£125,000 Raised so far - £675,000 to go...

Thank You Countryman Magazine, Midlands Today and the Saturday Telegraph

Your readers have pushed our total to £125,000 - over £50,000 in sales in the last week alone! Our shareholder base has increase to over 1200 members from across the country and beyond.

As you can imagine this has meant a dramatic increase in administration in the office and we have all been working around the clock. However, we are also on an amazing high. The response from every person has been passionate, enthusiastic and inspiring. You really are making a statement by supporting the fight to save Fordhall Farm. You are showing us that people really do want to support british farming, that people really do care about our countryside and that it is important for it to be saved. When we began this project we had no idea if it would succeed and if it was wanted by people. You are showing us that it is and by doing this you are providing us with the determination that will ensure its success. By joining the fight to save Fordhall Farm we are sending out a message to all that things need to change, and that there is a future for small family farms in the UK.

We have now run out of share certificates and are awaiting their return from the printers. They are infact printed for free by North Shropshire District Council together with our share applications, window stickers and newsletters; which we are extremely grateful for. But it doesnt stop here - all our desks and filing cabinets were also donated by the council - thank you!

So, there may be a delay in recieving your certificate. We are working on about a two week turn around at the moment instead of the usual one week process. When shares enter the office we have volunteers who file them, add the data to database, assign certificate and share numbers, write the certificate and create the package that is then sent out to you. But with over 1000 in one week, it is a slow process.

We must thank all the volunteers for the help we have recieved in the office this week processing all the shares and donations (Elaine and Bryan Hunt, Sean McLaughlin, Charlotte Brittain, Connie Hollins, Rebecca Syrett, Alec Nunn, Alice Janes, Hayley Brennon, Steven (new shareholder), Isabel doing her Duke of Edinburgh award, Bob O'Brien, Andrew Bailey and Dylan Franklin). We could not it without you!

We must also thank all those who have contacted us with their own fundraising projects across the country, with proceeds going towards the Fordhall Community Land Initiative. Please do not forget to send in your photos so that we can post them on the Blog site.

Charity Dinner Saturday May 13th
Tickets are going fast for the Charity Dinner, to be held at Harper Adams on May 13th. You can download an invite HERE, but please note that the evening does not have to be Black Tie as long as you put in some effort
:-)

This fun and enjoyable evening will be followed by an Open Day at Fordhall on May 14th. There will be guided walks around the farm and afternoon tea in the garden. Places need to be booked and are limited so please dont forget to contact us if you are interested. 01630 638696

If you would like to buy a share in Fordhall or to find out other ways that you can help the Initiative, please find your way to our How Can You Help Pages

Note:
We are aware that you all want to follow our progress online. Ben is working away at creating an online counter for our home page. We hope that this will be live within the week.