Help us to help others
We are an entirely voluntary organization.  We receive no grants, loans or monies from any statutory authority, central or local government.  We have no central office, no paid employees and very low administrative costs.  All our funds go into the services we provide, so your donations however large or small are vital to our work.  Anything you give will be put to use helping others. 

We never make a charge for our services.  The majority of the funds raised are used to pay volunteers' expenses in supporting people in their homes, taking them shopping or to visit the Doctor/Hospital.  Many volunteers give their time or help freely but this is never expected and we pay out of pocket expenses where needed.

There is also the standing charge for the telephone used for the PALS 24 hour phone line and, from 2007 the costs of running the drop-in centre (Electricity, Water and the usual household running costs).  Paper and ink cartridges for the printing of Newsletters and publicity are also paid for by Open Door but we try and keep this cost to a minimum by using the the internet for distribution.

You can become involved by:
Becoming a ‘Friend of Open Door’ (a member of the Association), which entitles you to attend the A.G.M, have a say in the policies of the Association and gives you voting rights.  And the cost is only 10 euros per person per year to include regular Newsletters.

Help on a Wednesday morning or donate tea, coffee, sugar, milk, biscuits, toilet rolls, and soap – all the things it takes to help facilitate the Drop-In Centre at Civray every week.


Become a volunteer helper at the drop-in centre or become one of our active listeners or counselors.  Even if you have no experience we offer a course of training to help you help us.

Save your small change in a jam jar and let us have it.  We instigated this Shrapnel Jar scheme to mark the 90^th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in 2006 and it has proved a very popular and effective form of saving for the Association.  Shrapnel Jars provided 10% of our income in 2007.

Give us money! 
Yes, it really does come down to that.  We cannot develop any of our services or projects without financial support from you.  Any donation that you can send us will be used at grassroots level providing the drop-in centre and supporting those experiencing difficulties.

Purchase greeting cards and gift wrapping from our extensive range of English made cards.  All the profits go to the Association and the manufacturer donates a percentage of proceeds to to Cancer research and Cancer Macmillan each year.  So you can help two good causes with one purchase!

Donations and monetary gifts can be sent to the Treasurer at:

Association La Porte Ouverte, Le Bourg, 86510, Champagné le Sec, France.

Encourage others to support us.

The courtyard of the Open Door Drop-In centre in Civray from an original drawing by local artist Janet Penny.