Hi, welcome to the Mini for Heroes website. Thankyou for taking the time to visit this site and generally showing an interest in what is being carried out to help raise money for Help for Heroes.

In short, I am renovating a Classic Mini as a fundraising car in aid of Help for Heroes. I started this project by accident, just an idea that passed through my head whilst watching TV. It has now however, snowballed into quite a large project.

To donate to Help for Heroes please vist our BeMyCharity Page. Many thanks for your kind donations.

If you wish to donate money to specifically help with the build of this car please contact me using the Sponsor E-Mail Address on the Contact Page. I will be able to help with all the questions you may have about sponsoring.

If your a Facebook user, please follow our regular updates on our Facebook Page 'Mini for Heroes'. Please like and spread the word to help with the publicity of this project.

Quote from the website:

'Help for Heroes was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry in October 2007 out of a desire to help the wounded Servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The message of the charity is simple: We are strictly non political and non critical; we simply want to help. We believe that anyone who volunteers to serve in time of war, knowing that they may risk all, is a hero. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things and some of them are living with the consequences of their service for life. We may not be able to prevent our soldiers from being wounded, but together we can help them get better.'

If you would like to know more about Help for Heroes, please visit their website: Help for Heroes

Having bought a classic Mini Mayfair from E-Bay to renovate for myself, I set about planning what I was giong to do to it. Classic car with a modern touch was the plan. Fast? Of course. I had ideas of max power and uncomfortable but sporty handling, the only thing I couldn't decide on was the colour.

Sat watching a programme that my wife likes (not my cup of tea) I was daydreaming of a funky colour scheme. Sat on the coffee table was my phone, with a Help for Heroes cover on it. I thought to myself, wouldn't that be cool, a Mini dedicated to a worthwhile charity. From that an idea was born.

Having decided that I would restore the Mini in a full Help for Heroes colour scheme, I set about designing how the car would look. I contacted a company to ask about having artwork airbrushed onto the car when it was finished. During the discussion he said 'Help for Heroes? I'll paint it for free'.

I then decided to ask other companies if they were willing to help with the build of this car with charitable donations or discounts, the response I got was astounding. There are now a multitude of companies offering their services to help with the build of this car.

This caused me to realise that the project was getting quite a large one and a website was required to promote the car and thank sponsors for their help, you can see the companies involved on the Sponsors page of this website.

The Mini is currently in the early stages of restoration, I will be updating this site regularly with information as to how it is progressing. To see more information on how the car is coming along visit the Progress Update page of this website.

I will also be providing many photos to show progression and milestones of the Mini as it progresses. To see all the photos visit the Gallery page of this website. This will also contain pictures of donations and help provided as the car progresses through the renovation stages.

The Plan! Well to start with I will need the car finished, I have no timescale on this as I want the car to be perfect and as we all know perfection takes time. To view details of work being done on the car visit The Car page of this website.

Once completed I intend to take the Mini to events (Mini Shows, Car Shows, wherever will take it), this will hopefully raise awareness for Help for Heroes. I will also be collecting and hopefully selling merchandise to raise money for Help for Heroes.

This is a long term project that will require a lot of planning and hardwork, but it will be worth it if I can collect valued money for the charity.

I also intend to make the Mini available to anyone who would like to show it for any specific events that is deemed suitable. A donation to charity may be required to book the Mini though.

If you are interested in having the Mini attend your event please contact me by E-Mail at the following address: events@miniforheroes.com.

I will be solely responsible for the upkeep of the vehicle and it will be stored so as to prolong the life of the car for as long as possible.

If you have any questions about the project please feel free to contact me by E-Mail at the following address: info@miniforheroes.com.

As I am sure most of you are aware, it takes a lot of time, money and hard work to complete a project like this. I will be undertaking a majority of the work myself, although help is being provided by some companies in their specific field of expertise.

A list of all the sponsorships obtained, along with company details are provided on the Sponsors page of this website.

If you feel you are able to help with any part of this project then I would be happy to hear from yourself or your company, you can always contact me by E-mail at the following address: sponsor@miniforheroes.com.

Alternatively you can fill out the contact form on the Contact page of this website.

I was born and brought up in Lincolnshire, surrounded by cars. My Dad was a mechanic and there were always plenty of cars to tinker with, especially Minis. When I left school I trained to became a car mechanic myself.

At the age of 18 I joined the Royal Air Force as a Airframes engineer. I first worked at RAF Kinloss on the Nimrod Line Squadron, here I undertook daily maintenance and repair of the Nimrod MRA II aircraft.

In 2000 I underwent into further trade training and was posted to RAF Scampton to work with the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team 'The Red Arrows'. I spent 3 years here workng 1st, 2nd and 3rd line maintenance, before leaving the RAF to further my carreer.

I eventually took a job as a Technical Author writing the Operation and Maintenance Manuals for the new RAF Hawk aircraft. I now work for a company in Stevenage working as a Techniclal Publications Specialist.

My dream was always to restore my own Mini at home, although I never envisaged it being  in this way. Having started this project I don't regret it in anyway at all. It is very satisfying knowing that you are building something that will eventually (and hopefully) raise a lot of money to help people who give so much for our country.

Would I start another one when this is complete?

In a heartbeat, yes.