Thank you for visiting my Just Giving page.

In the summer I read of a Somerset Church’s campaign  to raise money for COVID19 vaccinations in developing countries, many of which still have not had sufficient vaccines even for their health workers. The campaign was  encouraging parishioners to twin their vaccine, to give the amount their vaccine might have cost.

I was so impressed by this campaign which really seemed to have hit a chord with the public, they  aimed to raise £100,000 and have raised £204,000!

I suggested to the Church Council  that we should start a similar campaign here in Buckland Newton, Dorset, which was unanimously agreed. But like many good intentions it got put on the back boiler and was not quite as straightforward to implement as I hoped.

However the tragic story of Sandra Hicks, sister of Karen Whiter of Buckland Newton has galvanised me to action. Sandra, was a nurse in Bristol,  who contracted Covid 19 at the start of the pandemic. She was on a ventilator for seven weeks before losing her life. Karen has agreed to allow us to dedicate this fund to the memory of her sister. 

After some research I decided the money should go straight to the charity CARE which is playing a key role in the fast and fair delivery of COVID vaccines to the world's most marginalised people.

Our doses of vaccine (depending on which kind we had) might have cost between £4 and £30, the Pfizer jab in the UK costs just £22. 
If you could have afforded to buy it for yourself, please celebrate vaccination by donating to CARE. JustGiving pass the donations directly to the charity on a weekly basis.

Of course donations don’t have to be restricted to churchgoers or those who live in the parish of Buckland Newton or neighbouring villages, spread the word to friends and relatives. I will give  a regular update of money raised on the Holy Rood facebook page and in the LV.

The Christmas Season seems an appropriate time to begin this local campaign, and as we move onto receiving our booster jabs, a time to think of those who still have not been able to have a vaccination at all… and we keep being told we will never be safe if this is not a global fight against the virus. 

CARE aims to play a key role in the fast and fair delivery of COVID vaccines to the worlds most marginalised people. In the next year, we could see a further widening of already enormous gaps in global wealth and health unless vaccines reach those most in need. We cannot let 2021 be the year of the grand reversal unraveling 40 years of progress in tackling poverty, inequality, and injustice. That's why we are going to work together with partners and communities, to make sure we all find a way out of this pandemic.For more information please visit CARE's website www.careinternational.org