Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Thom Donaldson Appeal

I was saddened to read on the Morgan website of the devastating injury suffered by Thom Donaldson, a trim shop worker at the Factory.

Although I am only a recent convert to the Morgan marque, my car having gone into production shortly after Thom started to work there, I have been struck by the uniqueness of the Company and the sense of community attached to Morgan ownership. Given that Morgan is truly a family Company, it comes as no surprise that the workforce has united to launch an appeal to provide financial help for Thom and his family.

Perhaps now would be an appropriate time for Morgan owners to express their gratitude to the Company and workforce, for the pleasure that Morgan ownership brings, by supporting their fundraising efforts. I would venture to suggest, however, that Thoms long-term financial needs will far exceed the amount raised by this appeal.

In the short period of time I have been an Owner, I have been surprised by the number of people who have admired my car and aspire to own one. With the right publicity, I feel certain that a target of selling 10000 tickets worldwide to the general public is easily achievable. However, if the target is to sell 10000 tickets worldwide to Morgan Owners, I feel the cover price of 5 pounds per ticket is absurdly low given that Morgan Owners tend to be a fairly well-heeled bunch of individuals.

Perhaps the Forum could explore ways in which Morgan Owners could boost the Appeal proceeds?

Hi Ken

I was also very moved by the appeal when I read of it at the factory recently and bought a couple of tickets, I agree with All of your comments and feel we more fortunate should help where we can and at the very least purchase tickets for Thom's appeal, and any other opportunities that arise in the future.

I'm sorry to say that I am not aware of what happened to Mr. Donaldson. Would someone mind explaining if it was a work related accident?

I would also be happy to donate to a fund.

Are Morgan Motor Company also assisting him or has it been left to the employees of the company to raise funds?

The details on the Morgan website are as follows:

Thom Donaldson Appeal

Thom joined the Morgan Motor Company in August 2005 as an apprentice in our Trim Department. He was very proud of his job at the factory and fully committed to learning everything he could. Thom quickly became a well loved member of the Morgan family and thrived in his working environment.

In July of last year we were shocked and saddened to learn that Thom had been involved in a tragic accident. Thom broke his neck and damaged his spinal cord and, at the age of 21, is now paralysed from the neck down.

Thom has spent the months since the accident at Oswestry Hospital where he has undergone surgery to re-shape his vertebrae and strengthen his neck. From the early days immediately after the accident Thom was kept completely immobile to enable his body to heal. Since his surgery Thom is now able to sit up in bed or in a wheel chair and is undergoing extensive physio therapy sessions.

The most astounding thing to shine through has been Thoms strength of character, his sheer determination to get well, and his sense of humor. With the support of his family and friends he has remained strong and positive and has great plans for the future. Thom was finally released from hospital at the end of January and is now back at home with his family.

Thoms colleagues at Morgan have launched this appeal because there will be all sorts of equipment Thom will need in order to retain some independence. From funds generated from various events, and generous donations, over 12,000 pounds has been raised so far which has enabled Thoms family to purchase a voice controlled laptop computer so that Thom can download music and photographs, and an adapted car to hold his wheelchair so they can take him out to visit friends and family now that he is home.

The next phase of the appeal is to launch a raffle with a Morgan Roadster as the prize. Key suppliers will contribute the components needed, while the Morgan workforce will build the car in their spare time. The aim is to sell 10,000 tickets worldwide with as much press coverage as possible. The official launch party took place on Saturday 28th April 2007 when a further 10,000 pounds was made for the appeal. This has enabled Thom to order an all terrain wheelchair which will transform his day to day life.

The draw for the winning ticket will be made at the Morgan Christmas Party in December 2007, after which the car will be put in to build. The final specification of the car will be down to the lucky winner to decide.

Thank you for your support.

Thom Donaldson Appeal Committee: Steve Summers, Tim Whitworth, Roger Bethell,
Steve Hodges, Steve Morris, Sarah Baldwin

Contact Details: The Morgan Motor Company Ltd Pickersleigh Road, Malvern, Worcs, WR14 2LL
Tel: (01684) 573104

Website: www.thomdonaldson.org.uk

Sounds like a very worthy cause.

As Talk Morgan is non-profit and I already fund it all personally, the site itself is not in a position to donate to Thom's fund. Nevertheless, I am happy to make a personal donation, as I am sure others on the site will also do.

Even so, if anyone can think of a way for Talk Morgan to become involved to raise awareness within the Morgan community to Thom's plight, I would be pleased to action it.

Best regards

Simon

Simon, would it be possible for you to hold funds collected by TM members? or would something more anonymous work better?

I would be happy to send a reasonable donation to you to forward on or maybe we need to be a bit more inventive??

BtG

Hi
I believe the way forward is to make Morgan Owners aware of Thom. Although I was at the factory recently, I did not notice anything regarding the raffle. It was purely by chance I logged onto the Morgan website, noticed its new layout, and found the raffle link.

Whereas I am certain the Company will offer all the support it can to the appeal, I do not think it would be appropriate for them to actively canvass their customers. However, as Morgan Owners appear to have a deep-rooted affection for the Company, I believe those Owners who know of Thoms plight should hassle those who do not.

Whilst the target for the raffle is to sell 10000 tickets worldwide, in the absence of terms and conditions on the tickets preventing it, the easiest way to make the appeal an overwhelming success would be for Owners to ensure the target is substantially exceeded.

I would suggest the way forward is by making local and international groups aware of the appeal and by twisting as many arms as possible to prise open wallets to make multiple applications.

I was hoping the Forum would be a conduit for publicising the appeal but fear it may not be that widely read. Does anyone have access to an email address book containing the contact details of UK and International Group Leaders?

We currently have just over 200 registered members; however, the guest traffic is double that (excluding search engines, etc).

I would suggest checking with MSCC to see if they are involved with this good cause. I'd also check with the two e-mail based discussion groups to ensure their members are aware of the appeal for Thom - eMog and MogTalk

I am pretty sure this appeal was covered in an edition of Miscellany. I know that Dixon Smith has mentioned it at the national committee meetings for one. The raffle at this years MSCC annual dinner was in aid of it too.