KEEP UP TO DATE WITH US!
Want to know what we’ve been up to? Stay up to date with everything The David Cargill Challenge by reading our News & Updates below. We’ll keep you informed about upcoming events, as well as special fundraisers. Make sure you don’t miss out on a thing. Mark you calendar today!
March
The overall aim of the David Cargill Challenge is to send some youngsters from hereabouts to Fiji with a purpose.
It is still early days but we have already had favourable comments so far from locals Richard has been in contact with.
One or two donations at this stage would be a massive boost, However, we have £1,000 already with a further £500 promised. We are awaiting the opening of a bank account to pay all the funds into! Which should be completed and ready to go in the first week of April.
April
Donation button is now live on the site, huge thanks to those who have already donated and/or supporting our cause. There has been a slight update to the website in regards to a new page added to show thanks to the businesses involved with donation and supporting us to which we are very greatful for.
Thank you for your donations
Bill Forster
John Higgins
Dr Jon & Caroline Broome
Prof. Philip James
David Lindsay
and all the anonymous donors for pledging your support.
05/04/2021 - Written by Richard
Congratulations to Carmen for launching the website. I think we agree it is excellent. The mistakes, if there are any are all mine.
Also, congratulations to Bill Forster. He won the race to be the first to pay a donation to our brand new bank account. I happen to know that Bill was shipwrecked on a coral reef in the Far East at about the same time as David and Margaret Cargill faced hazards amongst the coral reefs of the Pacific. Bill has fellow feelings for them.
So far, we have at least £1,500. Aneblans Investment Ltd of Tannton Was the first substantial buisness to donate.
I think the first few months I am hoping to use the same methods as we used to raise just over £10,000 for three charities on our drive from Shetland to Mongolia in 2011. Can we raise even half for this stage of the appeal? Remember, we are DREAMING at this present. Maybe £5,000 will allow us to plan.
Remember, the objectives of the David Cargill Challenge;
1) To enable youngsters from hereabouts to travel to Fiji with a purpose.
2) To welcome home the Cargill's legacy to Scotland.
3) To find descendants.
There are questions about the phrase ''with a purpose''. I'm hoping we are leaving the door open as wide as possible. Maybe a young person wants to learn how the Fijians are ace at 'rugby'. How do they punch above their weight on United Nations peacekeeping missions? Is there bleaching of the coral reefs? Can they offer anything to us about how they deal with climate change?
I think we should say ''ney limits'' to what youngsters want to learn from a possible trip to Fiji ''with a purpose''.
Can we say ''ney limits'' to the David Cargill Challenge?
19/05/2021
Thank you to
Ashley Rodger
John Murray Lindsay
Rosie Frampton
for pledging your support to the David Cargill Challenge.
3/6/2021
Big news on the support side of things we have had a large increase in support from individuals and businesses who wish us all the success in this challenge. It is very heartwarming to receive such support as its for a great cause.
Please visit our Buisness support page to return the favour and support them as they do us!
17/07/2021
Thank you to
Sandy Main
Laurence Blair Oliphant
Leslie and Dianne Hughson
22/09/2021
WRITTEN BY RICHARD-
By accident and design, I think we have got the right formula for raising money for the CHALLENGE for now. The "design" for Phase 1 is to approach contacts and businesses by letter and appeal for donations. The website is there to give more information.
I wrote in spring hoping for a sum of £5000 by these methods and then we can open Phase 2. We are delighted as we approach the £3000 and we are confident of exceeding that £5000 when that time comes.
The "accident" was a blessing in disguise. When we launched in Spring, we wanted publicity. Thank goodness we didn't try too hard. We were too small to co-ordinate the benefits to the advantage of the CHALLENGE. This will come as we go into Phase 2, armed with (hopefully) £5000 in the bank already.
A second "accident" was no blessing at all but it did test the formula for Phase 1. A routine operation led to a recovery far from routine. I was out of action for two whole months BUT letters written before yielded results during this time. Donations to the challenge kept coming thanks to the generosity and patience of the donors.
We have gone international! We have kind donors from France, Holland, several from America and Australia
and pledges from Romania and the Czech Republic and other countries.
We have a list of potential donors to approach by letter and there are plenty to go so I think we will be sometime in Phase 1 yet.
What about Phase 2? That will come when we have exhausted potential in Phase 1. We can then take stock and judge the support. We will invite other people and organizations to help. This will be the time to seek publicity. We know we have an extraordinary story to tell but with funds already which to build and hopefully folk to help, we can take advantage of that publicity.
In the meantime, what does that £3000 represent? Enough money for three return fares to Fiji for young people maybe? Thank you donors.
Thank you for your donations
Bill Forster & Reinhild Balcke
Ailsa Main
Stacey
Anon
Rosie Nisbet
Susan Thomas
Peter & Fiona McIntyre
John-David & Maisie Anderson
Eric Abel
Peter Lydon
Craig Pankhurst
Lara-ann Baxter
Jackie Butler
Andrew Trappit
John Higgins
Dr Jon & Dr Caroline Broome
Prof. Philip James
Jonathon Treffry
Willie & Bertha Anderson
Ewan Anderson
Anna Henderson
Gibbie & Alice Arthur
Tereza Janatka, Czech Republic
Lara Ann Baxter
Andrew Price
Charles Blacker
Victoria de Mare
October
UPDATE 7/2/22 - Written by Richard
At over £3,600 in our bank account, we are already in a position to help one young person to journey to Fiji “with a purpose”.
We are also over half way to our target of £5,000 before we take stock and go on to Phase II. Our method of writing to contacts and businesses seeking donations continues . In the lead up to Winter, more was donated than we expected. I was hoping that this momentum would continue as we sent off 90 letters in December. The response was okay but levelled off a bit. But hold on! There are potential donors who indicate they will donate and even they mention the amount. This added together will amount to over £400. If we can convert “will donate” to “have donated”, this will pitch us over £4,000.
This figure is important for another reason. There is a possibility, not a promise, of an anonymous donation “to match the next 500 dollars” after the £4,000 has been reached. So, please, please, please donate and maybe the donations will be doubled.
All the money donated goes into the David Cargill Challenge bank account at the RBS. One hundred percent of this will be supporting young people to go to Fiji. It is important to point out that the costs of administration, for instance postage and the cost of the website are covered outwith the money donated.
The mechanisms for donation are listed separately. However, we have not so far listed our account number and sort code. Carmen is rightly very cautious. RBS made mistakes when they were setting up our account, not calculated to inspire confidence. This was reinforced when I came to transfer a business account from a bank closing their retail business to the RBS/NatWest. (nothing to do with the David Cargill Challenge).Two months of chaos on the RBS’ part and all hard work on our part and the bank has still not completed this simple task leaving me doubtful if the company’s money is safe.
We know that not including the Challenge’s account number and sort code has cost us donations but we are seeking reassurance before we do so. Please adopt one of the other methods preferably cheques made out to the David Cargill Challenge.
For the sake of transparency , this is how we deal with donations in cash, including foreign currency. I convert each donation into a cheque drawn on my own bank account. Then I pay that cheque to the Challenge’s bank account with the donor’s name on the counterfoil of the pay-in book. We also maintain a separate list of donors and the method they choose to pay.
Amongst the people I have been writing to are many who I shared remarkable adventures and expeditions. I have even been responsible for some life changing events , mostly for the better! In their replies, some have reminded me of shared adventures when they have donated. In other words, they have “clicked” on what the David Cargill Challenge is all about. They are now giving the opportunities back to young people that they have experienced themselves.
In so doing, they remind me how closely the Challenge follows the setting up of a typical expedition. Fifty years ago, I learnt that the most unlikely people support the enterprise and some types are out to destroy! Thus, an active historian set out to destroy our Universities of Aston and Manchester and Royal Engineers expedition to Shetland in 1973. A more prominent archaeologist set out to champion us and gave us valuable advice. Next was General Norriega. Guess which way…? He actively supported us in our hunt for the remains of Sir Francis Drake in Portobello, Panama in 1975. We invite him to donate and support the David Cargill Challenge.
Nobody has come out against our Challenge so far but feedback is always welcome but maybe not as cutting as the historian in 1973! One woman commented we should not be “sending kids around the world” when they could be “doing something useful in …..inner Glasgow”. Fair comment. I have supported the Salvation Army for many years as the best, most experienced and old established charity to do its job in inner Glasgow. Please, please, please donate to Salvation Army, 020 7367 4800, fr@salvationarmy.org.uk, salvationarmy.org.uk/donate at the same time as you donate to the David Cargill Challenge!
We have had two criticisms about the aims of the Challenge. I am puzzled about this because both the website and the letters we send out are clear. To re-state the aim. The aim is to send young people from hereabouts to Fiji with a purpose. Maybe some people are uncertain about “with a purpose” but I give examples in this website and in the letters. Please bear with me if I stick to my guns for now at least. I want to give the message to young folk: “Nay limits”.
In the absence of further criticisms, I will make some myself. We have relied on published sources, including David’s own. This is far from a work of academic history but it does give flavour of what they thought they were up against in the 1830s. If anybody has a different view, let us know.
Welcome to the team Martha & Innes!
Martha's story can be found at the top of the page under 'About us'
We are proud to have her support in the David Cargill challenge and look forward to working along side her, she has already been busy in background.
Martha was on the case straight away. First, she found several Fiji based activity options. We are hoping “our” young persons will be independent, but her list will be useful as a way of settling in when they arrive and using this as a springboard to their main purpose.
And that’s not all, for Martha is standing to go to Fiji “with a purpose” on behalf of the David Cargill Challenge. Her purpose is to examine the chances of young people from Fiji coming here on a vice versa arrangement. We think it’s the best way of establishing contacts to go there in person, ask for advice and talk. I have no doubt that she will have several additional purposes of her own.
Even more important, she comes with her own private sponsorship leaving intact the circa £3,700 from the donations so far.
So, we are hoping that the dream of sending two young people to the uttermost ends of the Earth with several purposes under the umbrella of the David Cargill Challenge is getting closer.