STAFF REPORTER
PALMA
TWO UK-based animal lovers have raised 20'000 pounds for Majorca's SOS Animal refuge by opening a charity shop near their home town.
Annie Bayliss and Alek Krstic began their venture in Stourport-on-Severn, near Kidderminster, 12 months ago.
Previously they had raised cash for the Majorca charity at a series of local events, including a carnival and country and western festival.
But the area's much-publicised flooding during Spring 2007 caused the fund-raising events to be cancelled and blocked the pair's efforts to collect more cash for the Majorca animal refuge.
The pair, former competitors for the Crown team in the Calvia winter quiz league, decided to open the shop called SOS Animal when it looked like continued bad weather would wash out future fund-raising opportunities. For the past few years we have been raising as much money as we could whilst we were back home in the UK, said Annie and Alek. But we needed a plan that was not so weather dependent and when the opportunity of a shop presented itself we signed the papers and took it on, explained the pair, who have homes in Santa Ponsa.
A manageress and volunteers were recurited to run the shop, but staffing problems almost ended the venture.