GOODBYE SCOTLAND!!

AAAAAH! My leaving date is finally here!! Tomorrow evening I'll be getting on an aeroplane and saying goodbye to the UK for a year!

I'm all packed, everything is in the right place (everything I've remembered anyway...) and I think I'm all set!

I can't believe it's come to fast, feels like only last week I was on my selection course, but it's really happening and I'm really going!

I'll be updating this when I can with news about how I'm getting on, and hopefully some photos too :)

Thailand here I come!!

Placement

Finally got my placement through from Project Trust!

If all goes well I should be going to a small rural village called "Na Kae" in the North of Thailand (almost in Laos actually!). It's between Nahkon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon, in a region called Isan.

I'll be employed by the local council to work in 2 or 3 schools instead of just 1, and I'll also be able to teach extracurricular activities and to become involved with English camps. I'll be helping fellow teachers with their English too, and to teach in extra conversational classes for adults.

My accommodation will be a wooden house which was once a Thai family home which I'll share with my partner.

All of this sounds fantastic, but there is a chance I won't be going to Thailand at all if the situation there doesn't improve (which it doesn't seem to be doing), and so my placement could be changed to Malaysia, China or Indonesia.

Fantastic News!!

The Charity Shop ended on Saturday, and it was brilliant! People were so supportive and the shop was kept busy over the whole week, which was great. We raised a total of £765, including the money raised from a raffle that week, and that means that I have now raised all the money I need!!

I'm so happy that I've actually made it to the £4,850 - I remember right at the start thinking that I wouldn't be able to manage even £1,000!

I'll be getting my placement letter within the next couple of weeks hopefully, which will tell me exactly where I'll be staying and what my project is, and I can't wait for that. I'll also be attending my Training Course on the Isle of Coll at the end of July which should be brilliant. I loved being on Coll last October, so now that it's summer it should be even better!! I'll keep this updated with information about my placement and training.

Good and Bad News

Well the bad news is that the Can't Cook, Won't Cook fundraiser had to be cancelled because not enough people bought tickets, which is a shame because I think it could have been a really fun event.

The good news is that after putting leaflets in literally hundreds of newspapers at 5.45am about the charity shop I'm running at the end of April I've already had some donations of jewellery, clothes and books, and a few people have said that they are clearing out cupboards at the moment and will get back to me so that's great! I've also had another donation of £100 from a trust and a phone call from another trust saying that they would like to donate and are discussing it, so everything is looking up!

More good news!!

I've had an amazing donation of £1,200 from another charitable trust, so a HUGE thank you to them!! It's a fantastic boost and has made a huge difference.

I think that most things are sorted for my Can't Cook, Won't Cook - I've got the teams down, booking confirmed for Northmuir Hall, so just to sell tickets now! I'll be really advertising next week, going to try and get in some publications at the school to get people interested. Time goes by so fast when there's things to do...

Donation and Interview!

Got another £100 from a Charitable Trust, thank you! Very grateful. Also, the article for the Kirrie Herald will be in Inspire (the Herald supplement) on Wednesday! It won't just be in the Kirrie Herald, but it'll be in the Forfar Dispatch too along with other newspapers all over the place, so that's great! I'll get a lot of coverage from it. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the photo that they're using, so if it's awful then it's everywhere and there's no hiding from it!! Lets hope it's good!

All going well!

I am 99% sure that the Can't Cook Won't Cook fundraiser will be on 19th March, I just need to confirm booking Northmuir Hall next week and then it's all good!! I need to think of some clever ways to advertise it, if anyone has any ideas then let me know! naomiweir2010@gmail.com

I have also confirmed that I'll be renting out a shop for a week to try and sell any unwanted items that we have and that we get donated to us, but it won't be in Coupar Angus as there would be no way for us to stay there, and it's too far to travel to and from every day (especially with no car!). The dates for this are April 17th to April 24th, and I'll be advertising it and asking for donations nearer the time!!

My interview with the Courier went well, but unfortunately there was a bit of a mix up. The photographer came but the reporter couldn't, so I did the photos and then had an over-the-phone interview with the reporters co-worker. However, the co-worker didn't know that there were any photos, so it got put in without any photos, meaning that it's pretty hard to notice in the paper! I'll be contacting the Kirrie Herald though and trying to get an article with them. I've also been asked by the reporter for the Courier to let them know if I'm doing any events and they can advertise them in the paper to keep people's interest up.

Courier Interview and Trusts!

I've got an interview with the Courier tomorrow which should be a great way to get some more publicity! Not really looking forward to the photo though - lets hope they get me on a good day!

I've also had two more positive responses from Charitable Trusts which is fantastic - a huge thanks to them both!

I'm in the process of organising two more events - a "Can't Cook, Won't Cook" fundraiser and a Charity Shop in Coupar Angus (hopefully!), so let's hope they go well!

Huge thanks!!

A HUGE thanks to everyone in the family who donated Christmas money to my gap year fund! I really appreciate it, it's such a great help!

Trusts etc!

After my interview with the charitable trust, they gave a donation of £450!!! I was amazed at how much they gave, and very grateful! That was followedby a further £200 today from another trust!

Also, finished my week and a bit of Guess How Many Sweets In The Jar - made about £70 in total, not as much as I'd hoped for but still good! Combined with the money I already had, I've made my first £1000!! Doesn't seem that long ago that I was worried I might not make my frst £100, so things are definitely looking uuup!

Putting the FUN into Fundraising...

...Or not. So the panic and stress of fundraising really begins! So far the Library is trying to get in the Directory of Grant Making Trusts (and has been trying to get it for about 2 weeks now...). Hopefully it'll come in time for me to actually use it! I have managed to find a good list of Scottish charities, trusts and funds etc. online though, so I've been ploughing through that.

I've also been making Christmas decorations and button bracelets to try and sell at Christmas fairs (or fayres?), and apparently I'm the messyest person ever at doing crafts. Considering my glitter-glue covered jeans, I think my mum has a point.

I'm also making up some quizzes and things to try and sell, and will be looking into getting som prizes donated.

For more information or to donate please visit my justgiving page or drop me an email!

http://www.justgiving.com/NaomiWeir

Thailand, wheeeeeeeee!!

Unfortunately whatever I had on Coll either mutated, or I got another infection, but I ended up with viral gastroentiritus and have been off school for the past 2 weeks. longest I've ever been off school, but the good news is it means I have a lot of time to think about fundraising because I heard from Project Trust, and I'm going to Thailand!! Well, 95% sure I'm going to Thailand! They give you 3 placements, and it's 95% sure you'll be going to the first but, my second and third were Uganda and Malaysia - all amazing! I'm probably going to be teaching English to schoolchildren in Thailand for the year, and I can't wait. I'll also get the opportunity (and take it) to work at a local orphanage, elephant project or other project during the school holidays. Got lots of fundraising ideas, hopefully going to be arranging a bag-pack at Tesco to raise some money, along with arranging some events at school along with much more, so I'll keep updating this. Even if no on reads it it helps me to keep organised, and I need all the help I can get with that!


For more information or to donate please visit my justgiving page or drop me an email!

http://www.justgiving.com/NaomiWeir