An Oak tree is growing for

the Kemal Saraçoĝlu Foundation

By Chris Elliott

I remember a few years ago when I first met with Maureen and Pete Fellows and they were telling me about how they had been trying hard to raise money for the Kemal Saraçoĝlu Foundation For Children With Leukaemia And The Fight Against Cancer.

When sitting and talking to Maureen and Pete Fellows way back, I realised how some folk just have a tremendous desire to help others and have the capacity to work so hard to achieve their aims. So much so that Maureen had been invited to become an Honorary Member of the Board of the Kemal Saraçoĝlu Foundation.

 I recall when we were first talking and I wrote an account of  what they said in a local newspaper which was as follows:

 “We started to raise money for the Foundation in March 2010 just selling 1 TL all occasion cards. It took a long time to reach the first 2, 000 TL, we then started to buy mugs for 1 TL and sell them for 2 TL and gradually people started to bring us Bric a Brac followed by some clothes. Since our activities for the Foundation have become known, we now receive regular donations of goods for our stalls but we are always grateful for more”.

The sum we have raised to date with the help of all the things people have given us to sell is 16,319 TL. The money has been raised at Lambousa Saturday market, The Soyz Bar Sunday market together with some fund raising events arranged for us by some KSF supporters.

I feel as though I have planted an acorn and an oak tree is now growing

May I also say on behalf of the Foundation thank you to all of those people have made donations and given support and I hope many more of you will want to help.”

Since those early days Maureen and Pete Fellows have continued to raise donations through the years for the foundation with the sale of products on their stalls and they were pleased to celebrate with the President,  Nüket Gündüz of Kemal Saraçoĝlu Foundation an overall  total of 51,840 TL being raised by 14th April 2013..

What more can one say, it’s great that some people are so concerned for the plight of others that they will undertake so much work to help them. If you have items you would like to donate to Maureen’s stalls to raise further donations for the Foundation, please call her on 0533 845 6705.