Jenny got the new wheelchair that we also fundraised for! Here is a message from her with some pictures:
LETTER TO SPONSORS – JANUARY 2024
DEAR FRIEND
A MASSIVE “THANK YOU” TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS FUNDRAISING SUCH A SUCCESS – AND EVEN HELPED ME BUY A BRAND NEW POWERCHAR. MINE WAS 23 YRS OLD & FALLIN APART!
WORDS NEVER EXPRESS MY GRATITTUDE, I’M RIDING AROUND IN MY NEW FERARI – MY GRATITUDE GOED BEYOND WORDS, AS YOU SEE ON THE PHOTOOS!
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! BLESS YOU ALL.
LOVE
JENNY
TROUBLE 01
Thank you also from the rest of the fundraising team to everyone who made this possible 🙂 Stay well!!
You’ve done it again!! We managed to reach our target of R 65 200 (due to radical changes in the exchange rate, we needed less in Euro ((3 275€)) than originally calculated). This means that Jenny’s expenses for 2024 are covered – and that she has a large chunk of money towards a new wheelchair.
A heartfelt, humble, THANK YOU to every single one of our sponsors who supported us in these complicated times. It is wonderful to be able to rely on a swarm like you. THANK YOU!!!
WINNERS OF THE PRIZE DRAW (in Germany):
The cookies and bookmarkshave become all-time favourites, so we went with them again. THANK YOU TO ANNE AND HER MOM who took over the baking when I got sick. That was really touching – and boy, did they churn out the goodies!
The Prizes this year are:
– 3 big packets of yummy mixed cookies
– 5 small packets of yummy mixed cookies
– 5 funky bookmarks with Jenny’s motto: “Never give up!”
My troublesome helpers assisted me in the prize-draw again (though this year we took a sock instead of a hat).
And the winners are:
Three BIG mixed-cookie bags: 1. Martin 2. Cynthia 3. Patricia
Five MEDIUM mixed cookie bags 1. Kerstin 2. Carlo 3. Valentin 4. Elfriede 5. Alex
Five funky bookmarks 1. Anne 2. Teresa 3. Milena 4. Nina 5. Ms Hirth
Congratulations to all of our winners! I will be in touch with you over the next few days about your prizes!!
The fundraiser is dead – LONG LIVE THE FUNDRAISER!!
That is to say: if you were planning to still make a contribution, please do. Extra cash allows Jenny to take care of unexpected costs that are normally caused by medical emergencies, or her wheelchair, phone or computer (all of which have to be adapted to her special needs- making them really expensive.) We don’t want to set the fundraiser goals too high, but unfortunately it means that she’s always on a very tight budget. You can pay money into any of the accounts listed in the fundraiser mail, the money from Germany gets transferred to Jenny every 2-3 months. (One of our sponsors decided that Nov/Dec is a bad time of year for her, so now she transfers money at Valentines Day! Any time is a good time for TROUBLE!)
Again – thank you to everyone who contributed so generously. God bless. We’ll be back with another fundraiser next year!
Till then, have a lovely Christmas season.
All the best,
from Jenny Symons a.k.a. TROUBLE
and Yvette Coetzee-Hannemann (Friend, Fan and Funding Co-ordinator.)
You guys are AMAZING!! Donations have been flooding in, especially the last few days. A lot of it is still in mid-transfer, so we don’t know exactly what the numbers are, but we’ve definitely cracked the 45 300 Rand mark.
A GIGANTIC, HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED SO VERY GENEROUSLY!!
This means we have raised enough money to support Jenny through 2024 – and that is really wonderful! Thank you!!!
With that, we have already achieved our main aim. But – this year we also set out to raise money for a new wheelchair that she desperately needs. So we’re going into extra time!
We’re extending the fundraiser by one week – till 07 December.
And we’re combining it with a challenge, but more about that later….
We’ve still got about another R 16 250 to go. So, if you’ve been meaning to make a transfer, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE. And remember: No amount is too small! It all adds up in the end. You can transfer directly to our paypal account:
Paypal Account: fundraisingfortrouble@gmail.com
If you’d like banking details for South Africa or Germany, or if you want to spread your contribution out with a monthly contribution, write us at fundraisingfortrouble@gmail.com.
NEWSFLASH: for those living in Germany: the deadline for the Lucky Draw is also being pushed back to 7 December.
The preparationsare in full swing: the traditional family-recipe Pfefferkuchen dough has been resting for 2 days, so it will be ready when the serious baking begins tomorrow (at this point, a warm thank you to Anne and her Mom who are helping with the baking – and even offered their kitchen!).
So – don’t miss your chance to win one of our yummy prizes!
AND NOW ABOUT OUR NEW “WHO’S GOT THE HOTTEST WHEELS?” CHALLENGE.
The challenge is based on this iconic picture of Jenny with the numberplate for her wheelchair.
Taking your inspiration from that, we’d like YOU to show us YOUR wheels. What gives you a sense of freedom? Which wheels couldn’t you (or wouldn’t you want to) live without? Send us a picture, ideally with you in it holding a TROUBLE numberplate like Jenny’s or an “I love TROUBLE” sign to show your support for Jenny’s new set of wheels.
Here’s an idea of what we mean. This is the Black Plastic Motorcycle Gang (thank you Petrus for the amazing photo!):
The sign is missing, but you get the gist…these boys love their wheels! But do they love them more than you love yours? The race is on!
E-mail us your pics – fundraisingfortrouble@gmail.com – and we will post them on the website (yes, we know that is really old school, but we’re doing our best here…).
Feel free to pass this E-mail on to anyone who might be interested. To find out more about Jenny, her finances or the fundraiser, feel free to browse our website.
We can make it. As you all know from football, a LOT can happen in extra time 🙂
We’re off to a very good start this year, within the first week we raised 25% of our goal.
Thank you very much to everyone who chipped in so generously!
We still have a long way to go, though, and only 5 days left – so, if you are interested in making a contribution, please write us at fundraisingfortrouble(at)gmail.com and we’ll send you the banking details.
We’re launching our annual “I love TROUBLE” fundraising campaign today.
For those of you who don’t know Jenny (a.k.a. TROUBLE), feel free to browse our website to find out more. These annual fundraisers are vital in keeping her going – and every year we are amazed at people’s generosity.
Last year, 56 friends, acquaintances and complete strangers contributed an astounding R 64 220 (about 3 500 Euro at the time) to the fundraiser.Thanks again to EVERYONE who chipped in so generously!!!
This year, we’re lucky – Jenny’s old wheelchair (from 1999!) broke down. That’s not the lucky part, the lucky part is the timing, because the Rand is currently very low. And though that is bad news for the country, it actually helps with our fundraising. Many sponsors contribute from outside SA and every Euro/Dollar goes a lot further in Rand this year.
OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL: we want to raise R 65 200 (ca. 3 440 €) by 30 November 2023.
That is the money still lacking to cover Jenny’s monthly expenses as well as R22 000 towards a new chair.
The plan is to do so by getting – R 1 355 (ca. 70 €) per month in regular, monthly contributions and – R 44 940 (ca. 2 580 €) in one-off donations.
“Regular contributions” mean that sponsors (maybe you?) commit to transferring a small amount every month for one year, from December 2022 until November 2023.
In South Africa, we’re looking for:
2 people who can commit R50 per month
2 people who can commit R100 per month
1 person who can commit R200 per month
Internationally (from all the countries with TROUBLE fans, incl. Britain, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand) we’re looking for:
2 people who can commit 5 Euro per month
2 people who can commit 10 Euro per month
1 person who can commit 15 Euro per month
If a monthly commitment is not your thing, one-off donations are also very, very welcome! Even small amounts really help!
If you can make a contribution, please write to fundraisingfortrouble(at)gmail.com and we will send you Jenny’s banking details. We have fundraising accounts in South Africa and Germany or you can transfer via Paypal.
TROUBLE’s little helpers…
PRIZE DRAW: Now we get to the good stuff, where we can give our generous sponsors something back! There will be a prize draw in Berlin for our German supporters (unfortunately, we can’t open it up to everyone, as postage fees are too high).
The prizes in the past have included some fun, home-made “I love TROUBLE” surprises like cookies, christmas cards and bookmarks. What’ll it be this year? Watch this space to find out…
The goodies from our 2021 Fundraiser.
Here’s how it works: For every 10 € you donate or pledge, your name goes into the hat for the lucky draw at the end of the fundraiser. The names of people who pledge more go into the hat more than once – so the name of someone who pledges 5 € a month for a year (60€ in total) goes into the hat 6 times.
Make sure to send us a mail, of you want to be included!
You’ve done it again!! The extra time paid off, the last minute goals were spectacular!! (Okay, admittedly the soccer image is a bit of a stretch – but it’s not every year our fundraiser coincides with the World Cup..). So you must be dying to know the final score.
Our target of R 63 360 (ca. 3500€) seemed almost impossible for a while – but do you know what? Team TROUBLE stayed true to Jenny’s life motto: “Never give up” – and we got there!
We raised (or rather, YOU donated!) a total of R64 220 (3 540 €)!! Whooo-hoo!!! Where is my vuvuzela when I need it??
A heartfelt, humble, THANK YOU to every single one of you who supported us in these extremely hard times. No less than 56 sponsors chipped in. Some were friends, many were complete strangers. Thank you all SO, SO much!! It means that Jenny’s basic expenses for 2023 are covered and there’s even a tiny bit extra for emergencies.
Jenny is struggling to hold a pen at the moment, so she’s asked me to include this note from her:
Now of course, those of you in Germany are dying to know about the cookies & bookmarks!
WINNERS OF THE PRIZE DRAW:
The Prizes this year were:
– 5 BIG packets of home-baked cookies – 5 MEDIUM packets of home-baked cookies – 15 bookmarks (we like for as many people as possible to be winners :))
I also made an extra packet of cookies as a kind of consolation prize. Some sponsors contribute every year but are unlucky in the draw – so I wanted to surprise one of them with a packet as well.
Because we wanted to keep postage fees down, we only included people who live in Germany in the draw. We hope you understand..
Thank you again to Anne and Hugo for help with the baking. And as always, my little helpers (who are not so little anymore) assisted with the draw.
And the winners are:
BIG packets of cookies 1. Sylvia 2. Sophie 3. Valentin G. 4. Judith 5. V Schlicht
MEDIUM packets of cookies 1. Alex 2. Julia 3. Martin 4. Irati 5. Ulrike
Bookmarks: 1. Nina 2. Jeff 3. Marcus 4. Kerstin 5. Valentin F. 6. Anna 7. Nathalie 8. Dereck 9. Klaus 10. Thomas 11. Hannah 12. Sonja 13. Christiane 14. Teresa 15. Jane
Consolation Prize: Valo! Who has contributed for 5 years running, but has NEVER GOT COOKIES!! So he has totally deserves this 🙂
Congratulations to all of our winners! I will be in touch with you over the next few days about your prizes.
The fundraiser is dead – LONG LIVE THE FUNDRAISER!!
That is to say: if you were planning to still make a contribution, please do. Extra cash allows Jenny to take care of unexpected costs caused by medical emergencies, her wheelchair, phone or computer (all of which have to be adapted to her special needs- making them really expensive.) We don’t want to set the fundraiser goals too high, but unfortunately it means that she’s always on a very tight budget. You can pay money into any of the accounts listed in the fundraiser mail. The money from Germany gets transferred to Jenny every 2-3 months. You can also pick your own date: one of our sponsors decided that Nov/Dec is a bad time of year for her, so now she transfers money at Valentines Day! Any time is a good time for TROUBLE!
Again – thank you to everyone who contributed so generously. God bless. We’ll be back with another fundraiser next year!
Till then, have a lovely Christmas season.
All the best,
from Jenny Symons a.k.a. TROUBLE
Yvette Coetzee-Hannemann (Friend, Fan and Funding Co-ordinator)
So far, close friends and complete strangers have contributed a phenomenal R 57 518 (that’s 3 116€)!
We’re overwhelmed by the generous contributions that keep coming in and want to thank everyone again wholeheartedly!! Just to put these numbers into perspective: that is already more than our goal last year (R 45 960/2 640 Euro)but due to the leap in inflation, we’re not there just yet…
We’re still R 5 842 / 384 € short – and are hoping to get that by the end of the day.
So anyone who has been thinking about contributing – please do so today. We would like to re-iterate that really NO contribution is too small. It adds up, as you can see!!
For banking details, please write to us at fundraisingfortrouble(at)gmail.com.
You guys are AMAZING!! There has been an avalanche of donations in the past two days – more than R 27 000 (1500 €)!!! We don’t know exactly what the numbers are as some money is still in mid-transfer, but we’ve definitely cracked the 46 000 Rand (2 500 €) mark.
A GIGANTIC, HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED SO VERY GENEROUSLY!!
People have also approached us, asking for more time so they could get their December paycheck, pass the mail on to their friends or have time at the weekend for transfers.
So we’re going into extra time!
We’re extending the fundraiser till Sunday 4 December.
If you are planning to make a donation, pass on the e-mail, or sell popcorn at a pop-up “I love TROUBLE” stand to raise money, please do (and send us the photos!!)
We now need less than 1000 € / R 17 360. We can make it. As you all know from football, a LOT can happen in extra time 🙂
So – please join the effort. And remember: No amount is too small! It all adds up in the end.
So far, we’ve managed to raise a solid R 9 000 (about 510 €). THANK YOU to all the amazing people who have contributed so far!!!
Unfortunately though, this is still quite a way short of our goal: to raise R63 360 (3 500€ ) by 30 November 2022.
We know from previous fundraisers that many donations come at the end – so we’re optiistic we can still make it.
But we’ll need all hands on deck.
If you would like to make a one-off contribution, or a regular monthly contribution (limited to 1 year, 01.12.22-01.11.23 ) feel free to contact us at fundraisingfortrouble(at)gmail.comand we’ll send you the banking details.
You will find further info about this fundraiser an about Jenny, the amazing person the money is meant for on this website, so feel free to browse.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!! Have a TROUBLE-icious day!!
Hello! We’re getting the ball rolling on the 2022 “I love TROUBLE” Fundraising campaign.
For those of you who don’t know Jenny (a.k.a. TROUBLE), feel free to browse our website to find out more. These annual fundraisers are vital in keeping her going – and every year we are amazed at the generosity of her friends and acquaintances, but also of many people who have never met her.
Last year, we raised a phenomenal R 48 175 (ca. 2 699 € ). Thank you again to EVERYONE who chipped in so generously in the midst of the pandemic!!!
That money has supported Jenny through this year where, like all South Africans, she’s had to make some adjustments to deal with the regular power cuts and rocketing prices. But at least the corona restrictions have been loosened, visitors were allowed into the home and the garden again, and Jenny is allowed out. And she can sit next to her friend Norman again for hours on end to colour in and joke around.
Now, we’re looking to cover Jenny’s expenses for 2023, where the unprecedented inflation has forced us to increase our budget.
Our Fundraising Goal: By 30 November 2022 we want to raise R 63 360 (ca. 3 500 €)
The plan is to do so by getting R 1 930 (ca. 110 €) per month in regular, monthly contributions. “Regular contributions” mean that sponsors (maybe you?) commit to transferring a small amount every month for one year, from December 2021 until November 2022.
In South Africa, we’re looking for: 4 people who can commit R50 per month 3 people who can commit R100 per month 2 people who can commit R150 per month
Internationally (from all the countries with TROUBLE fans, including Britain, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand) we’re looking for: 4 people who can commit 5 Euro per month 3 people who can commit 7,50 Euro per month 2 people who can commit 10 Euro per month
If a monthly commitment is not your thing, one-off donations are also very, very welcome! Even small amounts really help! Our aim is to raise R 40 140 (ca. 2 210 €) in one-off donations.
If you can make a contribution, please write to fundraisingfortrouble(at)gmail.com and we will send you Jenny’s banking details. We have fundraising accounts in South Africa and Germany or you can transfer via Paypal.
PRIZE DRAW: Now we get to the good stuff, where we can give our generous sponsors something back! There will be a prize draw in Berlin for our German supporters (unfortunately, we can’t open it up to everyone, as postage fees are too high).
The prizes in the past have included some fun, home-made “I love TROUBLE” surprises like cookies, christmas cards and bookmarks. What’ll it be this year? Watch this space to find out…
Here’s how it works: For every 10 € you donate or pledge, your name goes into the hat for the lucky draw at the end of the fundraiser – so the name of someone who pledges 5 € a month for a year (60€) goes into the hat 6 times.
Make sure to send us a mail, if you live in Germany and want to be included!
And, please remember to spread the word!!
Thank you!!
Trouble (Jenny) and Yvette (Friend, Fan, funding co-ordinator).
