Homeless shelter fundraiser gets £100 start

7:43pm Saturday 6th September 2008

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ORGANISERS of a homeless project were delighted after one of the first people through the doors of its fundraising event handed over a £100.

The man donated the three figure sum after visiting the Wycombe Winter Night Shelter's silent art auction today.

The event, held in the gardens of Wycombe Museum, featured the work of home grown artists and a number of outside stalls.

Despite the damp weather dozens of people came along to play a game of croquet, enjoy a cream tea or bid on some of the art up for grabs.

Among the stalls was one detailing the work of the shelter, which started this year and was run by eight churches around High Wycombe.

Each church took it in turn to provide a meal, a bed for the night and cooked breakfast for the town's homeless, from January to March.

Ali Preston, project coordinator, who was running the stand, said: “The first guy who came and looked gave a £100 donation, which was really exciting for the shelter - it started my afternoon off really well.

“We have had lots of people taking volunteer forms and want to get involved next year.”

The auction meanwhile, was equally busy with people standing “shoulder to shoulder” to have a look at what was on offer.

Nancy Taylor, who organised the auction on behalf of the shelter, said many buyers were planning on returning at the end of the afternoon to get a final bid in.

“It's been really good,” she added, “We've got lots of people here and we're selling lots of paintings.”

All the money raised through the auction will go towards funding next year's shelter.

Since the project finished organisers have put on more drop-in sessions for the homeless where they can keep in contact with friends they made during the winter.

Mrs Preston said: “There was such a sense of community we felt to stop in March was quite harsh, because they built up friendships, and so we're planning throughout the year to have opportunities for people to get together and get help and advice when they need it, and also to have somewhere else to go apart from the pubs.”

An evening with acclaimed slide guitarist Bryn Haworth on Saturday, November 29 is the next fundraising event to be held in aid of the shelter.

For more details call 01494 473889.