ON behalf of the Don McMath Foundation, I would like to thank everyone who attended or contributed to our annual garden party on July 3. We raised £1,132 which for these times of austerity is outstanding.

Further thanks are also due to The Rotary Club of Verwood who presented us with a cheque for a further £300 and to Barclays Matching Fundraising who will match us another £750.

The Don McMath Foundation is a small registered charity based in Verwood running a school in Gambia in West Africa for children whose parents are too poor to send them to school.

We started in 2001 with 30 children and now have three classroom blocks providing totally free education to 300 children.

The <&bh"http://www.donmcmath.org/About-Us/about-the-trustees.html">trustees<&eh> of the charity receive no remuneration or expenses and we are pleased to say that 97 per cent of all monies raised in the UK go to Gambia; the only deductable expenses are for stamps, stationery and fundraising costs.

We rely on supporters in the UK who sponsor children at just £60 per annum (£5 per month) and fundraising activities such as the Garden Party.

Anyone who would like further information can contact us via our web site www.donmcmath.org or by phone on 01202 823317.

MICK McMATH, Trustee, Manor Road, Verwood