The Horley team completed a very a productive month of sorting and packing whilst using the car park at Horley Baptist Church and our warehouse in Billingshurst. On 11th September we will return to our venue for packing and sorting inside Horley Baptist Church from 13:30 to 15:30 each Friday, but excluding 25th September and 4th December.
The Billingshurst warehouse will be open on Saturday mornings as normal. Location details for the warehouse are on our How to Donate page.
It is hoped to have a Christmas lorry ready for November. Please ensure your shoe boxes are with us by Saturday 7th November. If you send by post or parcel services you will have to check with your local depot about collections nearer the time you are ready. As actual shoe boxes are becoming very difficult to obtain we can accept their contents in bulk form, for making up into gift parcels in Dorohoi.
AN has continued to operate with reduced staffing in the office and in the shop. The arrival of a lorry in mid July has allowed us to reduce, to a certain degree, our constraints on helping only the most needy families. We have been able to be a little more generous with giving out clothing and food, and have seen an increase in the numbers of people that we are able to help. In July we gave out goods with a local equivalent value of £3,100 in response to 186 requests for help. This compares with the corresponding figures of £7,900 and 232 for July 2019. In addition to the donation of regular stock we have been able to help with several special projects which have received specific funding from the UK.
September sees the start of the new school year although, as the day draws closer, there is less and less clarity as to how schools can operate whilst maintaining the safety of pupils and staff. We have again been able to supply a selection of stationery and other materials such as carpet tiles. These tiles have an added value in kindergartens this year as they can be used to define personal space for each child.
Other restrictions concerning social distancing and the wearing of masks in certain circumstances are still in force although they are being widely ignored. As a result, some parts of Romania are experiencing large increases in the numbers of COVID cases, although our area area is not one of the hot-spots. This in turn has meant that countries such as Austria and Hungary are introducing restrictions on the movements of foreigners. As these are countries through which our lorries must pass there is still some doubt about our lorry delivery programme for the rest of the year.
The need to comply with social distancing and health protection measures means that the preparation of our news updates has been adversely affected; in particular in the number of photos that we can take and in keeping up-to-date with our donation statistics. Normal service with be resumed – but when?
Last month’s performance statistics
These statistics give a snapshot of our aid-related activities last month.
| Categories | August 2020 |
Same month last year | % Change year on year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Beneficiaries: joiners / leavers | 16 / 41 | 18 / 42 | |
| Beneficiaries this month: | 173 | 192 | 4% |
| Number of Donations: | 224 | 216 | -10% |
| Total Value of Donations: (£ equivalent) | 5,031 | 6,972 | -28% |
| Exchange Rate, RON to GBP | 5·3703 | 5·1660 | 4% |
Stats notes:
– Joiners are new registrants this month, Leavers are are those whose latest recorded donation was 12 months ago.
– Some households may receive more than one donation during a month (eg, repeat donations of food).
– Items shown as 0 or as “…” are awaiting final returns for the month.
Previous month’s news, August 2020
Site Links
links to RoAF and AN sites:
RoAF site
AN site
RoAF & AN photo gallery
AN Facebook page
