DARF

D.A.R.F. stands for the Dark Age Relief Fund, The Vikings' very own self-help group, and we, as a Society, are unique in the re-enactment world in having such a thing.

DARF was originally started in 1996, when the daughter of one of our members was involved in a serious road accident. When she was recovering from the head injury she received, she required personal tuition at home - her local authority wouldn't pay for it, so members of the Society put their hands in their pockets and came up with the tuition fees. Some money was left over, and Sandie Gillbanks, Pete James and others took up the reins to spend it responsibly on supporting other members too.

DARF is now maintained to lend a hand, to members and ex members of our Society, when they have all sorts of problems life can throw at us, and a gift, card or small -scale financial support can be of help.

It may be as simple as a Get Well Soon card, but DARF also aims to to boost morale for those with long term illnesses and support members with bereavement, physio and counselling cost, or travel or other supports. Cash is also available at every major event so that anyone needing a trip to hospital can be funded a taxi fare when they need one.

The main source of funds are raffles run once or twice a year, with prizes donated by our members and friendly traders, but money has also come from bring and buy sales, sponsored chain mail jogs, head shaves, auctions..... If you are asked to buy a raffle ticket, please do so - it could be you who benefits from DARF one day.

If you would like to do something to raise money for DARF please let one of us know, and we will explain how things work, and do what we can to help you.

D.A.R.F is run by Georgia White, with help from Emma-Jane Evans, Stacy Green, Sandra Orchard and Charlotte Sayer. All enquiries and nominations (if you think DARF can help one of your Viking friends or group members) should be made

by using our open-access email , which is

DARFnomination ((( at ))) gmail.com

Thank you for all your donations and support!

Georgia and the DARF Committee,

EJ, Sandra, Stacy, Charlotte.

DARF

     Please don’t use these images that Geng created for us, they belong to DARF for our cards and it's nice to have something special!  

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' DARF Explainer 2024.

Dark Age Relief Fund (aka DARF): Explainer!

Summary - A reminder of how to nominate folks for DARF support.

(Group Leaders - please make sure all new members read this!)

DARF (Dark Age Relief Fund) is the Vikings’ unofficial self-support group. We know life has many ups and downs , and we are there to give good wishes, cards, presents and other support/funding, and the knowledge that we in the Vike family care about every one of our members. We can’t pay off debts, pay bills or rent, fix your car, or magic away life’s stresses. But we CAN help to support your Vike friends by showing we all care when times are rough.

Here’s where you come in. Yes, you. In the interests of fairness (and because the DARF committee aren’t always aware of people’s troubles) every recipient of DARFs attention needs to be nominated by another Vike member. This Can Be You!

Every DARF funding is individual, discussed by the committee and competely confidential (we don’t tell the recipient who nominated them). Most nominations are someone who is ill, has had life adversity, needs to know people care, or faces stress. Some of our payments are a contribution, eg towards self funding physiotherapy or counselling or equipment because there is a long wait. We will consider anything that you think deserves a bit of DARF kindness, though can’t guarantee every request.

The nomination rules are there to help us reach all members of the Vikings equally, so please: Be a DARF superhero. If one of your group or Vike friends has a problem that you think DARF could help them get through, EMAIL us on DARFnomination (((@))) gmail.com and let us know.

We need their name, group (and address), a description of what the problem is , and any suggestion of what you think will help. We’d rather hear ten times than not at all. Don’t assume someone else has done it!

Thanks for reading!

Our email again : DARFnomination ((((@)))) gmail.com

Georgia White, EJ Evans, Stacy Green, Sandra Orchard and Charlotte Sayer The DARF Committee. --

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DARF Guidelines 2024: How We Work: The Small Print.

1) DARF will only be used to support present and past members of The Vikings - not extended family and friends (exception may be made when a member dies, eg bereavement support, at committe’s discretion)

2) Applications for support from DARF should come from a third party who is also a member of The Vikings - friend, group leader, first aider etc and MUST come through the DARF nomination email. We can consider an application from a family member but would probably ask for further details from a third party before making a sizeable award. If we are asked to support a larger expense, for example a room being adapted for special use or supplying a private tutor during an extended period of hospitalisation, we may ask for independent confirmation from a qualified specialist involved in the case that the request is necessary and appropriate to the member's situation.

3) Benefit from DARF funds is a privilege and not a right, therefore there is a possibility of a request being declined. The Committee may decide a partial payment can be made if we can’t completely cover an expense request. Likewise The Committee may decline to fund a disproportionate number of claim requests from a member or members of the same group. It’s important that DARF funds can benefit a wide range of our members.

4) Members of the Committee are permitted to nominate individuals to DARF just like anyone else, but will not preferentially nominate their friends and family just because they hear of an event occurring eg on social media. We prefer nominations to come from other Vikings members so PLEASE nominate your friends and group members, it’s important for transparency that nominations are recieved from multiple sources: never assume DARF already knows: tell us!!

5) In order to help ensure that cash is sent to the right areas, any larger requests will be considered by the Committee: currently Georgia White, Emma Jane Evans, Stacy Green, Charlotte Sayer, Sandra Orchard. This means that the decision to spend funds has been jointly made in the best interests of our members and we aim to spend the money you raise as effeciently and effectively as possible.

6) We are unable to directly sponsor charities ln behalf of members, instigate crowdfunding, or give permission for crowdfunding, but may be able to support financially, in a small way, such requests. Our funds are raised to directly support Vikings members, and if you wish to support a specific charity you should do so directly rather than putting this to DARF.

7) The DARF committee undertake to maintain records of funds and beneficiaries and while maintaining confidentiality to nominees, will share limited anonymised information in the form of annual reports to the Konungr and Jarlsmeeting of DARF activities.

8) DARF is a charitable not for profit self-help-group, not a formally registered charity. Funds donated will be held in the DARF account and spent according to the guidelines in the best interests of members, there is a dual-signatory system in the bank account so no single Committee Member can pay out funds. By donating you accept the discretion of the Committee to spend these funds however they deem is most appropriate and responsible.