What a whirlwind rollercoaster it has been, even up till the last week, but our Bus is completed, handed over to the Robert Dolling Project and will soon be helping the cities homeless.
It all began at the beginning of the year, Joanne text me some time in January and asked me if we should get a bus, I must admit, I ignored her for a few hours. Jo then text me again a few hours later (she's not impatient, I promise) and said, shall we get a bus or am I mad? Well.... I'm a massive Alice in Wonderland fan and hey 'We're all Mad Here!' Yeah why not, let's see if this is possible....
The Bus arrived on 31st March 2017 and we made the front page of the news (I was away on holiday and missed the grand arrival) and then the Bus has been a flurry of activity ever since!
The News have been a big supporter of ours and if you search their site or plumb in The Bus Project Portsmouth Evening News into google, all the articles will come up - have a peruse! Check out The Bus Facebook page for progress pictures also.
The last 8 months Jo and I have worked tirelessly, talked daily, met weekly and spent many many many hours at the Bus. We've ignored our husbands, talked about the Bus to anyone who will listen, stood up our friends and forgotten what our families look like, and we're very sorry - but it's been totally worth it!
Now, we asked for help in many forms and I'm sad to say at the start we were stood up by all sorts of tradespeople, messed around by carpenters, ignored by plumbers etc etc, but we're proud to say once we'd found our team, they were blooming excellent!
So the run down and big thank you's to -
Gav
GJC Electricals for all our electrics Lesley at a Furniture Medic for reupholstering all the seats
Darren & Team for the flooring throughout the Bus
Kelleher FlooringColin for all the splash backs, and all the signage inside and outside the Bus
Genie AcrylicsGosport Men's Shed for our cupboards
Fareham Men's Shed for our insulation fitting
Highbury College Students and their tutors for the bunks
Highbury CollegeKerry & John for the curtains
Inside Story InteriorsAll of these guys have worked for minimal payment, donations, paid using a bartering system or simply worked and or donated materials for free.
And of course not forgetting our main fundraisers -
Gemma at Rich's for so much more than we could ever thank them for!
Alan Priddy for donating mattresses
Team BrittaniaAmanda at for fundraising
Tesco North HarbourAlice at Waitrose Southsea fundraising with the green token scheme
The Partnership Foundation for their donation
Helen at St Edmunds School fundraising with the children
The News in Portsmouth running a sponsored relay race
The NewsMercator Cargo Systems for their donation
The Band - Free from Gravity donating proceeds from a gig
This list isn't exhaustive and of course not forgetting every company and individual who sponsored a bed, every single person who donated through crowd funding (your names are all on the Bus!) everyone who gave us a like and or a share and simply believed we could.
(I've tried to link as many people as possible to their Facebook page, go and give them a quick like and or share!)
The last week with the Bus wasn't without a hitch, a late break in (no theft or damage luckily), towing issues, last minute deliveries we weren't sure would arrive - but low and behold the Bus was launched on Sunday 26th November 2017. Pompey in The Community kindly opened their centre for us and the Bus was proudly on display for all to see!
Please note the 'pink broom' just to show who's in charge - The Girls!!
(Artwork from 2 Sisters, Southsea)
I'm pleased to report all went well, everyone loved the Bus and the articles written have been amazing. Here's a selection so far....
Jo and I have now retired for Christmas; elated, proud, exhausted and joyous, some happy tears have been shed and I'm sure we'll miss 'the old girl'. We're so pleased the community have pulled together, helped us achieve this and she'll go on to do great things. We'll of course, be back to sink our teeth into the Rucksack Project next year!
On a personal note, I honestly couldn't ask for a better partner in crime than Joanne, her passion is uncontainable and I'm so proud to call Jo my friend.
So.... Thank you, once again, to everyone. It's been amazing, it's been emotional and it's been overwhelming - but WE'VE DONE IT!!
TTFN
Sammy xx