"The year 2007 was a landmark in the long history of the Journalists' Charity"Chairman's message
Welcome to our lively new website. Its scope is increasing all the time and it is becoming a useful weapon in our armoury.
Please continue reading it and spread the word.
It will keep you up to date with what your charity is doing: events in London and the regions; a new picture gallery to illustrate them; fund raising and new donations; regular reports from Dorking; and a constant stream of tributes to those who have passed on fills the ever lengthening obituary page (we welcome contributions).
Although it is a new site it has been attracting up to1,000 page views per day - not bad for a small charity.
It will also tell you how YOU can help. We need another £1m to restore our finances and guarantee the continuation of our work
Now that our new care homes are filling with residents the charity is still campaigning for support to pay for them.
In my last message I urged members to do their bit to support the generosity of the principal news groups - and many of you have,
Following my January letter the phones at Dorking were busy - and within days our annual income had increased by £20,000 through direct debits.
And still only a few hundred of our 5,000 plus membership have made that commitment to the charity that will look after them, their colleagues and their dependants when called upon to do so..
While our fundraising continues the trustees are looking to the future - seeking ways of promoting the charity within and around the industry.
We have already altered the terms for joining - £50 for life membership would now have been nearer £500 if we had kept in pace with inflation - so we are asking new members to make a regular payment of £5 a month for two years (or a lump sum of £120) in order to qualify - probably an easier arrangement for a young journalist than £50 in one go.
We want all journalists to know that we are there to help them in their hour of need and they are there to help us in ours - which is now.
So please all do what you can for us. Remember our fundraising events - we had one in the House of Commons at the end of May and it was a sell-out. The London Press Club Ball is on October 15 and the Irish Embassy reception is on November 4.
You can have fun at them all, while helping the Journalists' Charity on its journey into the future.