Ex-Pats donations thread update...

[Aussie Bee]

Morning/Afternoon/Evening chaps where ever you may reside....
OK - To date I have 8 blokes willing to cough up 370 quid for Brentford FC.
Now the next questions are how to spend it and how to get it to BFC.
The main idea of all this is to get NEW YOUNG FANS to the ground and keep them coming - has anyone got any ideas on how to do this? I've noticed the club are doing a quid a kid soon so maybe we should look at something else - How about a local oprhanage or something - give the whole lot a day out?
make a suggestion - can't see much point in sending the cash if we ain't got a plan.

Thinking caps on lads!

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

It makes sense to complement the club's efforts rather than compete with them. If they are casting the net wide with a quid-a-kid scheme, your idea of focusing on specific institutions is a good one. A day out for an orphanage or a couple of local schools would plant the Bees bug early with a much stronger possibility of return visits -- they would continue to discuss the trip and the club at school and this would encourage a longer-term commitment (oh dear!).

 

[Boston Bee]

Quite agree with the idea of sending a whole school to the match. Would be memorable for the tykes and that's a good thing all around.

 

[strepsils]

Quick question: any bees fans in Cairo?

 

[Idaho Bee]

Plus sponsoring a school or disadvantaged group should bring the club some positive press exposure.

 

[Aussie Bee]

Alright locals - It looks like a disadvantaged group are going to get the nod - Anyway suggestions? Who's up for it? Who will be the lucky mob?

 

[Aussie Bee]

Come on boys someone must know of one!
Can't believe this - Can't even GIVE 370 quid away!!!

 

[Dan the B]

i think it'd cover travelling expenses and ticket costs for me and a mate to get to Bees-K's next week from Sheffield!! plus a few drinks afters

 

[California Bee]

I am already sponsoring three season tickets for school kids in the Brentford area. I suggest that you contact Lee Doyle at Brentford and let him know that there are more funds available for this purpose. I only cover one school and about thirty kids have been exposed to Brentford in the past twelve months. It works well and Lee does a very good job. There must be plenty of other schools ready to take advantage.

 

[Aussie Bee]

Thanks for the info CB - Don't know his email address do you?

 

[Peter G]

email it to me and I`ll pass it to him Aussie Bee.

 

[Aussie Bee]

Here is a copy of the email that I sent Peter to forward on to Lee Doyle...

Dear Lee,
My name is Steve Kirk (Aussie Bee!) from the GPGRAPEVINE internet site and I am hoping you can help me. I and about 7 other ex-pat fans would like to donate some money (370STG) to date so that some under privilege children can attend a Brentford game.
The reasoning behind this is that we would like to assist Brentford FC as much as we can but because we are spread out all around the world it's a bit hard to do our bit at the turnstiles!
A fellow ex-pat gave me your name as the person at BFC to help try and organise it.
What we would like to do is send as many kids as possible to a game sometime in Spring.
What we thought would be a good idea is to send them all from one local school so it is a talked about event in the classrooms after the match and hopefully they will all get the Brentford bug.
We see this as an ideal opportunity to generate some positive headlines for the Bees in the local papers.
IF you have any ideas or could assist in anyway please contact me.

One of our problems is how to get the money to you in Brentford. For example, for me to send you a sterling cheque the banks would charge me an absolute fortune when they make it out.
I was thinking we could order something from the Brentford Website to the value of 50STG and use our credit cards - However the online buying part of the site always seems to be down!

Anyway Lee, Any ideas, suggestions or help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Awaiting your response!

Steve Kirk - Aussie Bee - [email protected]



[This message has been edited by Aussie Bee (edited 15 November 2000).]

 

[kempy]

I saw a television programme where Sunderland invite classes of children from local schools to the Stadium of Light and set them all sorts of tasks like estimating the ground capacity etc. Maybe Brentford could try something similar.

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Or counting the number of people in attendance (five fingers on each hand, 20 kids, shouldn't be difficult).

 

['Ayes B]

Firstly, Congratulation Ex Pats, I think this is a brilliant inniative.

Althoug it looks like you may have a solution / purpose already in hand, may I suggest at this late stage that the money is utilised to provide momento's from the club shop for those already attending a game through the FIC scheme.

If all the kids were given a raffle ticket and won something from the Brentford shop it would make there day more exciting.

First prize could be a Brentford Shirt
2nd Prizes could be a club scarf
3rd prizes a Brentford hat

As this is an iniative to increase the support and for the overall benefit of the club maybe the club could would be agreeable to letting the items being purchased at cost price. (A win -win situation as I assume that they would benifit by obtaining alarger bulk discount)

One kid would then play footie in his Bees shirt and all the others could wear their Bees scarfs/ hats to school during the winter months.

Also as suggested below, credit cards could be used to pay for the purhases without diminishing the amount of money available raised for the inniative.

 

[Aussie Bee]

Morning lads,
Amongst all the doom and gloom since Saturdays unfortunate result I have received this reply from Lee Doyle....
Thank you for your recent e mail regarding an ex-pat ticket initiative. We
are launching a 'Target 10,000' initiative aiming to improve the gates at
Griffin Park and welcome your enthusiasm in keeping the Buzz going at
Griffin Park.

We could target a local school or a number of community groups offering free
tickets for juniors and helpers plus the opportunity of taking part in a
penalty shootout on the pitch at half time (subject to the weather). We
would include details of the event in the club programme and place video of
highlights on the web page. A local school may be the best bet as there may
be the opportunity of writing follow up work once they are at school. I have
spoken to the Managing Director and he was all for the idea so we just need
to decide on the school or group.

If you wanted to focus on underprivelaged children we could run a day at the
Green Dragon Estate including a pre-match six a side followed by free
tickets to the match. We are also planning a 'street soccer' competition
later on in the year involving a number of local teams. You could sponsor
the event and we would provide tickets and medals out of the fund.

These are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling, let me know what you
think.

Up the Bees!

Lee Doyle
Football in the Community Manager

So I reckon since the pottery arms is on the Green Dragon Estate this is the idea we should go for - What do you others think?
Positive stuff only! Remember we are Brentford!

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Sounds good to me. After yesterday however, maybe we should sponsor a day out at Kingston-on-Thames instead.

 

[Luke Kirton]

I went to Green Dragon as a youth and still live on the estate so a big thumbs up from me.

 

[NW USA Bee]

Sounds good to me too!

 

[Aussie Bee]

Update on this one exiles.....Recieved this email whilst the board was down - anyway this is the latest from Lee Doyle...

Dear Steve
>
> Thanks four your e mail.
A new idea that has just come out of a meeting is to provide each
child that comes to a match with a Brentford scarf in the new Brentford
font, also displaying the message 'Target 10,000' . The scarves will cost
approximately £1.50 each and we are looking at purchasing 3,000. Various
methods of paying for the scarves have been discussed with the possibility
of gaining part sponsorship. The idea of the fans sponsoring a scarf has
also been discussed which could be an excellent supporters initiative.
The sponsored scarf idea could be an option for you, we could still
target a particular group of children and provide free tickets but the day
would be more focussed around a match visit rather than playing in a
tournament.

As mentioned before its only an idea, we will try to put on the
activity that suits you, with regard to the questions in you e mail the
answers are below.

> When- As part of our community action day in March/April.
> Where- Green Dragon has an indestructible football/basketball court in the
> middle of the estate although I think we should consider a larger venue.
> How many- If we involve the children off one estate it could be 100 but I
> think we should be thinking bigger!
>
> You mentioned that you may be able to raise £500. If this is the case we
> could look at one of our bigger local venues e.g. David Lloyd 5v5 in
> Cranford or Feltham Community School (Two full size astroturfs) We would
> then invite applications from 'street teams' ie. a wider age band of
> children, no affiliation required to the football association, seven a
> side goals and rules, mixed teams for under 11's or a separate girls
> competition.
>
> We would name the competition after you and produce commemorative
> medals.If we went down this road I would expect participation by
> approximately 20 teams. Costs would be as follows:
>
> 4x staff @ £50 - £200
> Pitch Hire £100
> Prizes and Medals £100
> Post & Promotion £100
> In this case tickets for the match would be supplied by the club to all
> participants and helpers.
>
> I would like to tie the initiative in with our target 10,000 campaign. We
> may get some press on the event as it is fairly unlikely that many
> overseas supporters are supporting their club in as creative away as this!
>
> Let me know your thoughts.
>
> Regards
>
> Lee

So it appears we are now looking to raise 500 quid to go with the bigger "20 team" option. We already have pledges for 370 so is anybody else interested making a pledge to fill the missing 130 gap?
As soon as the pledges reach 500 we can start sending Lee the cash so he knows to go ahead with the "Exiles Day".
Anyway thoughts and comments lads.

 

[Aussie Bee]

This is the latest email that I sent Lee..

Morning Lee,
Sorry for not replying earlier but I have been off sick!
Anyway I have posted your email on the gpgrapevine site and will keep you updated.
Basically I said we need to raise another 130 quid so we can go with the 20 team
Feltham option.
I'll let you know when this has been acheived.
Who do you want the cheques made out to?

 

[NW USA Bee]

I really like the idea of helping and getting to new fans and as such like the Green Dragon idea. While the scarf sponsorship is nice those fans are already there plus we are helping kids who would not have the chance of going.
Way to go Aussie Bee for keeping this together. Happy new year to all Bees fans wherever you are!

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

I agree with Pittsburgh Bee. Let's stay focused on sponsoring kids who otherwise wouldn't go to GP. All we need is 4 or 5 more expats to put up 50 pounds each (my monthly utility bill is more than double that!!).

 

[Aussie Bee]

Ok - Another update - Things are moving!
This come from Lee Doyle....

Happy New Year Steve! I've just returned from my annual New Year's surfing
mission to Newquay in Cornwall so I'm ready to get going on the project
whenever you are. The cheque should be made out to Brentford Football in the
Community projects

Right - don't send any cash yet lads - I'll let you know!

Also a chap called "DEANBUDD" has stepped forward and chipped in 50 STG - No idea where he comes from!

Anyway that leaves us 80 quid to find before Lee can start making the phone calls - Come on Ex Pats - Dig deep!
WE ARE BRENTFORD!!!

 

[NW USA Bee]

Why don't the existing ex pats, who have already committed to this agree to another tenner each, would that solve the shortfall Steve? I will be happy to do this, how does everyone else fell?

 

[Aussie Bee]

PB - I know your really keen but give the others a chance!

BTW - Deanbudd turned out to be an Aussie 5 miles down the road from me! Never heard of him before! Bees fans are everywhere!

Ex Pats - did you know that to get into new road these days is 16 quid? So for the sake of 3 games you can help introduce 20 x 7 kids to the mighty Bees - come on lads - We can do it!

PS PB - I have taken your suggestion on board if need be!

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

I'm willing to an an extra tenner also, but let's see if we can recruit some new faces first -- Bees fans are everywhere (my wife ran into a local computer guy the other day who knew that the Grapevine was down -- amazing!).

 

[Aussie Bee]

It's a very small world SSB!
I was in an Irish pub one day watching football and I mentioned I supported the Bees - Bloke I was drinking with ended up coming from Brentford!

 

[Aussie Bee]

Time is closing in lads - This chance for you to show your support will be closing very soon - Anyone else want to come in? At the moment it looks like the ones that have pledged may have to paid a little bit more than 50 quid to make up the 500 we need - so one last time - anyone else - will be contacting ex-pats by email Wednesday 17/1

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

I hear on good authority that bee-in-bonnet is good for 50 pounds. Does that get us any nearer to 500??

 

[Aussie Bee]

Howdy chaps.
I have sent all of you that wanted to donate some cash an email about how to do it.
Please check your emails!!!
We have 9 people (maybe 8!) willing to help out.
Santa Barbara Bee, Jakarta Bee, German Bee, Boston Bee, Idaho Bee I know for sure got the email.
However if you are PITTSBURGH BEE, JAVRON BEE or DEANBUDD can you email me letting me know you got the email.

Here We go! Send your money!!!!

And thank you very much indeed!

Steve Kirk - Aussie Bee

 

[Aussie Bee]

My email to Lee Doyle - BFC........

Morning Lee - Well it looks like we have got the cash together to get this started.
I have asked the guys to start sending cheques addressed to you made out to "Brentford Football in the Community projects" - They should start arriving in the next 7 days.
Can you email me when one turns up so I know where we stand in regard to the 500 quid needed.
Once again Lee - Thanks for your assistance - If you could also email definite details of the day so I can let the others/fanzines etc know that would be good!
Keep in touch and have a great "Ex-Pats" day - We will be thinking about you all!!!
Regards
Steve Kirk and fellow Ex-Pats from around the world!!!

 

[Aussie Bee]

Remember to MAKE YOUR CHEQUES OUT IN STERLING!

The bank may charge you - sorry about that!!!

Good on yers!!!

 

[Aussie Bee]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh,

I see one of the "weakest links" is visiting the board at the momemt!

 

[Aussie Bee]

Litlle update for you lot of locals - It's going well and the target should be met shortly!

I think I saw a "South african bee" being registered the other day and a few from Ireland! The more the merrier!

If we can beat 500 that would be brilliant!

Read the full thread for all the details

We are Brentford!

[This message has been edited by Aussie Bee (edited 28 January 2001).]

 

[Aussie Bee]

Ok - Here's the latest from Lee Doyle...

"We now have a date for the competition- Saturday 5th May 2001, our last
game
of the season. This date is ideal as the grass should have dried out
and we
will be able to use Boston Manor Playing Fields which is close to the
ground
and has excellent grass facilities and seven a side goals. The size of
the
venue will allow us to invite a range of teams from community groups,
street
teams and schools.

The club have agreed to give up to 200 free tickets for the day which
is
excellent considering it could be a play off decider and Football in
the
Community will pay the organisation fees over the £500.

I have somebody working on the organisational side now and will keep
you
informed as we go along. We plan to produce a digital video of which
highlights will be put on the web."

IF YOU MADE A PLEDGE AND STILL HAVEN'T SENT IT OFF PLEASE DO SO NOW!!! LEE IS WAITING FOR THE CASH!

 

[Aussie Bee]

Let has informed me that he has now received
350 quid from 6 Ex - Pats so far.

That leaves two Ex-Pats who pledged 65 quid to come forward giving us a total of 480!

Well done every body! I have sent an email to the 2 "weakest links" begging them to come good!

More on this later!

 

[saffrey]

Excellent, Aussie Bee. 480 kids through the gates - 480 x £2.20odd for hotdog = £1000odd quid for the club. Wouldn't it be nice to get 500?

 

[Aussie Bee]

Saffery - Lee reckons the Club are giving out 200 tickets to the game - See earlier posting above my last one - anyway that's 200 x 2.20 440 quid in hotdogs!

 

[NW USA Bee]

Way to go AB for keeping this whole thing together, I am glad for the opportunity to participate

 

[yateleybee]

you fellas are great. keep the faith, we will grow with support like yours. it's nice to know it's not out of sight, out of mind.

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Are you kidding? The further we are away from Brentford the more we love them!

 

[Aussie Bee]

Latest email from Lee...

I have a chap
by the name of Tom Ainsworth who is going to organise the competition, so he
will e mail you shortly with a list of payees and the total plus details of
the competition as they are fixed.

We plan to name the teams after the people who have sponsored them and shoot
a video on the day which can then be edited and placed on the website. Tom
will be in touch soon and I will be available if you have any queries.

Regards
Lee