< Fundraising Archives – Mamie Martin Fund

Category: Fundraising

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Cakes & Books! Language Schools in Portugal support MMF.

This month the International House language schools in Portugal have been spreading the word about Mamie Martin Fund.

People at a baking table
Cakes
People at a book stall
Books

International House Torres Vedras organised a hugely successful Bake Sale over 3 days and raised an incredible €475. The students learnt about MMF in class and were fascinated to see photos of the girls and learn about how they could support that work. Their enthusiasm was contagious and spread to parents and to people from nearby offices who made a point of dropping in to buy a cake and make a contribution. One of the teachers commented, “We were so pleased with the support of students and parents for the fund.”

For the second year running the International House Portugal schools included a second-hand book sale in aid of MMF at their stand at the annual conference of the Portuguese Association of English Language Teachers (APPI) in Aveiro. Teachers were keen to find some golden oldie methodology books and of course happy to contribute to MMF, especially after hearing the favourite tagline: “The World needs more educated girls and women!”.  Thanks to these generous contributions €450 was raised and many teachers went home having learnt a little about MMF.This month the International House language schools in Portugal have been spreading the word about Mamie Martin Fund.

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Football song fundraiser

Scottish teacher and musician, Stuart Ross, spent a year teaching at Bandawe Girls’ Secondary School in Malawi back in 1998. Now teaching in Hamilton and living in Ayrshire, he still remembers Malawi and the needs of its children. So, when he wrote a song about Scotland and the World Cup, he wanted it to benefit those children.

Stuart has shared his song, ‘Make us Proud‘, on YouTube and has created a fundraising page for those who would like to express appreciation of the song.  What lovely support this is for our work in Malawi. We are so grateful to Stuart and his family, friends and colleagues who are donating to that page. 

Quite mad but such fun! Thanks Stuart and good luck to Scotland, of course. 

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Joyful start of year of fundraising with Women for Mission

We are honoured and grateful to be one of the four charities to be supported by Women for Mission this coming year. Women for Mission is part of the Free Church of Scotland. We were delighted to meet many of their members, from all around Scotland, at their annual get-together on 17th May. Mariot, Moira and Francesca represented the Mamie Martin Fund and were made very welcome.

From left to right: Mariot Dallas (MMF), CJ MacDonald (WfM Vice-Chair), Wilma Nicholson (WfM Chair), Francesca Munoz (MMF), Sarah Lytle (SfM Secretary), Moira Dunworth (MMF)

Not only is this an opportunity for us to get extra funding but it is also a chance to share our stories and our purpose with new audiences across the country. The funding from this project will support girls in their final two years at secondary school. This is a challenging stage for many Malawian girls, as the pressures to drop out of school intensify at that point. 

As part of the engagement with Women for Mission, we created a video about the Mamie Martin Fund – what we do, why and what impact that work has. This is now on their YouTube channel and is a great way of raising our profile. 

We see this new development as an opportunity for real partnership and look forward to meeting church groups around Scotland. Meanwhile enjoy the video about MMF which Catriona Logan of Women for Mission helped us to create:

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Blanket Buddies for MMF

A fundraising project for 2025

Mariot, the middle of Mamie and Jack Martin’s three grandchildren, has news for us about ‘Blanket Buddies’, a fundraising project for 2025. She writes:

Mariot Dallas
Blanket Buddies

“If you are a crafty person and enjoy knitting, crocheting, sewing, or any other method of making lap blankets for residents of care homes, then we invite you to consider joining Blanket Buddies for MMF in the coming year. Here is how it works …

 What are we doing?

The BBs produce lap blankets to donate to care homes and hospitals in their neighbourhood. As they get busy making the blankets, the MMF marketing team helps to publicise the project and has already set up a fundraising page. So friends of the Blanket Buddy can encourage their blanket making with donations and sponsorship. ( I’d like to call the marketing team Blanket Buddy Headquarters, of BBHQ, but maybe that’s  a step too far ..)

Why ?

How does this connect to Mamie Martin Fund’s support for girls in secondary schools in Malawi? Read on ….

 Blanket Buddies for MMF will have two important outcomes:

  1. Locally donated gifts of blankets to care homes or other good causes
  2. Donations to the Mamie Martin Fund as supporters and friends encourage the busy Blanket Buddies with donations and sponsorship.

By now, you’re probably reaching for your needles and wool, but there’s one more thing to mention…The Blanket Buddies for MMF Knitathon.

Linking Malawi and Scotland
Mariot crocheting

We hope to have a weekend daytime get-together in person, where we knit and crochet together. We’ll have time for refreshments and chat and an opportunity to talk to local radio and local papers about what we are doing, take publicity photos… you get the idea !

Get involved

If you would like to be a Blanket Buddy for MMF, please contact me on email or text me on +44 7908 415945″

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Double the difference you make

Women and girls have the power to bring about positive change in their communities and their own lives when given the skills, opportunities and support they need. This week, from Thursday to Thursday, every pound you donate through our BigGive page will be doubled, paving the way to a brighter future for the girls we support in secondary schools in North Malawi.

Why give? Your donation will be doubled.
When to give? 10th-17th Oct – noon to noon
Where to give? https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002TPTa5AAH

or search BigGive.org for Mamie Martin Fund 

Thanks to the Big Give for including us in their Women and Girls Match Funding week. Thanks to you, our donors, for doubling your difference this week. 

#WGMF

 

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Coffee Day success in Falkirk

Mariot Dallas reports:

We had a very enjoyable MMF Coffee Day at the end of May in Trinity Church hall, with a steady flow of customers for hot drinks, filled rolls and delicious home baking.  We were happy to welcome regular customers from Trinity Church, passers-by who saw the banner and smelt the coffee and a heartwarming number of MMF friends who made a special journey to Falkirk to support the event. You know who you are and we were delighted to see you!

John Dallas’s accordion playing set our toes tapping. The Freedom of Mind Community Choir sang a selection of well-loved favourites and soon had us all singing along. In the kitchen, MMF Trustees and volunteers worked hard as they learned how to operate the kitchen equipment. In no time we were operating as a plausible catering team!

We raised over £400 in donations. We enjoyed telling the MMF story through our publicity material. The small prints of some of the Mamie and Jack historic photos from the 1920s generated a lot of interest.

We are grateful to Nina, business manager from the church, for all her help and encouragement. We hope to book the hall again in December for a Christmas Coffee Day. Watch this space.

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Falkirk Coffee day Sat 25th May

Mariot writes about our upcoming coffee day in Falkirk:

“I very seldom drink coffee, I’m mostly rooibos and herbal teas. Coffee is for special occasions, when I’m out about and spending time with my friends and is often accompanied by cake or some other sweet treat.

Saturday 25 May is marked on my calendar already because there will be a Coffee Day in Falkirk, in Trinity Church Hall  FK11JN, from 11.00 till 14.30. It’s a fundraiser for the Mamie Martin Fund, a Scottish charity which helps girls in Malawi get their secondary education. It’s a great cause to support and when you come to the Coffee Day our photos and displays will tell you why. As you enjoy your refreshments and browse the displays, you can also enjoy some live music from the Freedom of Mind Community Choir and from John Dallas on the accordion.

Did I mention the soup? Freshly prepared soup and filled rolls are on the menu, along with a selection of sweet treats.

So, tea, coffee, and sweet treats; soup and filled rolls; live entertainment AND supporting girls in school in Malawi … what’s not to like? Save the date now!

Look forward to seeing you.”

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Seasonal fun

Santa looked at the weather forecast and believed it. He set off for Inverness, leaving Rudolph behind to rest. He reckoned that he would manage fine without the red nose and the unerring GPS direction-finding. Wrong! The weather changed (of course) and Santa was in trouble once he got to Loch Ness.

Read about Santa’s problems and the help he got from the locals in this lovely book. It is a children’s story book in charming verse. Sam Steele is the author. He lives in Inverness and he was generous to the Mamie Martin Fund when we met at Jade Stein’s 30th Open Mic of her #Birthday30 challenge. Sam offered to help us raise some funds through this Santa book. So we now have it on our website and we get a share of the proceeds of every sale made through our online shop. It’s lovely to have such a cheery project to share with you all. Do have a look and see who rescued Santa and his sleigh!

“Don’t worry, I’m Nessie. There’s no need to despair; it’s not often I stick my head up in the air.”

Sam Steele, Santa’s adverture at Loch Ness
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Helen does ‘The ROC’ for deaf girls’ education

“Apparently the swim is flat”

Helen Nyul will be attempting the Roc England on 2nd September by swimming, biking and running up and down Scafell Pike, totalling 111km with over 3,000 ft of elevation in one day.

Embangweni school

She describes her feeling: “I like a challenge. But I am absolutely, hands down, scared of this one. Not a feeling I am used to. But what better way to meet a challenge than to make it all about someone else? The deaf girls at school in Malawi deserve equal opportunities, and I bet that my challenge pales into insignificance compared to theirs. The Thompson Fund, run by the Mamie Martin Fund, is a special charity to my Mum and Dad, and me as well. We appreciate anything you can give to help deaf girls in Malawi get a full and rewarding secondary education.”

Helen’s target is to raise enough money (£2,100) to send a deaf girl to school for all six years of her secondary education at Embangweni, Northern Malawi.

Video: The first Thompson Girls at Embangweni Secondary School, Northern Malawi

Embangweni girls

Deaf girls’ education in Malawi: Not only are girls less likely to go to secondary school than boys and are more likely to drop out, but having a disability further exacerbates issues associated with equality. Disabled girls in Malawi have been described as ‘the poorest of the poor’ in terms of access to money and opportunities. They are at the end of the line when most families make decisions about allocating resources among their children. Paying the girls’ school fees and providing other necessities allows them to get a secondary education. In recent years, two MMF girls have taken time out to have babies but have been supported back to school by Mercy Sibande, MMF’s Country Director, who worked with the families and the school to give these girls back their chances of education.

Helen’s fundraising page: https://tinyurl.com/Helen-ROC

The challenge itself: https://www.theroc.com/the-roc-england/

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Karin completes her #Birthday30 challenge

Congratulations to Karin Kastern who is the first #Birthday30 participant to complete her challenge. Karin lives and works in Norfolk, England. Her project was to visit 30 Norfolk churches. That county seems to be littered with very old and picturesque churches, as Karin’s photos show. Not only did she visit and photograph these churches, Karin also gave us bits of information about each one. You will find her page fascinating because we have included these snippets of local history.

Thanks to Karin’s daughter, MMF volunteer, Heidi, for introducing her to #Birthday30. Great credit to Karin for getting herself registered and for sending photos and info for each of these churches.

You can check out how the other #Birthday30 folk are doing here. There is still time to join them (link here) – the project goes on all year – the year of our 30th birthday, of course.

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