Mugworks

Whitbourne Mugworks supply many football clubs, so Saturday is always interesting watching the results come in.  But this weekend Clubs we have recently supplied seem to have done particularly well this weekend.  Oldham with a 2-0 win over Rochdale in the big derby in the North West  (it’s not United vs City but bragging rights are just as important to supporters of those two Clubs in these next door towns), Barnsley had a great win at Reading, Dagenham & Redbridge (not so long ago non-league) triumphed over Bradford City (not so long ago Premier League) at Valley Parade; Gillingham whipped Plymouth, Kidderminster had a good win at Cambridge, and AFC Telford won at York.

Even down the league ladder clubs such as St Albans City, St Neots Town, Bishops Cleeve and Gosport Borough all had good Southern League.  Good to see our Clubs doing well.

However, we had a difficulty in who to support in the Mugworks derby in Scotland where Airdrie took on Cowdenbeth, with “The Blue Brazil” coming out on top at 5-1 winners.

My nephew Michael is campaign manager for the Australian organisation Global Poverty Project . Mike writes to me regularly interesting emails about some of the campaigns he is involved with.  This one deserves a wider audiance.

I am currently sitting in the Qantas Lounge in Sydney awaiting a flight to Melbourne. I have a bit of spare time before my flight so thought I would send through an update on the End of Polio campaign and where things are at.

But first a little story: the other day I visited Roosevelt House in New York City where former US President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), recovered from polio after being struck by the disease in 1921 at the age of 39. He would never walk again but went on to become the 32nd President of the United States. He also went on to found the March of Dimes in 1938 (I visited their offices yesterday!) to combat polio. Jonas Salk, who discovered the first polio vaccine in the 1950s, was able to fund his scientific breakthrough with the financial support of this organisation. Indeed, today the archivist at the March of Dimes National HQs was kind enough to show me the actual correspondance, signed by FDR himself, that initiated the fight against polio in America (and around the world!).

The more I speak to people while working on this campaign, the more I am convinced that polio eradication is a truly remarkable, ongoing story of human achievement and success. It is a testament to the positive impact that civil society - groups like Rotary International - can have on our world. If all goes to plan, our campaign in the lead up to CHOGM will build on and add to this success.

In terms of the latest on the campaign itself:

• We have built constructive and complementary partnerships with both Rotary International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (who are coming onboard as a financial supporter aswell);
• While in NYC we also visited the offices of UNICEF at the UN. As a member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), they were excited by the prospects of our campaign and we are in the process of determining what a partnership will look like;
• On Monday 25 July (i.e. next Monday), we will formally launch The End of Polio campaign in Australia. Website will be online at theendofpolio.com and details will be made available via social media.
• We have interviewed an ‘Australian Living Treasure’, footage of which will feature in Monday’s online launch of the campaign - more details to follow;
• On Monday, both myself, senior Rotarian and Chris Maher, the Acting Director of Polio Eradication at the World Health Organisation will be in Canberra to coincide with the campaign’s launch. We will be meeting with Kevin Rudd’s senior advisor, AusAID as well as the Prime Minister’s international affairs advisors; and
• The launch will be followed by 100 days of action, including community advocacy training, the Rotary End of Polio breakfast in Perth, an event featuring Simon McKeon (Australian of the Year) at Parliament House, and freeze mobs.

These are just some of the many things that have been going on. Expect to hear more from me in the next week! 

I would like to thank all those working flat out on this campaign, working across five different timezones, in at least three seperate countries. I’m also thanking them you all for the hard yards we will put in over the next 100 days! In particular, I would like to thank Renee Carr (AU Communications Director) and Wei Soo (AU Country Director a.k.a “my boss”) for putting up with my endless chatter over the past week and a half while working in the US.

Michael Sheldrick
Campaign Manager

michael.sheldrick@globalpovertyproject.com

www.globalpovertyproject.com

The Global Poverty Project: catalysing the movement to end extreme poverty.

The Towns that surround Greater Manchester have some of the oldest football clubs in the Country.  Rochdale, where I had my first Commercial Managers post in the 1970’s, has always been close to my heart, Clubs like Bolton and Wigan compete with their two Manchester neigbours at Premier League level and Bury, Stockport, Altrincham and Oldham prosper against all the odds of being so close to Manchester’s United and City.  So we were delighted that within a week both Oldham and Stockport have placed orders with Mugworks.  The Oldham fixture list mug is a first rate design created by Ric Dennis at Eden Design Solutions while Stockport had the imaginative idea of using Stockport County Club badges from past years to create an interesting set of mugs.

A new order from a Prmier League Club is always special.

This time St Johnstone from the Scottish Premier League has signed up with Whitbourne Mugworks to supply next seasons Fixture Mug. They join Kilmarnock FC from the same league as a Mugworks customer.

A news item submitted to the site by Michael Sheldrick of Western Australia.

The worldwide eradication of polio should be right up there on the agenda when Commonwealth leaders gather for talks in Perth later this year. Yesterday we marked Commonwealth Day – an annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations and an opportunity to promote understanding on global issues and international cooperation. As we mark this day of global celebration, we shouldn’t forget the fact that three of the four remaining polio endemic countries (Pakistan, India, Nigeria, and Afghanistan) are in the Commonwealth.

As close as we are to eradicating polio worldwide (we’ve reduced the number of cases by 99%!), the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) faces a funding gap of US$710 million that could jeopardise the global push on polio. Now is not the time for complacency. Public health experts have already begun issuing warnings about the dire consequences that could occur should the goal of eradication be abandoned. The message is clear: polio anywhere is a threat everywhere, including Australia.

As Chair of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in October, Julia Gillard (Australian Prime Minister) has the ability to mobilise Commonwealth leaders behind a commitment to fund the GPEI. This is the only way to ensure that no child will ever be paralysed or die from the disease in the future.

Click here to send an email to the PM right now

We have written to Julia Gillard and her advisors requesting that polio eradication be put on the CHOGM agenda. But to make sure our message is heard loud and clear, we need your help. As the Prime Minister considers what should go on her agenda, we need concerned Australians writing to her about the need to put polio eradication front and centre at CHOGM.

Click here to send an email to Julia Gillard

“I suffered from polio as a child… I want to eradicate polio because I do not want any children to suffer from it as I had” – this is the vision of an Australian Rotarian instrumental in the global push to eradicate polio. Lets help realise this vision. Write to the PM now, requesting her to put polio eradication on the CHOGM agenda.

By encouraging Commonwealth leaders to make a commitment to polio eradication at CHOGM, we can finally eliminate a preventable disease that takes countless lives and creates severe disability.

Want to help us do more?

Add the below text to your facebook and twitter pages and encourage your friends to take action:

Facebook

Right now, the world has an unprecedented opportunity to protect future generations from the crippling and debilitating disease of Polio. Since 1979 we have seen a 99% reduction in polio cases – and in three years we could see the disease eliminated entirely. This October, Commonwealth Leaders will arrive in Perth for a Heads of Government Meeting. Can you help us make sure eliminating polio is on the agenda?

Tweet

Since 1979, polio cases have been reduced by 99%. In 3 years, this number could be 0. Help us finish the job. http://bit.ly/eY0jws

Michael is a member of the The Global Poverty Project: catalysing the movement to end extreme poverty.

Whitbourne Mugworks have recently been involved with an interesting project at Dorking Rugby Club where we have designed and manufactured the Money Banks used for the project.

The club have a building project and are running a buy a brick campaign.  Nothing new in that. And saving by emptying the change out of your pockets every night is nothing new either. But putting that money somewhere where it’s not dipped into is often a bit of a problem.

The design is our idea … and of course can be adapted to any club name and the Club badge included.  But it was young club member Robert Thomas who inspired the idea.

Robert’s scheme is simple – the Club has purchased a number of money banks (or money boxes) from us that are given (or could be sold as part of the fundraiser) to young players and adults who put their change in the money bank. Every time there is enough money in the money box to buy a brick – the brick is purchased and the process starts again. It’s not rocket science but the money box is both a reminder and encouragement to save, as well as a secure place to keep the money.

The Money Banks themselves are earthenware and have a slot in the top and a rubber “plug” at the bottom for access to the money saved. They are around 9.2cm tall and 24cm circumference.

Mainly we sell money banks to Club’s as a commercial souvenir type product. This is simply an adaption.

We can, of course, put any design or wording on required and our ideas might just be a stimulus to a completely different direction. It can be for almost any project. The possibilities of what we can do are endless, prices are very competitive.  The only limitation is our joint imagination.  

A key component of our price is delivery and unfortunately it costs as much to send 12 as 60. And of course there are savings made for greater volumes – and our price structure reflects both elements.

Prices for money banks are as follows ….

12 money banks for £50 including design, set up and delivery

20 money banks for £70 including design, set up and delivery

24 money banks for £80 including design, set up and delivery

30 money banks for £99 including design, set up and delivery

36 money banks for £108 including design, set up and delivery

48 money banks for £144 including design, set up and delivery

60 money banks for £180 including design, set up and delivery

72 money banks for £210 including design, set up and delivery

100 money banks for £295 including design, set up and delivery

144 money banks for £410 including design, set up and delivery

200 money banks for £550 including design, set up and delivery

500 money banks for £1350 including design, set up and delivery

Delivery - about 7-10 days after you confirm your order and design but quicker if urgent.

A new product for the flood hit Cumbria town of Workington is the mousemat supplied to the local Comets Speedway Club by Whitbourne Mugworks.

Whitbourne Mugworks were chosen to supply South Yorkshire based community radio station Penistone FM with mugs.

New mousemats for Kings Lynn Stars Speedway Club as they start the Elite League season.

New products for the Witches at Foxhall Heath.