Challenge
 
They need to raise £50,000 before the end of March 2014 to ensure they can continue their vital work through the rest of the year and beyond. This £50,000 will enable the programmes currently scheduled for March and the latter part of the year to go ahead.
 
Right now there is a very real threat to their work – and there are still millions of people suffering daily agony in East Africa who need their help. They have plans in place, a committed and gifted team, and hundreds of volunteers ready to deliver vital pain relief and training that would result in access to emergency dentistry for more than 3 million people over the next 3 years.
 
Please join us in supporting Bridge2Aid to help them continue their vital work that so many people have contributed to over the past 10 years, and make a life free from dental pain a reality for communities in need.
 

The urgency of this appeal cannot be overstated.

 

We have a dental community of 50,000 people in the UK. If just 1,000 of those people are able to make a donation of £40, plus gift aid, they will reach their target.

 

Can you help them in what is a very real time of need?

 
You can make a donation in the following ways:
 

  • Online via our website – www.bridge2aid.org/urgentappeal
  • Online direct to our bank, RBS, sort code: 16.16.20, account no. 10072646*
  • Directly onto our justgiving page – www.justgiving.com/B2Aurgentappeal
  • By cheque made payable to ‘Bridge2Aid’ and posted to Bridge2Aid, Well House, The Chipping, Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire. GL12 7AD
  • By calling 0845 8509877

 
*Please notify karen@bridge2aid.org when directly transferring an online donation to Bridge2Aid’s account.
 
Thank you.
 
 
 

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Published by

Chris Barrow

Chris Barrow has been active as a consultant, trainer and coach to the UK dental profession for over 20 years. As a writer, his blog enjoys a strong following and he is a regular contributor to the dental press. Naturally direct, assertive and determined, he has the ability to reach conclusions quickly, as well as the sharp reflexes and lightness of touch to innovate, change tack and push boundaries. In 2014 he appeared as a “castaway” in the first season of the popular reality TV show “The Island with Bear Grylls”. His main professional focus is as Coach Barrow, providing coaching and mentorship to independent dentistry.