Traders4Charity is a new website thought up in 2008 and set up in 2009. Its purpose is to bring you traders that your local community has recommended - and raise money for good causes at the same time. It really is simple - the more you use these traders, the more their turnover will be, and the more they'll raise for charity.

The idea for Traders4Charity started in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, where our company is based. It really was as simple as thinking 'how can charities get more money at a time when no-one has much spare to give?'. That, combined with knowing people would rather use a recommended trader than an unknown trader, lead us to approach traders and see if, in return for the good advertising in our directory, they would donate a percentage money to charity. That way, the more they would earn, the more they would donate, and it wouldn't cost the public a penny more. The trader would make up their donation via the extra work. Our traders were only too happy to help, which is what made us so enthusiastic to get started.

You could say that there are already sites out there that claim to have good traders donating to charity, so are we just copying them? No. We have to be honest and say we didn't like the sites we saw. On these sites, you have to hand over your contact details, and have to explain exactly the type of work you want done. Then your private details are sent out to all the traders in your area, and you are then rung or emailed with your quotes. It's a lot of hassle for one job to be done. OUR site simply gives you the traders' details and you can phone the trader when you want, and we don't need to get involved. If you're not exactly sure what you want, you can discuss it with the trader, and don't have to worry about not filling in the online form right, because there isn't one! We don't run a tracking system to match jobs to adverts to success rates, and we don't charge traders for every job they get through us, or for every quoting opportunity they get. So no, we aren't like those sites, and we wouldn't want to be.

We are not a complicated commercial enterprise. We are there to make life simple for you, us and the traders. So... please recommend your favourite traders, please use the ones on our site, let us have your feedback - and most of all, help our traders RAISE MORE for our charities!

We cover our running costs from selling web space at a flat rate to the traders listed. This is done to cover our marketing/admin/running costs. We do not take a penny from the percentage the traders donate from their turnover. That all goes to charity. And we do not ask for your details, or theirs, for any other purpose than to keep a record of who has recommended who, and who is part of the scheme. We do not sell anyone's details to third parties.

And one final thing. You may ask why we're so nice, and why we're not out to make stacks of money. Well, for many years, we knew someone very special who made a very big difference to those she met and loved. She was very community driven and would stop at nothing to help others. And because of her, we're a lot nicer than we might be. Since she is no longer with us, we would like to in some way, do something not just for ourselves for a change, but for others too, in her memory. So this whole venture is dedicated to the late Rev. Joan Arthur.

This website has been designed free of charge. Contact traders4charity@hazeljayne.co.uk with specific web enquiries.