In 2017, TFNation was lucky enough to be asked to play host to a new piece of Transformers fan fiction. Set in the Transformers Animated universe, "Trial and Error!" set out to give Transformers Animated the climactic ending it deserved! "Trial and Error!" was published by TFNation Ltd on a not-for-profit basis.
The book proved to be incredibly popular, so much so that a second run was produced shortly after the convention. After all overheads, sales of "Trial and Error!" raised £866.61 which was donated to MarysMeals.org
Mary's Meals is a fully registered charity which sets out to provide food and education to children living in poverty. Each year, some incredibly generous Mary's Meals sponsors run a scheme called "Double the Love" wherein they agree to double every pound donated in the month of December. We were able to take advantage of this and accordingly, have received confirmation that your donations will be doubled, resulting in over £1,733.00 being donated to charity from the proceeds of the book.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank some people, without whom this fundraising would not have been possible.
Firstly, the talented and dedicated creative team who allowed TFNation to be a part of this project. "Trial and Error!" was written by Chris Mcfeely and Jim Sorenson, with artwork by Ed Pirrie, Gavin Spence and Herzspalter and letters by Andrew Turnbull.
Secondly, Toy-Fu. Toy-Fu has been trading at Transformers fan conventions for many years, but you may not realise that all of their proceeds are donated to charity. We want to thank Toy-Fu for introducing us to Mary's Meals and for spreading their charitable message at our event.
Last but by no means least, we wish to send our sincere thanks to everybody who purchased a copy of "Trial and Error!" As a community, we can do great things - this project was a brilliant example of that.
The following is an email from the very aptly named Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, who is the Chief Executive of Mary's Meals. Please take a moment to read the same, which explains some of what Mary's Meals do on a day to day basis.
"Dear Billy Edwards
Thank you so much for the donation of £866.61 to Mary’s Meals from TFNation Ltd, which will be used to provide life-changing meals for children in their place of education.
Supporting our school feeding programmes is a great way of helping hungry children to learn and giving them the best chance of a future free from poverty.
The daily meals we provide are enabling thousands of children to attend school and work towards their dreams. Children such as 14-year-old Chimza Harry, who attends Mwalamba Primary School in Malawi.
Chimza – whose full name, Chimwemwe, means joy – lives at home with his mother Lucia and three siblings. The family ran out of food stores soon after last year’s harvest, having only managed to grow one bag of maize.
He said: "I feel weak in the mornings when I walk to school. I feel lethargic, but I am excited to go to school because I will eat here, and learn."
Chimza is top of his class and has been every year since he started school.
However, as the eldest male living in the household, he feels duty-bound to help support the family and is adamant that he would not be at school if it weren’t for the phala (porridge).
"When I eat the phala I get the strength to eat, study, walk home, and work.
"If there was no phala, I would have left school, because I know when I am hungry I cannot listen properly, I cannot learn. I would like to finish my education and become a doctor. I would like to help my people - the people around my village - to see a doctor in hospital faster."
Chimza’s academic achievements show he is right to be ambitious. Thanks to your generosity, he and thousands more children have the chance to realise their dreams. On behalf of the 1,230,171 children who currently receive Mary’s Meals, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Yours sincerely,
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow
Chief Executive, Mary’s Meals
Mary’s Meals
Registered Charity: SC022140. Limited Company: SC265941"
