HELP. Our 07 van is dying and needs replacing

Picture above is from last night's soup run,that is twice in a row ,van has let us down after a long day

With a heavy heart and months of viewing. There doesn’t seem to be a Crewcab for sale in the ROI that meets our standards. For the last month or so, there is 1 crewcab for sale. Unfortunately it isn’t exactly what we require.

So with that, our only option is a new Crewcab. They retail in around 60k. Our specifications require at least 6 seats and enough room in the back for our supplies for our homeless friends and enough room to work out of.

Needs to be a long wheel base with a high roof and a B license

We at Portlaoise Action to Homelessness are appealing to anyone that can help us towards our goal to replace our 2007 van.

We are a registered charity run by volunteers .

Our work involves supporting people in emergency accommadation in Laois.

We are also currently supporting rough sleepers in portlaoise and portarlington.

We support over 100 families at moment and are unable to take any more at moment.

We work with Block Project

Lapis domestic Abuse MQI and MABS to support families in Laois.

Our volunteer roles take us to Dublin twice a week to feed and clothe the ever increasing homeless population

On our table nights we have a mountain of food tables tents sleeping bags etc to get to Dublin,plus extra volunteers,which means we can only use our 07 van .

Some nights as we leave the Church grounds in Portlaoise we are unsure if we will make it to Dublin,and if we will then also have worry of making it back

We have broken down on a number of Occasions while on the way to Dublin,we then have the nightmare of

A) Contacting people waiting for us at different locations

B) Getting back to Portlaoise

C) issue of food and sandwiches possibly been wasted.Thankfully so far we have been able to donate elsewhere.

While all that is bad enough ,it is the burden of letting down our homeless friends that weighs heavy on all volunteers .

Some of our friends may not have eaten all day and are hoping for a bite to eat and maybe a fresh pair of socks before they rest their heads in a doorway or tent for the night,in the hope that tomorrow will be different.

Please HELP us to brighten their tomorrow and supply a service that is so badly needed and relied on .

To do that we need to replace our van