I hope admin don't mind me posting this but I'm trying to reach out to as many Irish readers as possible ! Irish Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal Passenger Rides with Martin Ffrench in the Wexican Motorsport Toyota Altezza at Mondello Park, Saturday March 19th 2011 March 15th 2011 For Immediate Release Waterford, Rep. of Ireland – Following the recent devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Wexican Motorsport is looking to raise awareness and funds to support the victims of this tragic event. On Saturday March 19th, Wexican Motorsport will be present at the Mondello Park Drifting Practice Day to test their newly unveiled SR20 powered Toyota Altezza. As part of this event, Wexican Motorsport will be offering passenger rides in the car in a bid to raise funds and awareness for the Irish Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal. For a €10 minimum donation, anyone present on the day will have the opportunity to experience two laps of the Mondello Park Drift course layout alongside veteran drifter Martin Ffrench. Alongside Martin, WKD Imports will be providing support cars so those in attendance are guaranteed an exciting day. All proceeds from the day will be donated to the Irish Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal. The Irish Red Cross is a registered charity, number CHY 3950 If you are unable to attend but will still like to contribute to this cause or the recent earthquake in New Zealand, please visit the Irish Red Cross website at Irish Red Cross - For Further Information, Please Contact: Paddy McGrath PMCGPHOTOs 00.353.87.1311404 paddy@pmcgphotos.com
Excellent work Paddy & Martin. I'm glad to see you use your heads with your donations! People considering making donations to Japan, this is very useful information... Don’t donate money to Japan | Felix Salmon | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters.com In the specific case of Japan, there’s all the more reason not to donate money. Japan is a wealthy country which is responding to the disaster, among other things, by printing hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of new money. Money is not the bottleneck here: if money is needed, Japan can raise it. On top of that, it’s still extremely unclear how or where organizations like globalgiving intend on spending the money that they’re currently raising for Japan — so far we’re just told that the money “will help survivors and victims get necessary services,” which is basically code for “we have no idea what we’re going to do with the money, but we’ll probably think of something.” Globalgiving, it’s worth pointing out, was created to support “projects in the developing world,” where lack of money is much more of a problem than it is in Japan. I’m not at all convinced that the globalgiving model can or should be applied directly to Japan, without much if any thought about whether it’s the best way to address the issues there. That said, it’s entirely possible that organizations like the Red Cross or Save the Children will find themselves with important and useful roles to play in Japan. It’s also certain that they have important and useful roles to play elsewhere. So do give money to them — and give generously! And give money to other NGOs, too, like Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which don’t jump on natural disasters and use them as opportunistic marketing devices. Just make sure it’s unrestricted. The official MSF position is exactly right So you know the lads are putting the money in the right places and not just swelling the coffers of opportunistic organisations.
Thanks guys, I've sent out a press release to any radio station / paper I can think of. I'm not expecting us to raise a large amount of money on the day but I do hope that we can create an increased awareness around what the Red Cross are doing for those not only in Japan but also in New Zealand and other places around the world. It's just so easy to become lazy and bored with a situation like this when it is being beamed into your head 24/7 - We just want to remind people that long after it's been forgotten in the media, people will still be rebuilding their lives and struggling to cope with the loss they've incurred and now is the time to help.
Okay guys & girls, A couple of small points to mention : 1. To gain access to Mondello as a spectator, there is a €10 charge on the gate 2. Gates open at 8.30AM and the day should run to 5.00PM with an hour lunch break in the middle. 3. The minimum age for those wishing to take up the offer of a passenger ride is 18 years. This will have to be strictly enforced.
Passed this on to another forum to help raise abit more extra support for yourselves. Please pm if you have any problems with this. Just trying to help a Good cause.
Update March 20th Having organised a last-minute fund raiser in aid of the Irish Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal, Wexican Motorsport are proud to announce that the effort was more than worth it having raised more than double the original target they had set out. Due to unprecedented demand, extra cars and drivers needed to be drafted in to help cope with the demand on the day for the drift passenger laps. Even mechanical issues were not enough to put a dampener on the day as more drivers volunteered their services and cars in a bid to ensure that everyone who signed up and donated to the appeal was given their reward. Having burned their way through 20+ tires, we are confident that those kind enough to support the appeal were given a worthy experience. Wexican Motorsport and PMCGPHOTOs would like to offer a special thanks to Wesley Keating of WKD Imports for transporting the car on the day and providing drift passenger laps. We would also like to thank Barry Leonard, Dan Moorhead, Chris Brady, Peter Taylor, Adam O’Connor and Brendan Kearney for providing the extra driving duties and Christy Carpenter and Alvin Reid for providing spare tires for the day. The success of the day was entirely down to the spirit and camaraderie within the Irish Drifting Community. If you were unable to attend but will still like to contribute to this cause or the recent earthquake in New Zealand, please visit the Irish Red Cross website at Irish Red Cross -
