It has been a busy first week for the William Wilberforce Monument Fund. Lots of progress signs, with contact made with members of Hull City Council and more learnt about our aims for the campaign.
On Tuesday, we contacted a member of the team that "deal with maintenance of statues for the council". We discussed our initial aims, and he informed us that the statue was cleaned in 2006. We also learned that the stone that is used for the monument weathers easily, and that the lights outside the monument that are supposed to light it up are broken.
As this is the case, these lights illuminating the monument could be a focal point for the campaign. We are taking the long view in our approach to make this change for Hull's year as the UK City of Culture in 2017 with something that will endure for a long time after the campaign.
We are keen to engage the help of Hull City Council and with that aim we have contacted Councillor Brady, Leader of the Council. We're hoping to learn what plans (if any) they have for the monument and enlist their support for the campaign.
As of today, we haven't had a response, but we're hoping for a response in the next couple of days. In the meantime, we plan on reaching out to individual councillors for their support and advice with the campaign. As always we'll keep you posted.
A high point of the week was the receipt of our first donations. We're eternally grateful for your support in getting the campaign off the ground and for your interest in what we're trying to do for the city of Hull. You can click here to donate through PayPal, by Credit or Debit cards.
Follow the campaign on Twitter and Facebook and spread the word! We'll keep you informed of any developments in the next week.
Many thanks for your support!
wilberforcemonumentfund@gmail.com
