Charity

The Good Causes

CAR-nival is about serious motor sport but there is another very important element – Charity.

In the last 28 years we have raised funds for the Army Benevolent Fund, the Dalton Barracks Welfare Fund and a local charity, ‘The Friends of Stowford – Dream Makers Trust’. 

However, following a review of the distribution of monies raised, we re-aligned the event to totally benefit local causes and in 2024  we will be supporting…..

FRIENDS OF STOWFORD

Stowford House was formerly found towards the South-eastern part of the airfield in the village of Shippon.

Sadly, 12 years ago Oxfordshire County Council withdrew funding thus leaving the ‘residents’ without a central care facility and any focus amongst their collective of small, independent dwellings adjacent to the Care Facility.

Whilst the long-term care for people with learning difficulties and their need for substantial nursing care is now provided by ‘Out-workers’ from within the NHS Trust, the residents are left with no formal arrangements for personal transportation or any inter-action with each other.

There are currently 27 people of all ages (15 men / 12 women) within the group who strive to maintain a degree of normality in their day-to-day lives and in this support and welfare is now provided through the volunteers, The Friends of Stowford. The Friends are a registered charity aligned to the Dream Makers Trust and are made up of many relatives and friends of the residents.  They work unceasingly to  provide a better way of life through physical and fund-raising activities and this is where the contribution from the Abingdon Motorsport CAR-nival is vital.

Chairperson Anne Brownson comments ‘It is absolutely certain that without the yearly Abingdon Motorsport CAR-nival we simply would not exist and in all honesty, our residents quality of life would be severely affected.  In fact, the Stowford Community would have probably been dispersed when the main house closed a few years back if it hadn’t been for the CAR-nival event.’

For their part it’s not simply a case of smiling and accepting the cheques as The Friends of Stowford contribute enormously to the success of CAR-nival.  Whether it be through the negotiated and invaluable free supply of over 1,000 road cones from Volker-Highways Chievely or the evening BBQ and Pig-Roast, they get stuck in and add to the whole atmosphere.

THE DALTON BARRACKS SOLDIERS WELFARE FUND

In 2016, the CAR-nival changed its emphasis, turning it’s attention to an issue much closer to home.  Government cut-backs and reductions in budgets has meant the MoD has had to concentrate solely on the infrastructure of the military operation.  With reducing funds for ‘extra, non-essential works’, many of the facilities (both social and recreational) within Dalton Barracks have either fallen into disrepair or are in need of urgent attention.  The affects the ‘off-duty’ life of the soldiers posted to Abingdon who are often either on route to oversees deployment or returning from active service in areas of severe conflict.

This means that some facilities are unheated in winter, often with leaking roofs or missing windows and virtually no ‘extra-curricular’ activities exist and there is very little to do when not on duty. To help improve things, Abingdon Motorsports CAR-nival is joining with other organisations in forming a sort of ‘Dalton Barracks Soldiers Welfare Fund’ to help finance a number of projects to improve life for our soldiers such as sports teams and societies.  It may be utilising a disused drill hall for a social club or mini-cinema, or even helping with a new table-tennis set or a repair to the broken pool table…. It all counts!

Every penny raised goes directly into specific projects related to the daily life at Dalton Barracks and nothing is ‘added’ to existing MoD repairs or reinstatements so rest assured that every contribution is used for the stated purpose.

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So WHY do we do it?

SOME OF THE STORIES OF THOSE YOU ARE HELPING AT CAR-NIVAL

BRITAIN’S HEROES:  

 

3 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps – 4 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps

Many just think of the British Army in frontline roles as shown above, frontline action against an often unseen enemy.  However, there is another Army in the background, the army that is the Royal Logistics Corps and Dalton Barracks is home to 2 Regiments of this vital group of dedicated individuals.  3 and 4 Regiment provide close support around the world, moving troops and equipment to wherever they are most needed and often into areas of extreme danger.

So when they return to the UK and are ‘at ease’ for a few months, they need our support to provide them with a standard of life whilst preparing for their next deployment.

As they say its the little things which are ‘off-budget’ and no longer provided to the individuals to improve this downtime and allow them to have reasonable social life whilst serving Queen and Country.

Through our work with the Station Commander and the Station Officer, we are pleased to donate 50% of what we raise directly into the Abingdon Station Welfare Fund and we give you our strict assurance that every penny gets spent on benefits for the serving soldier.

Afterall, even Super Heroes need their rest time!