This year we have been fortunate to have so many volunteers working with us. Most who come bear their own financial burden! We had a team out from City Life Presbyterian Church, Emily from Mississippi (I tried about 8 times to spell that), Izzy McCollum - a returning volunteer from 2010 (she is now studying Film production in York), Amanda McPhail, also returning from Miami, and now we have a team from the Netherlands, 'Athletes in Action' who are providing assistance in St John's park. These volunteers are so necessary to enable us to carry out the work we do on the Isle of Dogs. They are young and fit and give the kids a great run around. They do not seem to stop despite the hot weather. We are grateful for all their help.
We also had a team of office workers come and help us through the Royal Bank of Scotland to put on a funday in St John's park! They all seemed to really enjoy giving a hand and were also very useful to us. I created a video of the day in the hope that they pass it back to their boss so that we might get more exposure. The video, I hope, shows a little of the effort that goes into setting the whole thing up.
It has been a really busy time. Natalie (my wife) has been helping out everyday with our friends daughter Maxime, she is a sweet little thing and gets on so well with Hannah and Lisa. Her mum and dad are working with the Olympic events and so they are busy all day everyday for the duration of the games. But 3 kids in the afternoon when you are tired is stretching. I too have been swapping roles this past week, Andrew was on leave in Italy and so I stepped into the Chef's shoes for a couple of days. They are BIG shoes and require a lot of energy. But we have managed to turn around a fair amount of income for the first week of the school holidays.
Next up is the Isle of Dogs BIG WEEKEND. It is an inter-church event primarily carried by Quaystone Baptist Church. Many from City of Peace will be involved too. There will be a climbing wall, bungee run, sumo wrestling, and mini-olympics to name a few of the planned events - and all for FREE.
