Andy Munns
Salisbury area motorcyclists have raised £2,300 for the city’s local charity for the homeless.
Ian Standen, Chairman of Salisbury Motorcycle & Light Car Club, handed over a giant cheque for that amount to Gordon Pardy, Head of Fundraising for Salisbury Trust for the Homeless, at the monthly club night at Salisbury Rugby Club. “Every year we ask club members to nominate several local charities and we then have a vote with the winner becoming our charity of the year”, said Ian after the presentation.
“Our members felt that homelessness is such an important issue that they wanted to support a Salisbury-based organization which is tackling it.”
“We have charity bike rides, where people pay an entrance fee, and this is where most of the money for Salisbury Trust for the Homeless has come from,”
The club, which was formed in 1921 and has 130 members, holds road runs open to all motorcyclists who ride ‘in the spirit of the classics’ as well as its monthly meetings at the Rugby Club.
Gordon Pardy, head of fundraising for STFH, said: “We are very grateful to Salisbury Motorcycle & Light Car Club for making us its charity of the year. It reflects the widespread public concern about the problem of homelessness. STFH is a local charity which receives no funding from either central or local government and so we are very much dependant on the support of organizations and individuals in Salisbury and south Wiltshire.”
STFH has helped hundreds of people turn their lives around in recent years. Founded in 1987, the charity helps clients regain confidence and self-esteem, learn life skills, find education, training and employment opportunities, and access permanent accommodation, so returning to independent living.
Support needs include mental health issues, learning disability, emotional support, drug and alcohol misuse, anti-social behaviour, budgeting, benefits claims and tenancy support.
