I apologise in advance for the long email, but please take the time to read this and donate what you can!

Each year ERM employees submit proposals to the ERM Foundation for projects and causes that they wish to raise money for and actively get involved in.  This year the Foundation has chosen a total of 7 projects to fund, some of which involve donation of money and others require ERM employees to contribute their time.  Many of the projects chosen have already been completed, however, there are three large projects that require larger sums of money to complete.  These are:

Establishing the Omo Elephant Sanctuary in Nigeria   

The Omo-Shasha-Oluwa Forest Reserves contain some of the last remaining forest in South-Western Nigeria and a population of 30 elephants but it is threatened by logging, over-hunting and clearance for farmland.  This project aims to carry out activities that will lead to the establishment of a new protected area called the Omo-Shasha-Oluwa Elephant Sanctuary.

Venture Scotland Bothy Project Venture Scotland works with young people aged 16-30 facing complex problems such as homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, offending, family breakdown, mental health difficulties, poverty and deprivation. The organisation runs a challenging and intensive, outdoor based, personal development programme, offering new opportunities and experiences for those who are struggling to make the transition to adult life. The ERM UK Foundation helped pay for a drinking water filtration system for the Bothy in 2008 and is now keen to develop further activities to improve the sustainability of the Bothy by offering some of our time and skills through ERM Foundation’s Pro-bono initiative and volunteering.

Supporting Waste Collector Cooperatives in Sao Paulo (Brazil)

In Brazil, poor immigrants have great difficulty finding work and many become homeless or live in slums located on the outskirts of cities and towns.  Many immigrants attempt to make a living by collecting recyclable waste materials and selling them on to recycling companies. Such companies could donate their recyclable waste to collectors’ groups but often they do not trust them to properly manage the materials.  As a result, collector groups do not have access to ‘good material’ and a viscous circle of poverty is created.  The São Paulo state government is keen to organize the activities of waste collectors by forming legal cooperatives in each part of the city and linking these with large companies, condominiums and shopping centres. The ERM Foundation has identified a great new Project working in partnership with a Brazilian NGO to help waste collectors’ cooperatives in São Paulo.

As you can see these main projects address issues affecting people in developing countries, those close to home as well as supporting environmental protection. 

In order to raise money for these projects we have organised a team of 30 ERMers to undertake the three peaks challenge on the 5th and 6th September.  For those who are not familiar with the challenge, we will walk the 3 highest peaks of Scotland (Ben Nevis 1344m high), England (Scafell Pike 978m high) and Wales (Snowdon 1085m high) in a 24 hour period.

Please help us raise money for the project listed above by making a donation through this justgiving site.  Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.