Trustees and staff are delighted to welcome Steve Grudgings as the successful candidate following recent recruitment of a Fundraiser to help the charity raise £1million to purchase their own premises. This is an exciting move forward for our charity which has been operating in High Wycombe for over 12 years. The appointment has come about as a result of a grant from the J. Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust to cover the salary of a fundraiser for two years.

Steve comes to us with a wealth of experience in raising funds for various well known charities over a period of 12 years, and will spend the next few weeks making contact with our existing supporters as well as meeting and following up new links. Look out for Steve at meetings and events and please make yourself known to him. Steve has local knowledge so is at an advantage from day one. He is confident we can reach the target and is already recruiting volunteers to work with him in his new role. If you think you can help please give him a call on 01494 550008 or contact him on stevegrudgings@skidz.org.uk or 07930 417299.

Steve has some exciting new ideas to share with our supporters and Friends of SKIDZ as you will soon begin to see from flyers that will be winging their way to you; don’t forget to look at the website for updates too!

To see a report on this very successful and entertaining event please see the following link

http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=844160

Rotary Sporting Lunch – supporting SKIDZ

 Held at Adam’s Park in High Wycombe on 26^th November, the main speaker at this Rotary Club of High Wycombe fundraising event was Welsh rugby legend Scott Quinnell. Son of former Welsh international Derek Quinnell, Scott’s two younger brothers Craig & Gavin also play rugby, although Gavin has had to retire recently due to a serious eye injury.

 Rotarian David Sumpter welcomed over 200 guests and quickly handed the mike to MC Roger Dakin to get things moving. He soon had the place laughing with his many stories, including his time as England Hockey goalkeeper. Those who had heard him before listened with keen anticipation. Those hearing him for the first time were in for a treat.

 A quick game of Higher or Lower at £5 a go resulted in a Rotarian winning £250.  He was, however, quick to return £50 when bidding for a generous gift of a 12 year old Speyside malt whisky.

 During an excellent lunch Roger explained the forthcoming raffle. There was to be one prize only, a package of 2 tickets for 4 major sporting events in 2011- namely Calcutta Cup at Twickenham, FA Cup Final, Lords Test Match against India and Stewards Enclosure at Henley Royal Regatta.

 At the start of the lunch Roger Dakin had introduced a most welcome surprise guest, Katherine Grainger MBE.  Katherine is an Olympic rowing silver medallist at Sydney, Athens & Beijing and 7 time medallist, including 5 gold at the World Rowing Championships. She was fresh from her recent win only few days ago in New Zealand. She willingly drew the winning ticket and it went to a very worthy winner.

 Scott Quinnell was introduced to great applause. Once his audience had acclimatised to his Welsh version of the English language, he proceeded to regale the audience with so many humorous tales of rugby life with Llanelli, Wales & the British & Irish Lions. It was brilliant.

 The chosen charities SKIDZ & Power International will benefit from guests’ wonderful generosity. David closed proceedings by thanking all who had supported.

SKIDZ Supporters
OneFishTwoFish
We are indebted to Carrie and James from Onefish Twofish who have generously donated their time and expertise to create our fantastic new logo and update our image to improve our opportunities for fundraising. Watch out for new opportunities coming your way offering a chance to take part in SKIDZ Challenge with other local companies and help us at the same time as gaining skills within your company or organization. Follow the link on our website to find out more www.skidz.org.uk.

It is Carrie and James who have put us in touch with FocusPull who have produced a really great promotional video to help us spread the word about our work. Tim spent a day in our workshops and has captured the ethos of SKIDZ, generously donating his time and expertise to our cause. We are very grateful; Tim has donated about £5k of film work to SKIDZ. If you need a bit of inspiration, Tim can do amazing things with film on a tight budget. He works for lots of small businesses and charities and also for PizzaExpress and Google. He’s always happy to share ideas and if you’d like to speak to him, you could contact him via email (tim@focuspull.co.uk) and he can do the rest. www.focuspull.co.uk

Ross Brawn at Hughes in Beaconsfield
SKIDZ Patron Ross Brawn came to Hughes to speak to specially invited guests bringing with him the Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One show car for all to see at close quarters. The event was a huge success raising over £5,000 towards our Building Appeal. In addition it has raised awareness of our charity to a wider audience creating more Friends of SKIDZ.

DHL
Staff at DHL have again shown their support by dividing and redecorating an area within the building to create two classrooms/meeting rooms. This was a team-building and skills development opportunity for some of the staff, but of course, has made a huge difference for us too.

SKIDZ Friends
We are gradually building a database of Friends of SKIDZ so that we can regularly e-mail out our Newsletters and other interesting information. This will include invitations to some of our special events when you may like to come and join us. Please let us have your e-mail contact so that we can add you to our list, keep you up to date and then you won’t miss out on exciting happenings in the future! – contact info@skidz.org.uk

Knights of St Columba, High Wycombe
Organised a Sponsored Walk last October and raised an amazing £977 for SKIDZ. We are very grateful to all who took part as well as their sponsors. THANK YOU!

SKIDZ Student Successes
We are delighted and proud to announce another set of outstanding results. The students have been attending courses for the past 2 years completing the ABC Level 1 Course in Motor Vehicle Studies. In September 2008 83 students started; 73 (88%) completed – of these 100% achieved this qualification. This exceptional success is more significant when we know that at least 30% of these young people have learning difficulties. Students come from 10 local secondary schools and some from The Wycombe Grange. We had two young people Josh and George, who excelled. They both requested a transfer onto the Diploma Course and worked so hard that both have achieved this prestigious grade – the very first SKIDZ students to reach this level of achievement. Congratulations to all our students!

Thank you to the Buckinghamshire Foundation
They generously donated £1,000 to help us keep the Community Minibus running for another year.

Special Christmas Offer!!!
SKIDZ Patron Paddy Hopkirk is generously donating the sales of his recent book to SKIDZ. If you would like to receive a personalised signed copy then please send a cheque to value of £25.00 to include P&P made out to SKIDZ Building Appeal – find all the details on our web site.

Rotary Clubs Support SKIDZ
The Rotary Club of High Wycombe has nominated SKIDZ as one of its Charities of the Year for 2010-11. We are delighted they have demonstrated their support for us in this way. Proceeds off fundraising activities during the year will be donated to the charities. A Sporting Luncheon with Special Guests is being held on 26th November.
The Rotary Club of Henley Bridge organized an Evening with Ross Brawn at a Black Tie Fundraising Dinner on 16th November at the Phyllis Court Club, Henley-on-Thames. The event was a sell-out and raised a significant sum of money to be divided between the chosen charities.

If you would like to get involved call us on 01494 550008 and speak to Steve or Liz, or e-mail info@skidz.org.uk or www.skidz.org.uk – IT’S EASY TO DONATE TO OUR APPEAL JUST VISIT – www.justgiving.com/skidz

Newsletter Autumn 2010

The Rotary Club of High Wycombe are holding a fundraising Sporting Lunch in aid of SKIDZ and Power International.

The special guest speaker will be Scott Quinnell, holder of 52 Welsh Caps and star of 2 Lions Tours.

The MC will be Roger Dakin, England Hockey goalkeeper and probably the funniest and best MC around.

Please see the link below for more details and a booking form.

We hope to see you there!

Rotary Club Sporting Lunch 26 11 10 Flier & Booking form

Ross Brawn Skidz into Hughes of Beaconsfield

Managing Director Geoff Williams and Group Operations Director Simon Eggs were delighted to welcome guests to Hughes of Beaconsfield’s showroom on Wednesday 13 October for a special fundraising “Evening with Ross Brawn”, who is Team Principal Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team.

The fundraising evening was a great success, and through the generosity of the 150 guests £4,360 was raised for Skidz Motor Project, a local High Wycombe-based charity.

Formula One fans, company directors and celebrities from the Buckinghamshire and Thames Valley area arrived at Hughes of Beaconsfield for a rare opportunity to get up close to a Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One car on display in the showroom, before sitting down to hear from the Team Principal himself.

Mercedes- Benz PR Manager Rob Halloway at first provided an insight into the wonderful history of Mercedes- Benz in motor sport, taking the audience on a journey from their first auto race in 1894 where Daimler engines placed first, second, third and fourth through to Mercedes-Benz engines helping Brawn GP win the constructors and drivers championship in 2009.

Rob was then joined by Ross Brawn OBE on stage and interviewed him on his career in motor sport. Ross shared with the audience what it was like to have Michael Schumacher back in his Formula One team, before covering his amazing story from machinist at Williams, those incredible Ferrari years, to starting Brawn GP and then finally a change of identity to Mercedes GP PETRONAS, remembering the incredible achievements along the way.

Ross Brawn, Patron of Skidz Motor Project, then took time to explain the great work Skidz has accomplished, helping over 7,850 young people since it’s beginnings in 1998. Skidz gives young people, who may be experiencing difficulties in the more traditional educational settings, a chance to gain vocational skills in motor mechanics that are transferable to the world of work.

“We were honoured to have Ross Brawn in our showroom sharing with us his remarkable career with the audience, and delighted to be able to help raise such a substantial amount for Skidz. We have been able to see first hand the important role Skidz plays in developing young people for the world of work as we are lucky enough to employ a former Skidz Motor Project course attendee who is proving to be a valuable member of the Hughes Group team.” Geoff Williams, Managing Director, The Hughes Group.

Photos from the evening with Ross Brawn on Wednesday 13th October are now available to view on: 

http://tiny.cc/RossBrawnEvening

About The Hughes Group

The Hughes Group, founded in 1955, is one of Britain’s most successful dealerships offering their customers across the county’s of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire exceptional levels of customer service and a wealth of experience and knowledge.

The Hughes Group currently represents 7 franchises across it’s dealerships in Beaconsfield, Aylesbury and Farnham Common, and is proud to employ more than 350 staff across the region.

Beaconsfield is home to Mercedes-Benz, smart, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge along with Saab sales, while Aylesbury also offers Mercedes-Benz cars and light commercial vehicles together with Skoda sales and after sales department. The Farnham Common outlet houses full Skoda, Mazda and SEAT facilities and a Saab after sales operation.

www.hughes-group.net

About Skidz

Skidz Motor Project gives young people a chance to gain vocational skills in motor mechanics in an adult work-style environment so that they have a better chance of finding employment. At present Skidz is based in rented workshops in High Wycombe, Reading and Hillingdon.

Skidz work with young people aged 13 to 16+ years who come to us to learn car mechanics; many enrol on a 2-year course with a Level 1 qualification, whilst others complete a Basic Skills Course. All learn Health and Safety in the workplace.

Since SKIDZ opened in 1998 over 7,850 young people have gained skills that are transferable to the world of work, giving them life and vocational skills as well as educational attainment. Quite a high number have gained apprenticeships, some with high class dealerships.

www.skidz.org.uk

Friends of SKIDZ Supporters Club

We are calling all former students, friends and supporters of SKIDZ – The Wycombe Motor Project to make contact with us so that we can build up a database of “Friends of SKIDZ” who can help us achieve our goal. In June 2009 we launched an appeal to raise funds to purchase our own premises so that we can expand our provision of vocational courses for young people, as well as providing a more secure future for SKIDZ. Whilst not fully funded yet, we are well on the way. We have gained support from Porsche, MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team, DHL and Draper Tools to name but a few. We have a full programme of events planned for the coming months but often need an extra pair of hands – and this is where YOU can come in. Please get in touch with us preferably by e-mail to info@skidz.org.uk so that we can communicate with you and seek your help and support from time to time, or just even keep in touch.

SKIDZ is a charitable motor project that supports a wide range of young people and adults who may be experiencing difficulties in the more traditional educational settings. The personalised courses help to re-engage, inspire and educate – both practically and emotionally – some of the most vulnerable. In spite of this achievement levels are high with exams results showing 97% success rates year on year. See the latest news on our website – www.skidz.org.uk

Legacies for Charities

Would you rather give money to a charity than the Government?

Gift2%

An e-mail arrived recently explaining a new idea created by Keith Douglas who had been involved in a very serious road accident last year which nearly cost him his life. Keith has set up a scheme called Gift2% which he is implementing as a Will Writer with 20 years experience. It is a very simple scheme costing nothing to the person making their will, but offering that person the chance to make a huge difference to the future of their favourite charity by giving a 2% legacy in their will. Keith has a fixed price charge for writing wills which can be found on the website; out of this fee he will donate £50 to the chosen charity, which when Gift Aid is added can amount to £64. In addition the very big attraction is that Inheritance Tax is avoided on the amount bequeathed to the charity which is an advantage to your beneficiaries. We are trying to spread the word to all our contacts so that charities benefit in the future from such generous legacies. Please spread the word for us; details can be found on www.countywills.co.uk and www.gift2percent.co.uk – Keith is very willing to come and talk about the scheme to groups or individuals.

 Of course, you can choose your favourite charity but we would be delighted if you decide to choose SKIDZ.

Gift 2% leaflet

SKIDZ Students successes

 SKIDZ – The Wycombe Motor Project charity is delighted and proud to announce another set of outstanding results. The students have been attending courses for the past 2 years completing the ABC Level 1 Course in Motor Vehicle Studies. In September 2008 83 students started; 73 (88%) completed – of these 100% achieved this qualification. This exceptional success is more significant when we know that at least 30% of these young people have learning difficulties. Students come from 10 local secondary schools and some from The Wycombe Grange.

 We have two young people Josh and George, who have excelled. They both requested a transfer onto the Diploma Course and worked so hard that both have achieved this prestigious grade – the very first SKIDZ students to reach this level of achievement. Staff at SKIDZ are extremely proud of these two young people and wish them well in their future careers.

 The young people have developed skills and understanding of the maintenance aspects of the motor trade, including Health and Safety. Some modules are classroom based whilst others are hands-on practical skills in the workshop at the High Wycombe based charity. For many young people this course provides a spring-board leading to a career in the motor trade, enabling them to move into further education at college, an apprenticeship, or directly into employment.

DHL UK Foundation Community Heroes Award 2010

The DHL team win an award for their help for SKIDZ

The team of employees from DHL who have been working alongside SKIDZ for the past year have won an award and well-deserved recognition. At a reception in Daventry last Friday the group were rewarded for their hard work winning the Collaboration award at the DHL UK Foundation Community Heroes Awards 2010 and SKIDZ the charity they have helped, received a cheque for £600.

The partnership has proved very beneficial to all concerned in many different ways. Initially contact was made to provide an opportunity for members of DHL staff to work on a project in the community to develop and demonstrate their leadership skills to enhance their promotional opportunities within the company. The group had to work out a theme, raise sufficient funds to cover the cost of it, and then complete the task. The theme here was to completely refurbish the rest area used by the young people. This they achieved with great success ……. and lots more! They made contact with local organisations and companies who donated goods to SKIDZ to assist with the learning experience for young people. The remainder of the money they had raised was donated to SKIDZ towards the Building Appeal. The DHL UK Foundation also made a significant donation to the appeal through their Match It! programme which was applied to by the volunteers to match their time and fundraising efforts for SKIDZ. Gifts in kind have also been gratefully received by SKIDZ.

Thank you to all those concerned who have helped to make this such a successful partnership