Following in his father's footsteps...

Bath Abbey chorister Sam Clark, has followed in his dad’s footsteps in walking the St Cuthbert’s Way to raise money for Habitat for Humanity.

Sam and his dad, Paul, supported by brother, George, and mum, Judith, completed the 62.5 mile walk, ending on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, in just 4 days…and not a blister or drop of rain was seen throughout their trek.

Sam’s fantastic efforts have so far raised in excess of £4,000 – enough to build three safe, decent homes in the developing world.

Everyone at Habitat for Humanity would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and congratulations to Sam and his family for this outstanding effort.

Answering the call for a Habitat home

When Duncan Nash and his family visited the Habitat for Humanity stand at New Wine 2006, they liked our way of working so much that they decided to fund the building of a house.

Taking away a Habitat for Humanity ‘buy a brick’ poster, Duncan felt that raising the money for a home in the developing world in a visual way would encourage his children of 12, 15 and 17 to take an interest in the issues faced by the world’s poorest people.

After two years of being pinned up in the family’s cloakroom, the Nash’s – helped by friends and family visiting the ‘facility’ – have raised the money to take another family out of poverty and into a safe and decent home.

On your bike...

Habitat for Humanity volunteer Carole Hutchinson has had a busy summer.

As part of a Habitat building team from corporate law firm Addleshaw Goddard, Carole and her sister decided to raise the £500 for her trip to Romania by cycling from Thailand to Vietnam…via Cambodia!

The bike trip, taking 16 days to complete involved travelling 70-100km a day in extreme heat interspersed with the occasional cloudburst.

But with pit stops strategically set out along the route to take in local schools, temples and other attractions, both riders were able to experience plenty of local culture and were greeted by cheering crowds along the way.

Then, after a well-earned few days break back home, Carole swapped her bicycle for a hard hat.

John McEnroe donates Warhol painting for auction

Former tennis star John McEnroe has donated the Andy Warhol “Society” painting Portrait of John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal, for auction with the proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity’s worldwide programme.

The painting raised an amazing £241,250 when it went under the hammer on 1st July 2008 at Sotheby’s in London. The auction was perfectly timed to coincide with this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships and no doubt attracted many bids from McEnroe fans as well as admirers of Warhol’s work.

Ian Walkden, National Director of Habitat for Humanity GB, said: “At Habitat for Humanity we believe that everyone should have a safe, decent place to lay their head at night. The money raised from the painting could help us repair or build over 100 homes in developing countries. These houses will all be built with the sweat of the families that will live in them. So we are particularly grateful to John McEnroe for his generous gift and, of course, to Sotheby’s for all their help.”

Warhol painted John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal in the mid-1980s when the couple were at their prime and in the glow of the zeitgeist glamour that provided the source for so much of Warhol’s most important work.