A community group pulled together to provide a replacement iPad after a severely disabled woman was targeted by thieves.
Source: Theft victim Jayne gets iPad thanks to e-heroes – Blackpool Gazette
Jayne was helping her mum sell items at a car boot in Blackpool when thieves struck taking her ipad from the car only feet away.
Jayne was almost reliant on her ipad – it wasn’t just a tech toy – she used it as a communication device among other things.
She was devastated. The gazette reported the story and the editor decided that the BPL Bible community was set up for a challenge like this. A picture was made in Photoshop and a status written.
Full Force
The BPL Bible got behind the campaign with full force and really helped by sharing and commenting words of support and encouragement.
Honestly – that’s how Facebook works – if you like, share and comment – it really does go the extra mile!
Within 4 hours we had received many small cash donations and were on our way to hitting our £300 target to buy a new Ipad.
The Unsung Hero
We received an email from a BPL Bible reader who wished to remain anonymous. They had recently bought the latest Ipad and were going to sell their surplus Ipad – the same model Jayne had – BUT decided to donate it to the cause instead.
This was a massive gesture from a humble person who was touched by the appeal. We agreed to meet at a local petrol station to exchange the Ipad.
This simple act of handing over a token piece of technology had us all in tears in the petrol station. We all but cheered the anonymous donor as they got back into their car and drove off into the sunset.
The Unsung Hero. Didn’t do it for reward but by gosh do you deserve one!!
Just a Delivery Boy
The only thing left to do now was pass this on. The gazette had covered the story so they were the first obvious port of call. They were able to set up a meeting at local restaurant after a few phone calls and 2 days later Jayne and the Editor (me) met for the first time.
A photographer from the gazette was the third party intermediary and insisted it would be a good idea to take some photos for their follow up article.
We spoke for about 15 minutes, did a ceremonial “on camera” handing over of the ipad (which felt really fake and seedy at the time) and then we all went on our way.
Jayne and her mum were very proud and thankful for what the BPL Bible community had achieved. The editor was a mere courier delivery boy in the task – It was YOUR shares and YOUR comments that made this go so far!!
Classified Ad
We’d also raised about £35 is small donations from our readers who were offered a reversal of their donation through paypal. Some took the refund – Others made us keep it to help pay for the Servers that the website is hosted on. We’re still running on donations at this point 2 years down the line.
Supporting Local Causes (Blue Skies)
The important thing to take from this is that we didn’t give up. We’ve still been supporting local causes even though we’ve steered clear of the fundraising side of things.
That’s all about to change as we have recently registered with the Blue Skies Hospitals Fund – The official charity supporting Blackpool Vic. We particularly want to raise money for the Neonatal unit.
We have already had orders for our Limited Edition BPL Bible Bunnies. Bunnies are for sale at £25 and the profits will go to Blue Skies directly.
You can also enter for a chance to win the very first BPL Bible Bunny.
All you have to do is enter your email address and name into our subscription box which you can find on every page of our site.
Thanks for your continuing support. If you want to help us spread the good word – Leave us a comment in the box below and remember to select the option to share to Facebook.!!
SPREAD THE GOOD WORD!
