A Charity a Day

YMCA

2012-02-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

No matter how much we drink, WE DO NOT NEED 32 wine glasses. I took a handful of them to the YMCA on Saturday along with a bunch of CDs and toiletries. I feel good about donating stuff to this lovely shop and I can open one of the kitchen cupboards without worrying that I am going to sustain some sort of glass injury.

As I got pregnant last year just after starting my "charity a day" challenge, I never got to do the more exciting type of fundraisers that I had planned, so this event below looks like something I might consider for 2012:

What is the YMCA Sleep Easy?
Sleep Easy is a YMCA fundraising initiative raising money to help change the lives of vulnerable young people.

The aim is simple: Spend a night sleeping rough to highlight the issue of youth homelessness and raise vital funds to support the work of your local YMCA. Your money goes directly to the local YMCA projects, impacting your community and helping young people in your town build a future.

Taking part
The 2012 YMCA Sleep Easy events will take place up and down the country from the last weekend of January to the first weekend of March. Being part of a YMCA Sleep Easy couldn't be easier and there are many ways you can.

Enter as an individual. Go it alone and prove yourself with your own online fundraising page.Enter as a group. You can sign up as a team so get your friends, family or work colleagues on board too.Join a group. Joining a group is easy! All you need is the Group Leader's name or the group name.Find an event near you and sign up to take part
Why we need your help
Amazing things happen at the YMCA. Your local YMCA helps vulnerable young people in your community to overcome many of the worst sorts of obstacles in life. The YMCA in your area will be running many projects that tackle homelessness, offer family support, provide health and fitness and education and skills courses; all of which go towards our vision of happy, inclusive communities where all young people can truly belong, contribute and thrive.

Over the last two years, hundreds of people slept rough to highlight the issue of youth homelessness and raise vital funds for the YMCA's work with young people. Join us this year and help young people build a future.

Contact us
Please contact YMCA England’s Fundraising Development Manager, Linda McCaugheyThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information about how your YMCA can organise a Sleep Easy event.

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Sleep Easy Fundraising
Raise as much as you can to support your local YMCA projects. Every penny matters!

Online fundraising page
When you sign up, we will automatically create an online fundraising page for you to collect sponsorship. Simply email or share it with everyone you know and ask for their support. You can personalise the page with a message, photo and video clip to inspire peoples generosity.

Fundraising tips
Set yourself a fundraising target and break it down into small amounts. For example, if your target is £250, you could:
Ask for £10 from your 5 closest friends and relatives.
Ask for £5 from your 10 best known colleagues.
Ask for £2.50 from your 20 next best known friends or colleagues.
Write to 2 local companies and ask for a donation of £25.
Put all your change in a tin, or give something up and save the money you would have spent.
Keep your sponsor form with you at all times and pass it round to everyone you meet.
Make sure that everyone at work knows that you will be taking part in Sleep Easy to raise funds for disadvantaged, vulnerable and homeless young people. Let them know by email, phone, fax, poster in the common room, company newsletter, intranet

www.ymca.org.uk/getinvolved/events/sleepeasy

Abuse of the Gift Aid scheme

2012-02-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

What a lovely guy eh? Just think what could have been done with that money....

An accountant to Wayne Rooney and Jeremy Paxman, who taunted the taxman by recording a version of "I Will Survive" boasting of his greed, has been jailed for 18 months over a £70m tax fraud which he masterminded at the expense of charities.

David Perrin, 47, a former HMRC official, exploited the Gift Aid scheme to help 600 wealthy clients offset their 40 per cent higher tax rate and take a slice of the profits himself. The colourful accountant spent his share of the £4.55m proceeds from the scam on exotic holidays, sports cars, works of art and expensive houses.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/stars-accountant-jailed-after-targeting-charities-in-70m-tax-relief-scam-6699891.html

Dannie's readathon

2012-02-15T02:08:00.004-08:00

I made such a mess of Dannie's 12 hour readathon http://dannies101.blogspot.com/2011/11/dannies-12-hour-clic-sargent-readathon.html that I forgot to post!!

This is what I wanted to read:

But we had visitors, I seem to be constantly feeding the baby (and I am a complete slacker) - this is what I actually read:

But still. The "how to be a happy mum" is really good and it looks like Dannie has raised about £200 for CLIC Sargent and also encouraged people to dust off their old tomes!!

Kitsch-n-sync

2012-02-12T03:44:00.001-08:00

Hi Jen!
Thanks for your comment on the Vinnie Jones post - I've had "Nelly the Elephant" stuck in my head ever since!

Your blog is fab -I've spent hours reading through and consider it time well wasted!

Look forward to reading more!

http://kitsch-n-sync.blogspot.com

British Heart Foundation

2012-02-09T05:03:00.001-08:00

It's interesting to note that the teaching of CPR has changed slightly and that the British Heart Foundation has been pushing this very strong message to help people remember what to do in an emergency. I know I wouldn't feel confident if I were in this situation, so this is a great idea:

Originally there was meant to be another charity at this morning's coffee morning, but they cancelled and the British Heart Foundation stepped in at the last minute making my charity thing for today buying a strip of tickets for the tombola.

www.bhf.org.uk

ChIldren's Hope Foundation

2012-02-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

Bit boring, but just coins in a collection tin for a man collecting outside Smiths for the CHildren's Hope FOundation.

Children's Hope Foundation is a young growing charity whose aim is to improve the quality of life for children and young people affected by illness, disability or poverty by meeting, within our power,their social and medical needs.

With recommendations from, family members, medical facilities, community-based organizations as well as other charities, in the Untied Kingdom, we will always try respond in a practical way to the needs of the children hardest hit by their situation.

http://childrenshopefoundation.org.uk/

NCT

2012-02-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

A very reasonable 50p in the pot for this week's NCT Bumps and Babes group, which reminds me that I have signed up for the forthcoming Nearly new sale! It means there may possibly be an end in sight for the piles of baby stuff that is already too small and is currently adorning my dining room floor!

If you live locally and fancy buying some of my 0-3 month old clothes and toys, as well as the other good stuff on offer, the details are these:

Sunday 11th March from 11.15 at Kennet School Stoney Lane Thatcham RG19 4LL

www.4thought.tv/

2012-02-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

This week's theme on Channel 4's "4thought" slot is "What's the point of charity?"

Despite economic hard times the Government has announced that Britain will increase annual foreign aid to £12 billion by 2014. According to one recent survey, over 43% of British taxpayers would scrap the international aid budget completely.

YMCA

2012-02-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

And the declutter continues... I think I may have been reading this thread too avidly and its challenge of finding 100 items has appealed to my competitive nature:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3698567

So another bag to the YMCA - more clothes and books. One day we will see the floor in this house...

We give young people the support they need to make a fresh start in life.

The type of help we offer varies from community to community, but our aim is always the same; to provide services that enable young people to grow and develop in every aspect of their lives.

YMCA youth workers are qualified and dedicated professionals who work to ensure that every young person feels they have a place to belong, where their voice can be heard and where they are valued and respected. We help young people develop essential social, personal and vocational skills.

www.ymca.org.uk/

Tenovus

2012-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

The clear out continues! Just how much stuff do I have?! More books (mostly sporting biographies and football books from my teenage years) and clothes to the Tenovus charity shop in Cheap STreet, Sherborne.

At Tenovus our aims are simple: to help prevent, treat and find a cure for cancer.

In doing that we offer support, advice and treatment for cancer patients, information on cancer prevention and funding for research to improve the outcomes for people with cancer.

We do this where it is needed most - right at the heart of the community.

our vision:
We want a future where

fewer people get cancer everyone with cancer will have equal access to excellent treatment and support

our mission:
We will work in partnership to deliver innovative research-led cancer prevention, treatment and support in the community to people with the greatest need, initially in Wales.

our aims:
To deliver this vision, we have agreed a set of 4 strategic aims for the organisation for the next five years. They are:

aim 1 To provide treatment to cancer patients closer to home.

aim 2 To improve equity of access to cancer services.

aim 3 To deliver unique support services to cancer patients and their families.

aim 4 To conduct and fund research to improve cancer outcomes and experience

www.tenovus.org.uk

Lloyds Bank

2012-01-29T06:22:00.000-08:00

At first, I was outraged to read this piece about Lloyds pulling out the credit card market:

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/creditcards/9035963/Lloyds-Bank-pulls-out-of-charity-credit-card-market.html

particularly as it had followed hot on the heels of the news about Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Stephen Hester's £963,000 bonus. However, according to Martin Lewis from moneysavingexpert.com, charity credit cards do not give good value for money - typically you'd need to spend £100 for the bank to donate just 25p.

Martin (he and I are on first name terms; he's one of my Facebook friends!) He advocates the following method for giving more money to charity via your credit card:

Step One. Get a top cashback credit card

Cashback credit cards are very similar beasts to charity cards; yet rather than paying the charity, they pay you a small percentage of every spend made. However the big difference is that the best cashback cards pay you substantially more than charity cards give your chosen good cause; this can be up to £5 per £100 spent. So switch to one of these (see the Top cards section later) and you get more and can then donate it.

Step Two. Donate the money via Gift Aid so the charity can reclaim the tax.

If you donate money to a UK charity, provided you're a taxpayer, then tick the 'Gift Aid box' on the donation form, and the charity can claim back the tax you paid on that money when it was earned. This means for every £1 a basic rate taxpayer gives, the charity actually receives £1.28, and it doesn't cost or impact you in any way (read the full charity giving article).

This is actually even better than standard tax relief at the moment. The basic rate income tax rate dropped to 20% in 2008, which would mean a charity should receive £1.25 per £1 donated. However, the Government's implemented a 'transitional tax relief' to bump this up by 3p, to £1.28, until 2011.

Compare this to what happens with the charity cards. There the donation doesn't qualify for Gift Aid tax relief; so for every £1 that goes to charity, the charity only gets the £1, nothing more.

For higher rate taxpayers, Giftaid works even better. Declare the donations made on your self-assessment tax return, and you can claim back the rest of your tax too. This is an EXTRA 25p per £1.00 you've donated; meaning donate this too and in total your charity receives 50% more than it would have done without any Gift Aid relief.

Daybreak

2012-01-26T05:42:00.000-08:00

Today's charity was Daybreak which is a lovely group for parents with young children. We've started going since the beginning of the year and have been overwhelmed by the friendly welcome from all of the mums there.

They had a fundraising coffee morning this morning to which I'd donated a bag of good stuff including clothes that the little man had ALREADY grown out of and some new toys and books but today we bought a new outdoor suit (as he's grown out of three) and tickets to the tombola. Somehow I managed to avoid the cake stall...

NSPCC

2012-01-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

We received a very strange thank you letter today through the post from someone called "Yolly" thanking us for "DVD's and pen's" [sic] . The only thing is that I only know one Yolly who is in her 20s and would definitely not put an errant apostrophe in the word "pens"....and we didn't buy anyone pens (or "pen's") for Christmas.

We also got a thank you card from a baby whose parents had preprinted some cards saying "thank you for your gift(s)" which felt a tad....well....impersonal.

I suppose though that the NSPCC can be excused for their use of the bracket in their thank you letter!

We'd like to say a huge thank you for requesting a Letter from Santa from the NSPCC. We hope the letter(s) added some extra magic this Christmas for the child or children in your life. We're delighted to announce that, by requesting your letter, you have helped us in raising £1.7 million.

Your support means that we can continue our vital work protecting many vulnerable children and young people, through services such as ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline. Between Christmas Eve and 4 January, ChildLine received over 48,500 contacts by telephone, email and online chat. Every £20 raised by Letter from Santa will help us to respond to another five children who contact us.

If you would like to find out more about the NSPCC and our work with children, you can visit our website www.nspcc.org.uk. If you have an enquiry or any feedback about Letter from Santa, please email us at santa@nspcc.org.uk.

Thank you so much for your support and best wishes for 2012.

World Book Night

2012-01-23T06:04:00.000-08:00

Just blogging about Dannie's readathon on 4th Feb and funnily enough, this email from World Book Night appears in my inbox. I signed up to be one of their "givers" and thought this was to let me know their decision, but it's a request to spread the word, so I am now making like jam and giving it a spread...

It's January 23rd so we're now only 3 months away from World Book Night and there are only 8 days till giver application closes. We wanted to write to you to let you know what happens next and also ask you to help us spread the word even more.

Next steps

In mid February you'll be informed whether you've been chosen as a World Book Night giver (see below for more information about how givers are chosen and choices allocated) and which book you'll be giving away
We'll ask you to choose immediately which participating local bookshop or library you want to collect your books from
Approximately a week before World Book Night we'll let you know when your books are ready for collection
In the meantime we'll be keeping you informed of some of the exciting things happening for World Book Night 2012

Help us spread the word
We've been overwhelmed by the incredible passion of the applications that we've received. But we still haven't reached our application target and we want as many people as possible to know about World Book Night and have the chance to apply to be a giver to share their love of reading.

So we'd like to ask you to join with us in spreading the word as far and wide as we can whether via twitter, facebook, email or good old fashioned word of mouth. Whatever you do remember to direct people to worldbooknight.org to sign up (and you can use this special shortened version that goes straight through to the application page http://bit.ly/beaWBNgiver)

And to make things as easy as possible you can just forward this email to a friend, use the links above to follow us on twitter or facebook and then simply retweet or share our application messages. Or simply copy the message below (be sure to mention which book you've applied to give away and say anything else you want to about your World Book Night plans) and forward it to all your friends.

You probably know that I love books and I'm a passionate reader, so I've signed up with World Book Night so that I can share that passion and help spread a love of reading. I'm hoping to be one of 20,000 people chosen to give away 24 copies of a fantastic book on April 23 to people who don't regularly read. The book I've picked is... and I think it's amazing. The deadline to apply to be a giver is January 31 and you can apply as well or find out more by following this link http://bit.ly/beaWBNgiver

How Givers are chosen
We don't want you to worry that by telling your friends about World Book Night your chance of being chosen as a giver diminishes.

Each appliation is time and date stamped so the earlier you apply the more chance you have of being successful and of getting your first choice of books. Givers will only be be chosen first and foremost on their commitment to give books to non-regular readers and the answers to the questions where, who and why are taken in to account regarding this. We're committed to a wide geographic reach of givers across the UK so where you're based does have some influence on the final choice. Finally, though we are looking for 20,000 givers we are only looking for 800 givers per book. Inevitably some books end up being oversubscribed (and we can't tell you which these are) and if you've chosen books for all three choices that have already reached their capacity it will be impossible to allocate you your choices, which is why many givers were disappointed last year. We will endeavour to offer you another option if this is the case.

Thank you so much for your support

DANNIE'S 12 HOUR CLIC SARGENT READATHON!

2012-01-23T05:57:00.000-08:00

I've just signed up for the readathon organised by the wonderful Dannie...I am (or should that be 'was') an avid reader but books at the moment are limited to those moments (HOURS) when I am feeding the little bean! These are mostly at 3am and mean that I have to read and re-read everything a few times to ensure it's gone in!

Anyway, here's the details and the link. I am going to try to read 'Catch 22' for the 3rd time!

12 HOUR READATHON TAKES PLACE ON SATURDAY 4TH FEBRURAY 9.30AM

£5 REGISTRATION FEE

The aim is to read for up to 12 hours with a top prize given away to someone who takes part for the whole 12 hours! Dont despair though, you can read for anything between 1 hour to 12 hours, whatver suits you.

You can follow the blog to see how things are going on the day, read motivational posts and leave your own comments and chat together! It is well woth following the blog on the day as there are prizes to be won along the way, from book token to signed books.

http://thailandforclicsargent.blogspot.com/

It costs £5 to register to take part in the challenge to what will be a fun and eventful day.

Why not also get friends and family to sponsor you, either for how long you read or for completing the challenge. Every little helps and all monies will be going to Clic Sargent. Sponsor money can be paid online on this site either individually or when all sponsor money has been collected. Contact me for a sponsor form at dannie992@hotmail.com

So, get your snacks ready, your books piled up, a snuggly and warm place found, get your self comfy and ready to begin!

DANNIE IS HOSTING A VARIETY OF FUNDRAISING EVENTS TO RAISE MONEY AS PART OF HER FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN AND THAILAND TREK FOR CLIC SARGENT

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/dannieadventure

It's my life

2012-01-19T03:39:00.000-08:00

The ever-surprising St NIc's coffee morning today where I bought some toiletries and managed to win some chocolate on the tombola....

We aim to relieve the needs of children and adults with neurological conditions through the provision of Conductive Education, equipment and courses.

Its My Life Trust, working in partnership with Royal Park School in Sidcup has created the opportunity for Conductive Education. This provision increases availability and accessibility through funded weekly sessions and intensive courses with the aim of establishing a full-time centre of excellence.

www.itsmylifetrust.co.uk/

Fareshare by Circus Mum

2012-01-13T07:25:00.001-08:00

I've finally had a chance to catch up with my blog spying and was very taken with this post by the awesome Circus Mum : www.circusmums.com/2012/01/fareshare-tackling-hunger-and-fighting.html

That we live in a world where people throw away food because it happens to have a "best before date" on it, while others are starving just defies belief. Note that it's called a "best before date", not a "don't eat after date".

During harder times, I've been a freegan and have lived perfectly well on the food that's been thrown away. I'm now lucky enough not to have to do this, but absolutely no food has been thrown out in our household for years. I just wouldn't be able to tip food into the bin knowing that there are millions of people starving.

Please have a look at Circus Mum's post if you can - she says it all much better than I can. There's also a link to Fareshare here: www.fareshare.org.uk

New year, new you

2012-01-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

I've signed up for the Channel 4 "try something new revolution" - a challenge which means you have to do something new every day for the month. This is something I've been doing for years in an attempt to ensure that my days aren't identical!

I was delighted to see that one of this week's challenges was to do something for charity!

If your normal Thursday includes volunteering at an animal sanctuary followed by organ donation, then today is going to be a breeze. It's time for us all to tip the Karma scale in our favour.

Your mission is to donate time (or money) to a good cause.

It could be impromptu litter-picking, taking stuff to a charity shop, you could even stop pretending to be on your phone when you see a chugger and actually stop and sign up.

Alternatively, you could give blood, buy the Big Issue or help an old lady across the road (probably worth checking they want to cross the road first). Any of these would be amazing. You don't have to donate a kidney. Although, of course, that's what I'll be doing…

I know it's not nice to brag about good deeds but I love seeing what you get up to, so remember to show how you've completed your mission at http://revolution.channel4.com/try-something-new and follow me on Twitter @nyr_annabel to join in the conversation with all the other lovely revolutionaries.

Right, off to spend some quality time with my kidneys while I still can…

Annabel x

– Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nyr_annabel Find me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/TrySomethingNewRevolution –

The fabulous, fantastic psychedelic volunteering fair

2012-01-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

This Saturday sees the annual Volunteer Centre event return to Newbury's Corn Exchange. It's a chance to stroll round at your leisure and see the range of different charities that serve the area and chat to current volunteers to see if your skills and interests could help them.

Last year I went with the intention of helping out at some charities for older people but also ended up signing up for a conservation charity. This was a great way to meet people and get outside. I managed to explore parts of the town that I didn't even know existed!

I'm looking forward to this year's event - if not to sign up for something new, then to see what psychedelic costume organiser Garry Poulson is wearing!

www.volunteerwestberks.org.uk/

Saturday, 31st December - DIngley Family and Specialist Early Years Centres

2012-01-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day! Admittedly, I'm running a bit late, but the baby's appearance is to blame for that. (And my inherent laziness!)

I took the little bean to Sainsbury's for a coffee (for me, not him) and put all my change in the pot for DIngley Family and Specialist Early Years Centres thereby ending my challenge for the year! I'm going to keep doing things for charity and listing them here as and when they arrive, but I'm not going to continue trying to ensure I do something for each day.

Thanks for your support!

Dingley Family and Specialist Early Years Centres is a registered charity that provides a place where children, from birth to five years, with special needs and disabilities come to develop skills through play. More than this, it is a place where their parents and carers are welcome, where they can make friends and share experiences.

Every child who attends is regarded as an individual with the right to take a full and active part in every day life and Dingley aims to facilitate their entry into the next stage of education.

www.dingley.org.uk/

Friday, 30th December - YMCA

2012-01-09T01:08:00.000-08:00

Another bag of good stuff to the YMCA shop! Books, a table cloth and some expensive, if slightly dated curtains! I had heard a rumour that charity shops aren't accepting at the moment as so many people are having a new year clear out, but that doesn't seem to be the case in sunny Newbury....

There are over 75,000 homeless young people in England. Many young people living on the streets have given up hope and find it hard to believe that anyone cares about the desperate situation they find themselves in.

The YMCA gives young people a safe, warm place to stay, as well as support to help them stay off the streets for good.

We are the largest voluntary provider of safe, secure and affordable supported housing for young people in England. Every night, over 7,000 young people stay at a YMCA in 250 communities throughout England.

Type of Support

Around the country you will find YMCAs which offer a range of support, including:
Emergency accommodation for rough sleepers.
Supported accommodation for young people who might need help in other areas of their lives.
Self-contained, medium-term accommodation for young workers or students.
Move-on accommodation that helps young people live independently.

www.ymca.org.uk/

Thursday, 29th December - Newbury Home Birth Group

2012-01-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

Australians don't mince their words and so this is why I was quite taken with this book about pregnancy and childbirth. Rather than being a prescriptive guide to what's normal by an expert, it's a round-up of stories from mums and dads who are honest and open about their experiences. It helped me so much and I always like to get international points of view, so I thought I'd donate it to the homebirth group run by Claire.

Newbury Home Birth Group offers peer support for expectant parents who are considering having their baby within the comfort of their own home. The group meets monthly to share experiences and to help you make an informed choice. Supported by local midwives and doulas as well as parents who have experienced home birth first hand, we welcome you to join us in a relaxed environment for a cuppa and an informal chat.

The group also has useful resources that can be loaned to expectant parents. We have a range of highly recommended text books, leaflets, DVDs and also now have birthing pools available to hire free of charge.

Thank you Claire!

www.newburyhomebirth.org

Wednesday, 28th December - World Challenge

2012-01-05T05:34:00.000-08:00

Just had time to buy a hurried biscuit (which is much better than a Nice biscuit) from the first coffee morning of the year at St Nic's Church Hall in Newbury.

McBaby started crying (perhaps memories of being elbowed at the jumble sale table) so had to run home to feed him!

World Challenge provides educational expeditions in the developing world which teach life skills and expand minds outside the classroom. Our bespoke 3 to 6-week student travel itineraries foster team spirit and leadership skills.

As the original school expeditions company, World Challenge offers an unrivalled range of expeditions geared to the education of young people. With over 20 years of experience, students and teachers benefit from a level of expedition safety and service second to none.

www.world-challenge.co.uk

Tuesday, 27th December - Cancer Research UK

2012-01-05T05:22:00.000-08:00

MrBaby and I had to visit the doctor today and as the weather wasn't the best, we dried off in Boswells Cafe in the Kennet Centre where I made a donation to their Cancer Research UK collection tin. I then doubled this when the lovely waitress carried my coffee to the table for me!

Fundraise for one hour

You can do a lot in just an hour

Whether you decide to charge an admission fee for your fundraiser, get sponsored by friends or simply ask for a donation, you’ll be helping us to save lives.

Take a look at some of our suggestions below, and get your fundraising pack for loads more!

... hold an office sweepstake

Don’t wait for the next World Cup – who’ll win X Factor or be the next character to leave your favourite soap?

Get your free sweepstake poster in our fundraising pack.

... challenge yourself to a sponsored bounce

Do a sponsored bounce on a trampoline or space hopper – great keep-fit fun for all ages!

... flex those dancing feet

Hold a one hour danceathon or a dance competition, charge for entry and challenge friends to show off their best moves.

... organise festive fundraising

Go carol singing or ask for donations instead of Christmas presents.

... set yourself a hairy challenge

Men – get sponsored to shave your legs / chest / back for charity.

... clear out the cupboards for cash

Going, going, gone! Auction unwanted clothes, furniture, pictures – anything you like.

... bring and buy

Raid your wardrobes and host a clothes sale in your lunch break.

... set up a 'battle of the bands' competition

One hour – one or two songs each and friends donate to cheer each other on or sing along.

... become a karaoke champion

Get your friends together for karaoke and find out who is a soulful superstar and who failed to make the top 40!

www.cancerresearchuk.org

My review of the year!

2012-01-03T04:38:00.001-08:00

If I hadn't had a baby, I think I would have got there with my challenge, so I'm not going to beat myself up about reaching the beginning of 2012 having left my charity blog unfinished!

It's been a great year and I've learned so much about different charities and the clever things they do to raise money. If I hadn't been pregnant for most of the year, I would have done more exotic things such as swims, runs, parachute jumps and treks along various world heritage sites. As it was, the most challenging thing I did was the Race for Life at 4 months pregnant!

I have some heroes to list here:

1. Marie Curie Cancer Care

2. Sue Ryder - an inspirational woman and a great charity

3. The guy who works in the YMCA shop in Newbury - always welcoming, always cheerful, always says thank you for donations.

4. Dannie - for following my blog so avidly and commenting! It really has cheered me up and kept me going!

5. The NCT - at first these ladies scared the bejesus out of me, but now I really know the amazing support they offer first time mums like me (and also first time mums UNLIKE me, ie those who know a little bit about what they're doing!)

6. The Big Issue - just a brilliant concept, great sellers and a wonderfully readable magazine.

7. The West Berkshire Alzheimer's Society. Their passion and dedication has often brought a tear to my eye. The local group pioneered the concept of Singing for the Brain - I've cried at these sessions watching people with dementia who cannot communicate suddenly come to life when singing or tapping along to familiar songs.

8. Terrence Higgins Trust - very impressed with their personal thank you letter.

9. Bletchley Park -go, go, go!! Amazing!

10. Helen and Douglas House - lovely charity shop, well worth a visit. Classy stocky that's well priced.

And "villains"

1. Oxfam - not as a whole, but just the shop in Newbury. Dreadful rudeness on EVERY occasion, and I am still sore that they didn't thank me for donating my wedding dress!!

2. RSPCA - again a wonderful charity in general but our town's shop has dubious customer service - a real shame as the shop is an absolute treasure trove.

I'm going to keep going until I do something for every day this year and I am going to keep this blog going throughout 2012, although I won't be doing something every day! Thanks for reading.

m xxxx

Boxing Day

2011-12-31T05:01:00.000-08:00

Catching up still! MrM kindly dropped off a bag of stuff to the Cancer Research UK shop in town.

As our little boy is so, so long, a lot of babygrows for newborns don't fit, so I donated these along with a Harry Potter book that's taking up space and some toiletries.

We’ve saved millions of lives with our groundbreaking work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. People’s chances of surviving cancer have doubled in the last 40 years, and we’ve been at the heart of that progress.

But more than one in three of us will still get cancer at some point. Our vital work, funded entirely by the public, will help ensure that millions more people survive.

www.cancerresearchuk.org/

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

Bit behind but we sponsored MrM's brother's Movember effort...

Thank you for your donation. Your support of Movember and the more than 10,000 men who will die of prostate cancer and the more than 2,000 men who will be diagnosed with testicular cancer this year, is sincerely appreciated.

Attached please find your official receipt.

Through the Movember Foundation and our men’s health partners, The Prostate Cancer Charity and The Institute of Cancer Research, Movember is funding world class awareness, research, educational and support programmes which would otherwise not be possible.

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/914126

Christmas Eve

2011-12-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

Big Issue (we are a bit behind!!)

What an inspirational couple!!

2011-12-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/dec/24/toby-ord-bernadette-young-joy-of-giving?INTCMP=SRCH

How Rich Am I?" asks a panel on Giving What We Can's website. Fill in your household income, after tax, and the calculator gives you an answer.

If your family of four has the 2011 median UK income of £26,000, you learn you are in the richest 13% of the world's population. Fill in some more blanks and you find out how many lives you would save, based on the cost of treating TB, if you took the organisation's pledge to donate 10% of your earnings until retirement.

If you earn more than the average, say £60,000 after tax as part of a couple without children, it turns out you are in the richest 1% of the world's population – and would stay there even after giving 10% away. Which is why philosopher Toby Ord, Giving What We Can's Australian founder, thinks the Occupy movement's claim to speak for the 99% and against the 1% is a "bit strange". Millions of people in the west, and not just investment bankers, are in the 1% if wealth is reckoned globally.

"For a lot of us, what really defines us in the world is having so much money. We're exceptionally wealthy compared to the average," he says in the precise, logical voice of the studious, overgrown schoolboy he resembles. "Once you get used to the idea, I think you realise, wow, this is a really nice position to be in, to be able to help people."

Persuading people in rich, developed countries to look at their income and assets on a global scale, rather than comparing themselves to those who are even richer, is a big part of what Giving What We Can is about. Founded two years ago in Oxford by Ord, supported by his partner Bernadette Young, a junior doctor who took the pledge at the same time, the organisation has grown to 177 members in five chapters including Princeton, Cambridge and Harvard. Early pledgers included development economists and the philosopher Peter Singer, whose 1971 essay Famine, Affluence and Morality was a guiding influence. These grandees, and the couple's friends and family, have been followed by students, doctors, teachers, an interior designer, a video game developer and a management consultant, all listed on the website.

Ord and Young, sitting across from me in their favourite Oxford cafe – where the money for the homemade mince pies on the counter goes straight into a collection for the homeless – say their "kitchen-table operation" has already ballooned beyond expectations. Currently administered by around two dozen volunteers, next year it will turn itself from a society into a charity, so it can employ staff and apply for grants from foundations.

"It's about putting on a positive spin," Young says. "I think a lot of people feel, 'Well if everyone else in the world did this, no problem, but everyone else isn't pulling their weight, so why should I?' What we're trying to say is that a small number of people can still make a difference."

Young is 31, Ord 32, and together they live on £43,000 after tax, from which they still manage to save for pensions. They have recently got a mortgage – the bank was initially nonplussed by the line in their accounts devoted to giving – and moved from their rented flat into a small house, where this weekend they host their first Christmas, with an aunt of Young's who lives in Brighton. Any treats planned? "No," they chime, but stress that they are not particularly frugal. One reason they believe the whole experiment has been so painless is that, unlike someone suddenly deciding in later life to sacrifice 10% of their income, they have never seen their incomes drop. Both spent most of their 20s as students, he in Oxford and she in Melbourne, living on grants worth a few thousand pounds. "And we were very happy," says Young emphatically – just as happy, they couldn't help noticing, as friends with bigger incomes. The only issue was saving for a couple of plane tickets each year so they could see each other.

Currently Ord gives away around 40% of what he earns. "If anything my quality of life has probably improved," he says. "It's not particularly heroic or anything. At least half the people in Britain could probably think much more seriously about how much they could give."

Aren't some people just more selfish than they are? They both laugh loudly. "We're not being drawn into that one," Young replies. "We've made definite efforts not to have that kind of discussion. We know everyone has their own circumstances, but this is something we do and we're really happy doing it."

"It's not that different from being a vegetarian," is Ord's more cerebral answer. "If people are vegetarians for ethical reasons, they think there's something pretty wrong about eating meat, but they can deal with friends who eat meat, most of them. This is a similar kind of thing. We're not saying you have to give away 10% of your income to be a decent human being."

It's hard not to feel that this is exactly what they are saying – it is pretty much what Singer said in the essay that inspired them – but they are very nice about it. This is tactical: part of their philosophy is that making people feel guilty and depressed is not effective. Young refers to "bad reactions" when people get defensive, and cites contrary examples of people influenced to be generous by their upbeat example: a colleague who decided to donate a fee to one of their charities, a hedge fund manager who gave half a million pounds.

Such ideas about positivity and empowerment come from psychologists and economists who promote happiness as a measurable goal. Ord refers to the "hedonic treadmill" whereby people expend more and more resources to maintain the same level of satisfaction, and to evidence that people get more happiness from spending money on other people than buying things for themselves.

Presumably they also didn't want to alienate friends who were unwilling to sign up. Ord admits they can make others feel a bit uncomfortable, but his face breaks into a grin when I suggest he must get worked up sometimes about how little many people do: "I don't feel all that concerned. Maybe that's partly a deliberate choice."

There are glimpses of the more hardline underpinnings to the couple's way of life. Ord briskly dismisses the "feelgood activity" often associated with volunteering, and makes the more impulsive, less carefully researched charitable giving many people engage in sound like a kind of egomania. For rhetorical purposes, he dreams up a person who believes they can't make a difference on their own, or can't be bothered, only to shoot them down abruptly: "They're factually incorrect, they could definitely save hundreds of people's lives, and it's actually quite immature to say that … that's a stupid comment."

Having spent five years researching poverty and development before launching Giving What We Can in 2009, Ord has absolutely no time for critics of aid, calling them "silly", rattling through some figures and referring me to his website for more. Young describes how they turned one would-be pledger away because they wanted to give half their 10% to animal charities. Later Ord has a pop at academic philosophy, suggesting that as a discipline "we mainly end up talking about things that are contentious rather than things that are important".

For Giving What We Can, philanthropy should be strictly evidence-based, scientific. The charities it recommends have been chosen on the basis of statistical analysis of data, and focus on such mundane but life-saving interventions as supplying mosquito nets. But while Ord and Young say they are uninterested in being directly involved in aid projects – despite the millions pledged, Ord has only once been to Tanzania for a fortnight – they recognise that people don't want to be philanthropists in isolation, and the point of their society, apart from persuading people to give to the right causes, is to provide a sense of companionship.

Young, whose mother died when she was 10, says they both came from "fairly lefty" families. She went to a Catholic school, which she says encouraged an interest in social justice, and seems more engaged in practical political considerations than her partner. When I arrive she is talking about bed-blocking in NHS hospitals. Later she brings up the issue of very expensive, life-prolonging drugs. Didn't this month's Social Attitudes survey reveal that Britain is getting meaner, with hardening attitudes, in particular, towards welfare claimants?

"I think the NHS operates on an enormous amount of goodwill," she says. "I wouldn't say you see people being mean, I think you see people worried."

"One nice thing about setting up Giving What We Can," Ord adds, "is that we meet a lot of people who are pretty nice" – they both laugh – "and willing to sacrifice a large amount of income in order to help other people."

On the whole, taking a longer view, both are convinced the world is getting better. "Something Peter Singer talked about, which I totally agree with, is that over hundreds of years our pattern as humans is to widen our circles," Young says, "so we've gone from tiny kin groups to the community being larger, and I don't see there being a rational boundary as to why someone in the country I live in is part of my community and someone in another part of the world is not, in the sense that they are still someone I have a duty to help if I can."

Perhaps this sense of a globalised community is enhanced if you have moved across the world from Australia. Neither Ord nor Young seems to have much comprehension of those for whom charity or activism is strongly linked to the place they come from, and more about repairing the social fabric or building relationships than their fiercely utilitarian accounting of lives saved thousands of miles away. When I ask whether they've ever been tempted to get involved in something closer to home, Ord says, "This is just our adopted home to start with," before pointing out how much further their money goes in sub-Saharan Africa than it ever could in Oxford.

About increasing levels of inequality and the redistribution of wealth within developed countries they don't say much, though Ord suggests some members may be involved in the Occupy camps. But he insists GWWC's rejection of consumerism, while radical, is not leftwing, and believes their highly individualised model of voluntary tithing is likely to be more effective than increased taxation.

If Young is the warmer and more natural of the two, perhaps Ord's dryness and empirical rigour are what is required if people are to be persuaded to part with more of their money, via either increased foreign aid budgets or donations. After all, it does take intellectual effort to imagine what £50 or £100, so easily spent in the supermarket, could mean in a country where children routinely die of treatable infections.

He suggests giving away 10% of your income might, like vegetarianism, one day become a social norm. And he suggests philosophers should pay more attention: "Quite a few people think obviously it's good to donate to charity, so we're not going to talk about it. I think that's a mistake, because you can go further and say, do we have an obligation to do it? Is it not merely something that's nice, but something we really have to do? And I think the answer is yes."

Friday, 23rd December - Charles Clore unit

2011-12-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

There was a table of books for sale at the hospital today which I noticed while the baby and I were waiting for his first appointment. I didn't buy anything, but stuck some money in the collection tin in aid of the local Charles Clore unit.

Thursday, 22nd December - Big Issue

2011-12-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

Our first trip into town and the baby's first Big Issue complete with festive piece on the Gruffalo and other Christmas icons, including the Snowman which the baby and I watched this afternoon.

http://www.bigissue.com

Wednesday, 21st December - Sandham Memorial Chapel

2011-12-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

My mum represented me at the weekly coffee morning, buying me some jumble goodies, including a pile of Christmas biscuits and a lovely bottle of perfume.

The sale was in aid of the Sandham Memorial CHapel.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-sandhammemorialchapel

Tuesday, 20th December - Mayor's Benevolent Fund

2011-12-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

MrM kindly bought me several pieces of stollen from a coffee morning in town....

Sunday, 18th December & Monday, 19th December - Royal Berkshire League of Friends

2011-12-24T08:08:00.001-08:00

As I was in labour all of Sunday and had our baby on Monday, I made a double donation to the Royal Berkshire League of Friends. We had a home birth but unexpectedly found ourselves in hospital after the birth - all sorted now and a massive thank you to all staff at the hospital!

Operation Christmas Child update

2011-12-24T08:07:00.001-08:00

The box I submitted a couple of months ago was sent to...ta-dah.....Bosnia!

Bosnia is a predominantly Muslim country based in the Balkan Region of Eastern Europe. There are less than 700 Christians in the entire country. High unemployment and little new investment in infrastructure has left more than 25% of the population in poverty.

Shoeboxes are sent by truck to the capital Sarajevo and then distributed across the country by our in-country partners. This year, we sent 72,948 shoeboxes from the UK to Bosnia.

Below is a story from a previous year’s distribution to Bosnia…

Damira’s story
In Bosnia, many children will not receive a present during the entire year. We had the privilege of giving out shoeboxes to children with special needs. It was wonderful to watch their smiles as they opened the shoeboxes and found hidden treasures inside.

Our team visited the Drina’s Rehabilitation Centre at Fojnica where we met a little girl called Damira who was 13 years old. She had a tragic background as she was born with learning disabilities and for reasons unknown, 3 years ago her mother tried to put her on a railway line in front of a train.

Instead of being instantly killed Damira survived but now lives in this rehabilitation centre. She has no visitors so it was unlikely that she would get any Christmas presents that year, were it not for the shoeboxes. When she saw that she was to get a shoebox her face lit up and she was overjoyed with her gifts.

Our work in the region

Samaritan’s Purse doesn’t just send shoeboxes to Eastern Europe. We work with local churches to provide support to abandoned orphans in Belarus and also provide medical, emotional and spiritual care for people living with HIV and AIDS in the Ukraine who have no one to look after them.

Baby arrives!

2011-12-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

Our little boy was born at home on Monday so while I am still here, I'm a bit behind!

I will endeavour to ensure something gets done for every day that's left in 2011 though!

Meanwhile, thanks for reading throughout the year and I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!

m and baby j
xxx

Update from Movember - OFFICIAL MOUSTACHE SEASON EMAIL

2011-12-15T04:04:00.000-08:00

Your donation has helped us to achieve another record breaking year; an incredible result and one which would not have been possible without the support of our donors and the 850,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas around the world. The first Movember Mo was grown in Australia back in 2003. Since that time, we’ve grown and now run official Mo campaigns in fourteen countries.

Your donation to Movember has helped us achieve our most successful year to date; so it's important to us that you know what happens next in the Movember cycle. We also want to tell you more about the programmes your money will be funding and what the team gets up to outside of Moustache Season.

http://uk.movember.com/news/view/id/2826/category/local/

Saturday, 17th December - Eight Bells Newbury

2011-12-15T03:05:00.000-08:00

Charity thing today was actually Thursday (baby has still not appeared so I am doing as much as I can in advance!)

Lovely coffee morning at St Nics was in aid of mental health charity Eight Bells which supports people affected by mental health issues. As well as the goodies in the pic, I also bought two pieces of shortbread which didn't make it home to be photographed.

As a member led organisation, there are great opportunities to get involved with the running of Eight Bells from cooking lunch to being part of the management board. We believe in empowering our members, this creates a great atmosphere within the centre; people feel part of a community. People aren't told what to do here rather they are involved in deciding how things are done.

www.eightbellsnewbury.co.uk/

Friday, 16th December - Dingley Family and Specialist Early Years Centre

2011-12-15T02:59:00.000-08:00

Some coins in a pot at the local supermarket..

Dingley Family and Specialist Early Years Centres is a registered charity that provides a place where children, from birth to five years, with special needs and disabilities come to develop skills through play. More than this, it is a place where their parents and carers are welcome, where they can make friends and share experiences.

Every child who attends is regarded as an individual with the right to take a full and active part in every day life and Dingley aims to facilitate their entry into the next stage of education.

www.dingley.org.uk/

Thursday, 15th December - GP surgery

2011-12-15T02:56:00.000-08:00

Can I count this? New thing today was taking a pile of magazines to the surgery...

World Book Night 2012 update

2011-12-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

There's still time to sign up to be a "giver" on 23rd April 2012!

http://worldbooknight.org/about-world-book-night/register-as-a-2012-giver

We've had thousands of applications but we still need more givers to register so we wanted to ask you to help us spread the word by telling all your friends and family about World Book Night and encouraging them to be givers. We've extended the application deadline to the end of January and, in response to feedback, made the application process easier.

And we also wanted to assure you that it won't effect your chances of being a giver!

We've changed the process for how givers are chosen for 2012. Our core objective is to ensure that the WBN books reach non or light readers but we do also want to ensure that givers are spread throughout the country. Givers will be chosen first and foremost based on their commitment to give books to non or light readers and the answers to the questions to where, who and why, and then geographic location and when applications were received will be taken in to account.
So providing you've fulfilled our criteria of spreading the love of reading to new readers then how early you've applied will be taken in to account.

We'll let you know whether or not you've been sucessful in February but will keep in touch in the mean time.

Books. The most amazing gift
And finally we can't resist encouraging you to give books this Christmas. Whether it's your favourite, something they've always wanted, brand new or an old favourite, books really do make the perfect gift and we, as book lovers, that you'll receive as many as you give this Christmas!

http://worldbooknight.org/

Wednesday, 14th December - Sue Ryder

2011-12-14T03:46:00.000-08:00

I was absolutely mortified to read this post from Mummy from the heart today....http://mdplife.blogspot.com/ where she asks if people would continue to read her blog if all she wrote about was charity "appeal after appeal"?

No wonder no-one's reading my blog as that's EXACTLY what I decided to do this year as my resolution! Anyway, undeterred, I paid a visit to the really nice Sue Ryder store in the shopping centre in town. I am always impressed by the quality of stock in here; it doesn't feel like a charity shop, the stock is reasonably priced and the staff are nice. In fact, the lady that was in there today is amazing - I've met her while volunteering for the Alzheimer's Society and I know that she works in at least two other charity shops in town too. Amazing lady.

Today, I bought this lovely jacket (complete with used hanky in the pocket, ahem).
I took a photo of me wearing it to post here, but my stomach kind of overwhelms it, so I've taken another one which doesn't quite do it justice....

From the Telegraph (2000)
Worker for charity who was inspired by the plight of refugees in postwar Europe to set up the Sue Ryder homes

THE Lady Ryder of Warsaw, better known as Sue Ryder, who has died aged 77, devoted her life to relieving suffering, principally through the homes and the foundation that bear her name; she appeared a fragile figure but possessed great dynamism, remarkable determination and deep reserves of compassion.

Sue Ryder began her work amid the chaos and desolation of Europe at the end of the Second World War. During the conflict she had served in the Special Operations Executive, but with the return of peace she volunteered for relief work in Poland. Her duties took her into the concentration camps, where she met survivors of the Nazis' atrocities - Jews, resistance fighters, political detainees and those who had been dragged from their homes or arrested in churches or on the street.

When she came to write her autobiography, Child of My Love (1986), she could not bring herself to describe her visits to the camps. But she included excerpts from the diaries of those who had been at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. "Each place," she said, "had its own individuality, atmosphere and tradition - all foul, of course."

She also visited scores of prisons, trying to comfort Poles who had ended up in jail for committing offences born of hunger or desperation. She thought nothing of driving hundreds of miles to see a single displaced person who needed help.

When the Red Cross and other relief agencies began to wind down their operations in central Europe in the early 1950s, Sue Ryder decided to carry on with her work. With a small grant from the German Ministry of Justice, she took on the cases of 1,400 young Poles in German prisons who had been seemingly abandoned after all other captives had been repatriated.

Drawing on all her resourcefulness, she argued with, pleaded with, misled and bullied the authorities into restoring hope to those in whom it had died. It took her 20 months to organise passes for all but four of the 1,400 Poles to return home; for years afterwards, she visited the others in prison at Christmas.

In 1952, she started a holiday scheme for those who were still living in relief camps. Then at Celle, in Germany, she founded a home for men who had been in prison. Volunteers came from 16 countries to build eight cottages for them. The home was such a success that she decided to expand the project and to add other sanctuaries for the disabled and the sick of all ages.

So began the Sue Ryder Foundation. A year later, she turned a house at Cavendish, Suffolk, into a home for 41 handicapped people from all over Britain. Gradually, more homes were opened, not only in England but in Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia and Greece. In time there were more than 80, supported by a network of almost 500 charity shops across Britain and the Continent.

These sold both new and second-hand items. Sue Ryder disliked the use of the term "jumble", declaring firmly that everything sold in her shops was of good quality. She bought her own clothes there. The homes - and the shops - were run mostly by volunteers, while Sue Ryder planned, organised and directed their efforts. But she always referred to herself as a field-worker rather than an administrator, and to prove the point often made long journeys through Europe, visiting the homes and even driving lorries loaded with supplies of medicine and food.

She was never overwhelmed by the despair of others. "They're very beautiful," she said, "I can't think of any other word. The real love that comes from the heart is what I feel for them. If you're very close to people who are dying in terrible circumstances, literally dying all around you, they become a source of strength itself."

In 1959, she married Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, VC, by now himself a charity worker, who had been setting up similar homes in Europe. Cheshire had been the official British observer of the destruction caused by the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki, and Sue Ryder came to feel strongly that nuclear weapons were a necessary deterrent to evil.

Aware as she was of the scale of suffering around the world, she never prized material comforts, and often criticised governments whom she regarded as uncharitable. A convert to Roman Catholicism, she rose every morning at 5.30, praying at dawn and frequently throughout the day. She and her husband ate sparingly, taking their meals on a landing in a small, three-room flat they rented in an old farmhouse, once her mother's home, which became the Sue Ryder Foundation's headquarters.

Shortly after she was created a peer in 1979, Lady Ryder was asked whether she had sought reward. "Reward?" she responded. "I don't look for reward. Surely, according to God's judgment, our reward is when we die. We are all pilgrims on this earth." But she was very much aware that for her work to continue she needed the support of young people. "It is the young we must reach. We are building, but they have got to carry on. They've got to be made more aware, from the age of five or six, of what needs doing. Money is not the be-all and end-all of life."

Margaret Susan Ryder was born in Leeds on July 3 1923, the youngest of nine children. Her father, a farmer, had married her mother when he was a middle-aged widower with five children. Her mother often shouldered the troubles of others; sometimes there was little room for the family as people crowded into the house to relate their problems. As a child, Sue accompanied her mother on visits to local almshouses and workhouses.

Sue was educated at Benenden School, Kent, and was 16 when war broke out in September 1939. She immediately volunteered to be a nurse with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. She was accepted but was soon posted to the Polish section of the Special Operations Executive. Her job involved driving SOE agents to the airfield to take off on their missions to sabotage industrial production in occupied Europe. Three hundred agents passed through her hands in this way, including the SOE commandos who attacked the heavy water plant in Norway.

In the course of this work, Sue Ryder was immensely impressed by the help given by members of resistance movements in occupied Europe to SOE agents. "They went into it in cold blood, of their own choice," she recalled. "They were fighting for us and they didn't have to do it. The fact that they faced what they did face, completely aware of what lay ahead, would have an appeal to anyone."

In 1943 she was posted to Tunisia, then to Italy. After the war, she volunteered to do relief work in Poland. In 1975, she and her husband received the International Variety Club's Humanitarian Award, an honour previously won by Dr Albert Schweitzer, the missionary, and Sir Winston Churchill.

When she was offered a peerage in 1979, Sue Ryder took a long time deciding whether or not to accept. She finally did so, realising that the House of Lords could provide her with a useful platform. She took the title Baroness Ryder of Warsaw because, she explained, of her "great admiration, respect and love for the Polish people. I feel I belong to Poland."

In the House of Lords, Lady Ryder spoke regularly in debates on housing, the needs of the sick and disabled, unemployment, drug abuse, race relations and defence. She continued to work indefatigably for her foundation, routinely travelling 50,000 miles a year to visit homes and new sites and to attend official functions. When Poland first began to break free of Communism in the early Eighties, she organised the consignment of weekly lorry loads of aid.

But the need to raise funds for the foundation was a perennial problem. In 1989, faced with a £4.5 million deficit but with growing demands for assistance from Poland, Lady Ryder agreed to an appeal being made through The Daily Telegraph. Within a short time, contributions amounted to £40,000, enabling a lorry loaded with medicine, food and clothing to set off for Poland shortly before Christmas.

"A tin of food from outside means more to the Poles than just nourishment," Lady Ryder remarked. "It shows that they have not been isolated and forgotten. They know the rest of the world is thinking about them."

When the Queen Mother opened the Sue Ryder Foundation Museum at Cavendish in 1979, Lady Ryder insisted that it was a tribute not to her but "to all those who have suffered and who continue to suffer. It is intended to show the misery in the world and the needs which exist more vividly than the written word could do. It is not dedicated to me."

Among the exhibits were a reconstruction of her mother's room, her own wartime uniforms and many of the presents she had received over the years. But her own role in the movement, she insisted, was unimportant. "Something else much stronger guides the foundation," she continued. "I admit that my example may have influenced people but I, in turn, have learned from the example others gave me. My other source of strength is my religion. It is everything to me. I believe that everything I do is guided. If I fail in something all I can do is to offer it up as an attempt."

The last years of Lady Ryder's life were sadly clouded by ill health and by a bitter row with other trustees of the Sue Ryder Foundation over its management. In 1998 she retired as a trustee and earlier this year set up a rival organisation, the Bouverie Foundation, to distribute money donated to the Lady Ryder of Warsaw Appeals Fund.

Lady Ryder wrote two volumes of autobiography, And the Morrow is Theirs (1975) and Child of My Love (1986). She was appointed OBE in 1957 and CMG in 1976. Her husband, Lord Cheshire, died in 1992. She is survived by their son and daughter - both of whom, like their parents, are involved in charitable work.

www.sueryder.org/

NSPCC letter from Santa

2011-12-13T10:42:00.001-08:00

I just got a text to say that the young recipient of the NSPCC Christmas letter....(available here for a donation to the NSPCC) http://christmas.nspcc.org.uk/santa is very happy.

"So nice of Father Christmas to send Henry a letter. Very thoughtful of the little elf who reminded him xx"

Your donations make a difference

£5
Answers a child's call for help on ChildLine.

£25
Enables a trained practitioner to deliver one hour of support through the NSPCC Helpline, to protect some of the most vulnerable children in society such as babies or toddlers who cannot call for themselves.

£42
Pays for a child who may have nowhere else to turn to receive confidential, one to one counselling through ChildLine, about an issue which is important to them.

£50
Could pay for an hour of face to face work in one of our services for a vulnerable child and their family.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - Scope

2011-12-13T04:32:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful day today, but yesterday - GAH! I didn't step out of the house, preferring to stay in the kitchen making mince pies and throwing around the ingredients like Tom Cruise in Cocktail. I've been making a lot of my own entertainment in the last couple of weeks.

So I did three things in one today, all in Scope whose shop has recently had a revamp and looks great. Everything is reasonably priced, easy to browse through and the staff are friendly.

So, my three things:

1. I handed over some books and other bits and bobs including this which I read yesterday in one sitting.

2. I handed over some stamps as they can make money out of them - still not sure how, but hopefully this will be worth a bit as I have an astonishing array of used stamps including one from a country I'd never heard of!

3. I bought a pair of shoes for MrM which look great but might have to go back as they're a half size too big. We'll see.

The Scope website seems to be down but from memory, they help children and adults with cerebral palsy.

http://scope.org.uk/

Sunday, 11th December - 2nd Thatcham Scouts

2011-12-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

After a donation, I was helped by a young lad to bag up my shopping in that orange supermarket. Could have sworn they said "2nd" not "1st" as below though?

Fundraising for 1st Thatcham Scout Group, Sainsbury's Store, 10am to 4pm. 1st Thatcham Scout Group is fundraising by packing bags at Sainsbury’s, to raise £5000 for essential maintenance that its HQ so desperately needs.

www.2ndthatcham.org.uk/

Saturday, 10th December - Newbury Round Table

2011-12-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

A last ditch attempt to get a Christmas present for MrM saw us reluctantly head into town on a Saturday - however, it did give me the chance to put my coins in a bucket for the Newbury Round Table.

Operation Christmas Child update

2011-12-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

Dear Shoeboxer,

First of all, a massive THANK YOU for doing a shoebox this year with Operation Christmas Child. We hope to let you know in the coming weeks where your shoebox has been sent.

In the meantime, we'd love to tell you about a great way your friends can still make a child's Christmas. How? Through Shoebox World - our innovative website where you create your shoebox online and we do the hard work of making it up and sending it out.

3 things you need to know about Shoebox World:

1.

It's fun - play around with your kids on the site; enjoy the videos, graphics and sound effects!

2.

It's quick - if you are in a hurry, you can even select a pre-packed box option.

3.

It's affordable - you can do a shoebox from just £11, with gifts around 20% cheaper than High Street prices

Most important of all, a child living in Liberia who would otherwise not receive a present this Christmas will know the joy of receiving your shoebox gift.

Thank you again for your support.

Samaritan's Purse

http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/videos

Friday, 9th December - Christian Aid

2011-12-08T05:07:00.000-08:00

A day ahead as the baby is due any moment! Today is actually Thursday but my charity thing today was to meet a friend for coffee at the weekly charity fundraising morning at St Nic's CHurch. Eating coffee cake in aid of Christian Aid is the kind of "charity work" that I love!

The sale and tombola yielded a couple of interesting things including some 1970s soap which my mum might like. I also entered a "guess the weight" competition which is difficult when you're brought up in a strange world where imperial and metric are mixed - they will probably have a good laugh as I may well have confused pounds, stone and grammes and insulted the maker of the cake by saying it weighs more than I do.

Also entered the tombola and bizarrely won a packet of bread sticks. Reminds me of a bar in Tobago that I was in once where someone won a live pig in a competition. Anyway, had a nice catch up and good to talk to this calm mother-of-three who put me in a good frame of mind for the birth!

Delivering hope this Christmas

Meet Rogers, our modern-day wise man. This Christmas he will be travelling far from home to deliver hope and transform lives in rural Kenya.

Rogers describes what he does as a 'calling' and says 'it is good to have a helping heart'. His selfless compassion has saved many lives, including Patricia's; without Roger's support Patricia's two children could now be among the 1.2 million children orphaned due to AIDS in Kenya.

Please give generously this Christmas and help volunteers like Rogers continue their life-saving work in some of the world's poorest communities.

www.christianaid.org.uk/

Thursday, 8th December - Cancer Research UK

2011-12-07T03:16:00.000-08:00

Did this today for tomorrow, so yesterday really, if you see what I mean. Perhaps my hormones are getting to me, but I have to say that I was not at all impressed with today's transaction. I was quite excited about finding a maternity dress but the wind was taken out of my sails when I approached the till.

I spent £11 but didn't get the courtesy of a "hello" or a "thank you". In fact, the woman behind the counter merely nodded at me so I forced her to say hello because I am awkward that way.

Once I'd paid her, she walked off! So I was left to bundle everything into my handbag while she mumbled something to her colleague.

Visit our shops

We have nearly 600 shops around the UK where you can buy or donate goods. And to make shopping even easier, we’ve launched our very own online shopping site www.shoptobeatcancer.org.uk

www.cancerresearchuk.org/

Wednesday, 7th December - NCT

2011-12-07T03:11:00.000-08:00

NCT again!
Today I purchased a strip of raffle tickets at the Bumps and Babes Christmas fair. (and nearly bought a pushchair - one of the ladies was quite amused that I hadn't got one yet!)

Hoping that lots of you are planning to come to Ace Space on Wednesday 7th - This Wednesday to do a bit of Christmas Shopping at our Micro Christmas Fair?

www.nct.org.uk

Tuesday, 6th December - Big Issue

2011-12-07T03:07:00.000-08:00

The Christmas edition of the Big Issue - can't wait to brew up and read it! I think hormones are getting the better of me as the BIg Issue seller was dressed up in festive gear (ie a hat) and opposite her on the other side of the street was a guy playing a Christmas CD and dancing some puppets around. He'd put so much effort into it and I felt so terrible that he needed to.

Hollywood superstar Robert Downey Jr becomes a Big Issue vendor! And talks to guest editor Trudie Styler (aka Mrs Sting) about making the latest Sherlock Holmes film. Also in this special 56 page edition,,, Janis Sharp, mother of Gary McKinnon, the British Asperger's accused of hacking U.S hacking military computers, talks to Trudie about her battle for her son... Tory MP Zac Goldsmith on why he's backing the School Food Matters campaign... A series of arresting vendor portraits by musician turned photographer Bryan Adams... And the inspirational Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the lessons life has taught him.

www.bigissue.com

Follow Your Dreams update

2011-12-05T01:45:00.000-08:00

I did a dreadfully short blog post about a charity called Follow Your Dreams last week. I found their website but as I couldn't copy and paste, I didn't really say much about what they actually do! Fortunately, someone who works at the charity is far more on the ball than I am and sent me an email to tell me that they work with children with learning disabilities.

We don't look to provide on off special occasions but rather recognise a child's talent or interest and build on that!

Follow them here on twitter too: @Follow_Yr_Dream

They also sent me the following blog post - (I'm not sure that the only reason I did a blog post about them was because I got a sticker though!)

Part of my role working for Follow Your Dreams, is to receive email alerts for any new web content appearing on Google, that contains the words ‘Follow Your Dreams’. As I’m sure you can appreciate I get a lot of alerts with this content and 99% of the time with no relevance to the charity at all!

That said today was a pleasant surprise for me, not only because the alert was related to the charity ‘Follow Your Dreams’, but also because the content wasn’t directly related to anything the office staff had produced such as a press release, no instead it was due to the sticker someone received after making a donation to one of our collectors!

A charity a day is a blog found at charity365.blogspot.com and each day a write up is given to a charity, a nice way of spreading the good news of what work goes on out there, and in some cases for little know charities such as ‘Follow Your Dreams’. I’m sure this post only came about due to the little sticker that was handed out in return for the donation given.

It just goes to show the importance of a little sticker no bigger than a 10p coin providing people with our web address! and also makes it clear that we don’t necessarily appreciate the impact that the people we come into contact with each day can have on our charity! Follow Your Dreams has now become visible to an audience that we may not have reached before, and our thanks is sent to the author of the blog A charity a day!

The full post can be read here http://charity365.blogspot.com/2011/12/saturday-3rd-december-follow-your.html

http://followyourdreamsuk.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/word-gets-around/

Monday, 5th December - NCT

2011-12-03T07:57:00.001-08:00

Yes, yes, ahead of myself again!

We went to the NCT nearly new sale for a donation. The intention was to buy a pushchair and the only one that suited us was priced at £120 (I only had £100 in cash on me and didn't realise you could pay by card until we were leaving). Very fortunately, as MrM and I are currently members of the NCT, we were among those given an extra 15 minutes at the beginning to look at the meticulously presented goodies on offer before everyone was let in. I only managed to come away with a DVD.

National campaigning

Our national campaigning work is based around three campaign areas and our three policies on Pregnancy and Birth, Babyfeeding and Parenthood.

Local campaigning

We encourage and support campaigning across the UK. On these pages you can find the support you need to help make a difference locally using our Activists' Guides to running effective campaigns.National Campaigning
NCT campaigns nationally in three areas: pregnancy and birth; baby feeding and parenthood. We campaign on these objectives:

Pregnancy & Birth
1.One-to-one support in labour
2.Birth environments designed around women's needs
3.Easily accessible, individualised services for all
4.Choice of place of birth
5.Well informed parents and professionals
6.Protection and promotion of the normality of birth

Babyfeeding
1.The Baby Friendly Initiative being fully implemented
2.Informed, individualised support
3.Integrated government breastfeeding strategies
4.Peer and specialist supporters
5.Well informed and supportive communities

Early parenthood
1.Information on parenting approaches to be evidence-based
2.Continuous parent-centred, empowering services
3.Improved postnatal care
4.High quality, affordable childcare
5.Improved maternity and paternity pay and leave

Sunday, 4th December - South Pole Challenge

2011-12-03T07:53:00.001-08:00

I've started drinking Raspberry Leaf Tea which means that I could have the baby at any moment! This means that I am starting to think ahead to ensure that I don't miss a day of my charity endeavours - after all I've got to the beginning of December; it would be silly to give up now!

So although it's still Saturday, Sunday's charity thing was a visit to a table top sale where MrM and I bought some fabulous jam and marmalade as a Christmas present (won't say for who on here!).

The table top sale raised funds for an amazing woman with an incredible goal - more here

A BUSINESSWOMAN, mother and dare-devil from Cold Ash is hoping to join an elite group of people by attempting to ski to the South Pole.
Julie Ashmore, aged 43 of Corner Mead, will take part in the expedition in January and is hoping to raise money for a children's charity at the same time.
It was a case of being in the right place at the right time that meant Mrs Ashmore was able to secure a place on the expedition specially timed to arrive at the South Pole on the 100th anniversary of polar explorer Captain Scott’s 1912 expedition.
While on a business course, Mrs Ashmore met seasoned adventurer and business owner Neil Laughton who led the expedition in which Bear Grylls became the youngest person to reach the top of Everest.
Having already climbed Mt Kilimanjaro but having suffered bad altitude sickness, Mrs Ashmore said she wanted a new challenge and happened to ask Mr Laughton about polar expeditions. And he promptly invited her on his trip in January.
"I could have asked one million people about [polar expeditions] but the first person I asked was him! It was like it was meant to happen."
However, her plan of attempting a challenge without having to worry about altitude sickness back fired when she discovered the poles were at altitude.
She added: "It is on 10,000ft of ice and because of the thinner air, it feels like it is 13,000ft - it's ironic."
While on the trek she will have to pull her sledge, weighing about 60kg and so in a couple of weeks, she will be seen pulling tyres across Cold Ash village green to get in shape.
As well as the weight of the sledge and the fact that she has never skied cross country before, she will have to endure the cold.
“Antarctica is the windiest continent and the coldest so you cannot expose any skin," she said.
Mrs Ashmore, who is the UK Operations Director of financial services group Bibby and the mother of Elizabeth, aged seven and Michael, aged six said that fitting in the training on top of her work life and being a mum had been especially hard.
She said: "Most of my friends and family think I'm completely mad and don't know how I manage it but I have a very supportive husband.
"It's extra exciting (because it's on the anniversary) - I do consider myself to be very lucky."
If she completes the trek she will be one of only 300 people who have ever arrived at the South Pole over land.
Mrs Ashmore is completing the challenge to raise money for Fairbridge, a charity which works with inner city youths to gain the confidence and motivation to change their lives.
To sponsor her visit www.sponsor-me.org/southpolechallenge

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=18282

and here:

https://www.charitiestrust.org/members_data/event/southpolechallenge/index.html

Saturday, 3rd December - Follow your dreams

2011-12-03T01:46:00.000-08:00

Just popped a handful of money into the collection tin of a man collecting for Follow your dreams. I must admit that I'd not heard of this charity before but apparently it's to help children with learning difficulties to realise their full potential.

www.followyourdreams.org.uk/

Friday, 2nd December - RSPCA

2011-12-03T01:42:00.000-08:00

Was on my way to the bus station and saw a lovely young lady offer to help an older lady carry her bags of groceries to her car. How cheery! I then passed the RSPCA shop which has recently not provided positive experiences for me, but thinking of the Christmas spirit in action that I'd just seen, I thought I'd have a look.

A lovely Christmassy dress caught my eye so I checked the scary lady wasn't in the shop and went in. The dress wasn't as nice when I got close up, but I did manage to get a handful of blank CDs.

RSPCA celebrity supporters

There are many ways in which we receive celebrity support. Whether it be from our patrons and vice-presidents or other famous followers.

But what is most important is that our high-profile and celebrity supporters all believe in what we do and share our mission and aims.

Our selection of videos above feature just some of the celebrities who have shown their support for the RSPCA, including:
•TV vet and LSPCA patron Joe Inglis treating animals at mobile clinics in Malawi, south-east Africa.

•Ex-Atomic Kitten star Liz McClarnon visiting an RSPCA animal centre to see for herself the many animals in our care in need of new homes.

•TV presenter and comedian Paul O’Grady who adopted Winston the lamb after the animal was found dumped in a wheelie bin.

•Actor Martin Clunes and his wife Philippa with their adopted RSPCA rescue ponies Connor and Oliver.

•TV star and comedian Julian Clary promoting the work we do in rehoming cats and kittens.

•Hollywood star Pamela Anderson making a special Christmas visit to the animals at our Liverpool Animal Centre.

•TV personality and animal expert Bill Oddie promoting the work of our Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre.

www.rspca.org.uk

Thursday, 1st December - ........

2011-12-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

It just CAN'T be December already! Can I count this as a charity thing today or is it littering? I had a GP appointment so unloaded a bunch of magazines and left them in the waiting room - quite satisfyingly I saw a few people reading them when I came out of my session.

Does it count?

Wednesday, 30th November - Community Furniture Project

2011-11-30T06:31:00.000-08:00

A lovely lady recently gave MrM and I a lovely crib for the baby. Unfortunately, neither of us can put it up! So MrM today took it to the Community Furniture Project who can make use of it - the baby can sleep in the top drawer of our chest.

The Newbury Community Resource Centre is a registered charity (no.1082243) that runs the Community Furniture Project (Newbury), the Community Reuse Centre at New Greenham Park, the Community Furniture Project (Basingstoke) and the Growing Together Project at Kingsclere.

As well as running the furniture and horticultural projects we provide support and accredited training in practical skills to over 300 volunteers and trainees from all backgrounds, many of them requiring high levels of support due to learning disabilities, learning difficulties, mental health issues or young people with behavioural issues. The income derived from our furniture sales only covers 60% of the costs of all the services we provide so we are always grateful for any financial support people are able to offer us.

For more information about our Growing Together Project please visit www.growing2gether.org

http://cfpnewbury.org/

Tuesday, 29th November - Movember

2011-11-30T06:28:00.000-08:00

A few hours too late, but am donating to Movember again before all the moustaches get shaved off!

Today I donated to my former journalism tutor at Highbury College who has grown a rather impressive moustache all in aid of this brilliant cause.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shave face and then for the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Mo Sistas are the women who register to support the men in their lives, raising funds by seeking sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.

The Movember Effect: Awareness & Education, Survivorship, Research
The funds raised in the UK support the number one and two male specific cancers - prostate and testicular cancer. The funds raised are directed to programmes run directly by Movember and our men’s health partners, The Prostate Cancer Charity and the Institute of Cancer Research. Together, these channels work together to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programmes in line with our strategic goals in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research.

For more information on the programmes we are funding please visit the following:
The Prostate Cancer Charity
The Institute of Cancer Research
Awareness & Education
Global Action Plan

Movember - a global movement
Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne Australia, Movember has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 1.1 Million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate, with formal campaigns in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa and Ireland. In addition, Movember is aware of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas supporting the campaign and men’s health cause right across the globe, from Russia to Dubai, Hong Kong to Antarctica, Rio de Janeiro to Mumbai, and everywhere in between.

No matter the country or city, Movember will continue to work to change established habits and attitudes men have about their health, to educate men about the health risks they face, getting them to act on that knowledge thereby increasing the chances of early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment.

In 2010, over 112,000 UK Mo Bros and Mo Sistas got on board, raising £11.7 million.

Big steps have been taken towards changing attitudes and habits relating to men’s health around the world but there is still much to be done to catch up with the women’s health movement. Via the moustache, Movember aims to fulfill its vision of having an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health, by continuing to spark conversation and spread awareness of men’s health each year.

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/1799360

http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/2011/nov/28/movember-cancer-charities?INTCMP=SRCH

Monday, 28th November - Helen Hospice

2011-11-28T06:58:00.001-08:00

More decluttering sees a bag fill up with books and magazines primarily. I haul this down to the RSPCA shop as it's on our way to the train station. As we walk along I tell my mum about my bad experiences in this shop.

The door's open, so we head in and a surly woman tells us that the shop is closed just as someone else enters.

I tell him the shop is closed, but she says they're open for donations in such a draconian manner that I daren't tell her that I was trying to donate. We then try the BHF who don't take magazines. I'm about to put the lot in the rubbish bin in the marketplace when my mum takes them to Helen House who again save the day.

I love this charity shop and will make them my first destination next time; not the third.

Helen & Douglas House has the time and expertise to care for children and young adults with life-shortening conditions and support their families. The two hospice houses offer specialist symptom and pain management, medically-supported short breaks and end-of-life care, as well as counselling and practical support for the whole family.

Helen House opened in 1982 as the world's first children's hospice. Douglas House opened in 2004 as the world's first hospice specifically for young adults aged 16-35.

www.helenanddouglas.org.uk

Sunday, 27th November - Vision Aid Overseas

2011-11-28T06:52:00.000-08:00

My declutter is ongoing and one of the items to be filed under the OUT list was a pair of MrM's glasses that I found - the arm had broken and he'd just bought a new pair so I asked him if I could take them to the optician to send on to an African charity.

He said that was fine and I put the glasses, in a box, at the foot of the stairs to remind me to take them in. So a few days pass and I decide to take them. I lock the front door and just check that the glasses are in the box. That's funny - they're not broken?

Then I realise that MrM has swapped the two pairs over and that I was inches away from taking his new glasses back to the shop. He does not know this and now he has stronger glasses, I'm in danger of his reading it on here.

Anyway, Vision Express seemed pleased and a nice lady in the local branch told me that they get sent to prison to get repaired before being sent onto a charity called Vision Aid Overseas.

Vision Express celebrates five years of support for Vision Aid Overseas

15 February 2010 - Vision Express is celebrating its fifth year of support for optical charity Vision Aid Overseas by making a donation of £60,732 following store fundraising support throughout 2009. The donation comes at the end of a tough financial year for businesses and not-for-profit organisations in the UK and Ireland and demonstrates the enormous commitment that Vision Express staff and stores have for the aims of Vision Aid Overseas.

Vision Express has supported Vision Aid Overseas since 2005 and in five years has helped to raise over £205,000 towards their work. This support has been vital towards supporting the delivery of a programme that has helped over 250,000 patients. Vision Aid Overseas aims to transform access to quality eyecare in developing countries through the creation of Vision Centres, the training of local eyecare personnel and the provision of outreach services in areas away from existing facilities.

The fundraising support has been led by staff members from Vision Expresses’ 320 stores based in the UK and Ireland. Initiatives have ranged from collecting donations for repairs and adjustments to running fundraising days including raffles, money collections and prize draws. Vision Express staff have also participated in half-marathons and bike rides to raise funds and awareness.

Many Vision Express professional employees also support Vision Aid Overseas by travelling on volunteer programmes in Africa and India. Mark Harris, a dispensing optician and Product Manager at Vision Express, recently travelled to Ethiopia to take part in a programme of supervision and mentoring for optical trainees. “It is such a good feeling to know that you are contributing to the future of eyecare in developing countries when you work with Vision Aid Overseas. During my recent project to Ethiopia, the Vision Aid Overseas team and our trainees helped to transform patients lives through the provision of eye examinations and glasses. I am also extremely proud of Vision Expresses’ fantastic fundraising effort because I know what an enormous difference this money will make.”

Jeremy Jalie, Communications Director at Vision Aid Overseas expressed his admiration for the support of Vision Express colleagues: “We are extremely grateful to Vision Express for their fundraising support and for their enormous commitment to the work of Vision Aid Overseas. It is fantastic to have such resounding support from the company and to be supported by individual stores in such a dedicated way. Vision Aid Overseas was built on the support and enthusiasm of individuals and organisations in the optical profession and industry and Vision Express demonstrates that the commitment to improving lives through good vision is still inspiring patients and customers to support our work. Vision Aid Overseas will use the money to utilise the skills of UK optical professionals in the development of eyecare services in our partner countries.”

Saturday, 26th November - Parkinson's UK

2011-11-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

My mum bought us a book of raffle tickets in aid of Parkinson's UK - thanks Mum!

www.parkinsons.org.uk

Friday, 25th November - Mayor's Benevolent Fund

2011-11-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the Christmas light switch on in Newbury marketplace with the mayor and his predecessor collecting for charity. I simply savoured the lights, enjoyed the carols and put some coins in a bucket for the Mayor's Benevolent Fund which benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Trust..

What is Cystic Fibrosis?

•Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is one of the UK's most common life-threatening inherited diseases.
•Cystic Fibrosis affects over 9,000 people in the UK.
•Over two million people in the UK carry the faulty gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis - around 1 in 25 of the population.
•If two carriers have a child, the baby has a 1 in 4 chance of having Cystic Fibrosis.
•Cystic Fibrosis affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with thick sticky mucus. This makes it hard to breathe and digest food.
•Each week, five babies are born with Cystic Fibrosis.
•Each week, two young lives are lost to Cystic Fibrosis.
•Only half of those living with Cystic Fibrosis are likely to live past their late 30s.

www.cftrust.org.uk/

Thursday, 24th November - Soroptimists

2011-11-24T05:25:00.000-08:00

I had to be in two places at once this morning so sent my mum to the weekly jumble sale at St NIc's. This week was a fundraiser for the Soroptimists and my mum did a great job buying a cutlery holder and a plate of yummy shortbread.

About our Club

Welcome to Newbury & District branch of Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland. Our Meeting Venue is the annexe at St George’s Church, Wash Common, Newbury. Following speaker meetings, a short business meeting will be held.

Newbury and District was chartered in June 1956. At present we have 26 members from a variety of professions and voluntary and other organizations. We are active in the community and enjoy meeting together for fellowship and fun.

We meet on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of the month, except August, at St. George’s Annexe, Wash Common, Newbury, RG14 6NU at 7.30pm. Usually we start with coffee and biscuits followed by a speaker or business meeting, the evening ends about 9.45pm. During August we organize a summer luncheon at the home of one of our members to which we also invite our partners.

Each year our president nominates a charity for which we raise funds by organizing various events such as a coffee mornings and a quiz. This year we will be raising money for the Tissue Bank for the Breast Cancer Research Campaign.

http://sigbi.org/newbury-and-district/

Wednesday, 23rd November - NCT

2011-11-24T05:17:00.000-08:00

Another NCT session today (by donation). This was my third session on breast feeding, but I still learn new things each time.

Tonight we learned about the importance of a partner's support; they can help, burp the baby and provide you with drinks of water. "Big jugs" as the peer supporter said, appropriately...

Why does breastfeeding matter and what are the benefits for mum and baby?

There are lots of reasons why breastfeeding is important for mums and babies:

For babies
Breastmilk is a living fluid and every mum’s milk is tailor-made for her own baby. It contains many ingredients which help a baby stay healthy, such as antibodies to fight germs and hormones that help your baby’s development.
Babies who are breastfed are less likely to have ear or urine infections or get stomach bugs or chest infections.
Babies who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight children.
If your family has allergies, your baby is less likely to get eczema or a wheezy chest if they are breastfed.
Fewer babies who are breastfed get diabetes in childhood.
Premature babies who receive breastmilk have a lower risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (a potentially dangerous bowel disorder).

For mums
Breastfeeding helps reduce the risk of developing certain types of ovarian and breast cancer.
Mums who have breastfed have a lower risk of hip fractures and diabetes when they get older.
Breastfeeding helps your uterus return to its normal size after birth.

For everyone
Breastfeeding doesn't have an impact on the environment.

Get the support you need

Newborn babies have instincts that help them to breastfeed and mums have instincts too – but in the UK, many women become parents without ever having seen breastfeeding first hand, and feel uncertain about what to do. That's why when you are learning to breastfeed, you may need support and information. You can find articles on our website about breastfeeding straight after birth, getting your baby attached correctly at your breast, common concerns and how friends and family, your partner and employers can support you.

www.nct.org.uk

Tuesday, 22nd November - NCT

2011-11-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

I think I might now be a volunteer for the local group...it looks like I will be helping out at a twice-monthly meeting for new mums.

The forget it thing is a bit strange though!

Do let me know your thoughts and we can either forget it or link you up.

West Berkshire toy appeal - now with new picture

2011-11-22T10:16:00.001-08:00

The last one was the stuff of nightmares - fortunately they've now changed it...

MrM is in there somewhere....www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=18426

Christmas Crafternoon

2011-11-22T02:32:00.000-08:00

The magic of twitter!

Got a tweet from www.vintagepleasure.typepad.com who is organising a fundraising Christmas Crafternoon on Saturday, 17th Dec 2-5pm in Stalybridge,Cheshire.

Bit far for me (and there was no space for "please" in the tweet :D ) but good luck!

www.justgiving.com/Kristy-Connaghan

Monday, 21st November - West Berkshire Christmas Toy appeal

2011-11-22T00:45:00.000-08:00

I'm going to count MrM's activities today as he bought a lovely toy as part of his role in launching this year's Christmas Toy appeal.

I don't *think* he donated a disembodied doll's head as suggested by this pic though...

WEST Berkshire’s annual appeal for Christmas toys is to be launched in Newbury today (Monday), aiming to make sure no local children or young people go without a gift this Christmas.
The appeal, in its sixth year, is run by the Newbury Weekly News, Swift Couriers, Apple Print and Newbury Sound, in conjunction with West Berkshire Council’s children’s services.
Starting the ball rolling with a toy donation at the launch of the appeal, outside Broadway House near the Clocktower in Northbrook Street at 12.30pm , will be dignitaries including the mayor of Newbury, Jeff Beck; mayor of Hungerford, Martin Crane (to be confirmed) and Thatcham mayor Lee Dillon.
Newbury MP Richard Benyon has said he is unable to attend but will be sending a gift, while others due to attend and make a donation include: the chairman of West Berkshire Council, Peter Argyle; Julian May, on behalf of Greenham Common Trust; and Garry Poulson for the Volunteer Centre West Berkshire.
Karen Smith, on behalf of Newbury Building Society, and representatives from both Newbury’s Parkway and Kennet Shopping centres are also due to attend.
Donations wanted include new and unwrapped toys, games and gifts, suitable for boys and girls from newborn to age 19 plus. Alternatively, people can give £10 gift vouchers to spend at local shops. All donations must be given to the various collection points (listed below) prior to December 22.
“Whilst some of us are gasping at the amount we are spending, or the amount our kids hope we are going to stretch to, there are families on very low incomes, in debt, homeless, awaiting benefit determination, or living in a refuge, who will find it very hard this year to give their children any toys at all.” said Yvette Jones, West Berkshire Christmas Toy Appeal co-ordinator, adding: “And there are teenagers unable to live at home, and young people who do not have parents, or family here in the UK - living in hostels, bed-sits, rooms or even homeless, who will also have a pretty grim festive season unless we all rally round.”
The various collection points in West Berkshire can be found at the following places:

Newbury Sound offices in Hambridge Lane
Apple Print offices in Faraday Road
Swift offices in Hambridge Lane
Council offices in Market Street, Newbury
Co-op Thatcham Broadway
Tesco Stores in Pinchington Lane and A4, Newbury, and Hungerford
Sainsbury’s – Newbury
Camp Hopson department store
Budgens – Wash Common
Parkway Sales office in Northbrook Street, Newbury
Newbury Building Society – Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford offices
Newbury, Hungerford, Thatcham and Theale Libraries
Hungerford Leisure Centre
All children’s Centres in West Berkshire
Kennet Centre
Debenhams in the new Parkway development

www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=18426

West Berks Alz update

2011-11-20T10:16:00.000-08:00

"Twenty-seven volunteers & staff swung into action like a well-oiled machine! What an incredible team you all are - even the ladies in the church are amazed by the Alzheimer's Society coffee mornings. Thank you for all your hard work yesterday, and baking, donating goods for sale etc.

We counted the money this morning giving us a total of £564.67 minus expenses for purchase of tea / coffee / milk etc.

Thank you so much.

Street collection date

Also, another date for your diary - there's a street collection in Newbury town centre on the 15th of December from 9am and 5pm. Please get in touch if you can help"

Sunday, 21st November - Dorothy House Hospice

2011-11-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

MrM and I were out for a walk and swung by the town hall in Hungerford on the way back where we happened upon the Gaia wellbeing show.

20/11 Sun: SHOW GAIA WELLBEING HEALTH SHOW 11am to 4pm at Hungerford Town Hall

It was a little disappointing, but entry was donated to Dorothy House Hospice in WIltshire so not a wasted 5 minutes!

Our Approach

Dorothy House is a charity, founded on Christian principles of care. All our services in the community and the hospice are provided free of charge and with equal access to all. Our aim is to offer physical, psychological, social and spiritual care to patients and their families facing life threatening illness, death or bereavement, who have specific problems which need our specialist skills. In partnership with all others involved, we focus on quality of life, respecting the uniqueness of each person and their family. We seek to promote the development of palliative care through education of others and research.

To the best of our ability to strive:
•For the highest quality in all we do, to enable the best patient and family care.
•To recognise the commitment to staff and volunteers through support, education and development.
•To respect each person as an individual.
•For effective, open and sensitive communication.
•For effective teamwork and collaboration.
•To share knowledge.
•To review and evaluate all our services.

www.dorothyhouse.co.uk/

Saturday, 19th November - Women's Land Army Tribute

2011-11-20T03:27:00.000-08:00

What a blissful morning! I was back in Exeter, one of my favourite towns, and the one where I spent three years as a student, so as I was looking back at my University years, how fitting that one of the town centre hotels should play host to a fabulous vintage fair.

"Crikey it's vintage" was a one day celebration of vintage with amazing clothes stalls and handmade goodies. It was absolutely heaving and a lovely morning of shopping (and this is from someone who hates shopping). I only bought a cake stand, a bedspread, a Christmas decoration for my sister, a 60s dress and a Leslie Charteris book.

Ticket sales went towards the Women's Land Army Tribute:

The Women’s Land Army Tribute project has been established by the Staffordshire Women’s Food and Farming Union.

THE AIMS OF THE PROJECT ARE:

1.To raise enough funds to provide a permanent memorial and lasting tribute.
2.To commission a sculptor to design and create an appropriate memorial, which will be installed and erected at the National Memorial Arboretum.
3.To organise an appropriate dedication ceremony.
4.To raise awareness of the project and make every effort to contact former Women’s Land Army Girls and Lumber Jill’s.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO ACHIEVE IT?

We will promote a high profile fundraising campaign to achieve the aims of our project. We will seek quotations for all aspects of the project from appropriate experts and invite them to tender for the work through a proper tendering process which will be overseen by the Staffordshire WFU under the umbrella of the National WFU. We will raise funds through grants, sponsorships and donations.

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO ACHIEVE IT?

We aim to have the memorial designed, manufactured and installed at the National Memorial Arboretum with a target date of October 2012.

THE MEMORIAL DEDICATION

We aim to have a ceremony to dedicate the memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum when the project has been completed. This memorial will recognise and acknowledge the achievements of the Women’s Land Army – a legacy for future generations.

WFU
The Women’s Food and Farming Union (WFU), which was founded in 1979, has branches all over the UK. The Staffordshire branch started in 1985. The WFU is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting an understanding of, and confidence in, all aspects of quality British produce. Its strap line has always been ‘Linking Producer with Consumer’ and as members we like to feel that we represent the interests of both consumers and producers to the benefit of British agriculture. www.wfu.org.uk

“They had obeyed the call of duty in the nation’s hour of greatest peril and Britain owed them an everlasting debt”

HM The Queen Mother October 1950

/www.womenslandarmytribute.co.uk/

Friday, 18th November - Big Issue

2011-11-20T02:56:00.000-08:00

Back in my hometown so bought a Big Issue with Gary Barlow on the cover.

Take That frontman to Saturday night TV fave; Gary Barlow tells us why 'Noel Gallagher couldn't do what I do'... Also in this issue... Album art supremo Storm Thorgerson on the LP sleeves that rocked the world... Prisons at breaking point; We bring you the inside track on the state of Britain's jails... And actor Jason Schwartzman on his suprising obsession... PLUS Your chance to win Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

www.bigissue.com/

Railway Children's Letter from Santa

2011-11-17T14:57:00.000-08:00

I got this from the Railway Children (having already ordered one of these from the NSPCC) hopefully someone will find it useful for a child they might know!

Send a personalised letter from Santa

Just imagine their excitement if a special child in your life were to get a letter from Santa.

We can arrange for Santa Claus himself to send a personalised letter to a little person or a big kid of your choice.

Each Santa letter is wonderfully illustrated and unique to its recipient. Every child at the same address will receive a different Santa letter, which can be tailored by:

o Age
o Gender
o Where they are staying over Christmas
o Pet's name
o Hometown

All that we ask in return is a small suggested donation of £3, with all proceeds going to Railway Children to help us fight for children living on the streets this Christmas.

Make Christmas extra special this year. Click here www.railwaychildrenonline.org.uk/CCA-LP01-4T6G9Q-8D14E-1/c.aspx to order your letter.

Railway Children
Registered Charity No: 1058991
1 The Commons, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 1EG

Thursday, 17th November - Alzheimer's Society

2011-11-17T02:57:00.001-08:00

Today's charity thing was the jumble sale and coffee morning at St Nic's in aid of the Alzheimer's Society. Just bought a couple of things and ran back in time for work.

When a person with dementia finds that their mental abilities are declining, they often feel vulnerable and in need of reassurance and support. The people closest to them - including their carers, friends and family - need to do everything they can to help the person to retain their sense of identity and feelings of self-worth.

www.alzheimers.org.uk/

Wednesday, 16th November - Oxfam

2011-11-17T00:36:00.000-08:00

Today's charity of the day ended up being Oxfam back in my hometown of Sherborne, Dorset, where I bought a notebook and two books on business. One of these was on customer service which really I could have donated back for one of the guys behind the till to read.

When someone tries to pay for something, generally, GENERALLY, it's a good idea to say "hello" or "smile", not just stare at them and wonder how the hell they appeared in front of you. Not only did this happen in Oxfam (and I do not think this guy was a volunteer - he looked like a paid manager), but also two minutes before in the British Red Cross shop further up the road where the staff member's breathtaking rudeness nearly had me in tears.

I saw a dress in the window (often if something is in a display, then staff don't like you to touch it) so waited in the queue to ask how much it was. The woman behind the counter finished her chat, the customer/friend walked away and she and I came face-to-face. She frowned at me. I waited. She frowned a bit more and continued to stare.

"Hi!" I said. She stared a bit more, still not speaking. "Hi!" I tried again. "Did you want something or not?" she growled. "I wondered how much that dress is in the window, please?" I asked.

"I don't know!" she snapped.

"OK - I'll look myself. On second thoughts, forget it - I'll go somewhere where people don't feel the need to be rude to me." When I said that, she smiled very sweetly and ran around to where I was and said: "Oh that dress, it's a size 10-12".

Too late! Why do people volunteer in places where they meet real people if they're not people people?

So, some tips for my new friend from the book I bought in Oxfam:

17: Meet and greet - first impressions last
18: Treat your customers with respect
23: Smile!
36: Make it easy for customers to shop
37: Eliminate all obstacles to making a purchase
47: be patient and courteous to your customers
48: Be welcoming
103: Always think about your customers

Tuesday, 15th November - St John Ambulance

2011-11-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

More coins in a tin - gosh, I'm even boring myself now! Hopefully tomorrow's offering will be slightly more interesting!

About St John Ambulance

We believe that it’s absolutely unacceptable that so many people die needlessly – because no one could give them first aid when they needed it.

St John Ambulance teaches people first aid - about 800,000 last year alone – so that they can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

We teach young people in schools and through our activities for young people.

We teach people in the workplace and provide first aid products.

We teach people in the community.

And we teach people who become our volunteers, who offer their skills and time to be the difference right in the heart of their community – at public events, first responders or back up to local ambulance services.

As a charity, we’re committed to making sure more people can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved. To do that, we need your help.

www.sja.org.uk

Monday, 14th November - Help for Heroes

2011-11-15T01:37:00.000-08:00

Nothing more interesting than putting some coins in a collection tin in the Royal Oak in Marlborough in aid of Help for Heroes.

Help For Heroes is the charity that does exactly what it says on the tin.
Help for Heroes strives towards 100% effectiveness – so that for every £1 donated, £1 will go directly to helping wounded Servicemen and women. So, we do exactly what we say on the tin – your donations go directly to supporting the wounded boys and girls.

How do we do this?
We do of course have running costs but these are kept as low as possible, and the costs we do have? Well those are covered by the sale of our fantastic Help for Heroes merchandise. Every t-shirt, mug, wristband and calendar sold ensures that the money you donate goes to the men and women who need it, not office bills!

In fact, thanks to the range of challenges we hold through the year and our H4H shop, last year we actually made more than we needed to run the charity. So, of course, the rest goes to the wounded.

What do we spend your money on?
We spend every penny possible on making grants that aim to provide practical, direct support for our wounded.

www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Sunday, 13th November -Children with Cerebral Palsy

2011-11-14T02:05:00.001-08:00

Bit worrying this one - I popped some money into a collection tin. It was being held by a woman outside a petrol station and said: "CHildren with Cerebral Palsy" on the side. HOwever, I can't find any information about this charity anywhere....

Saturday, 12th November - Community Furniture Project

2011-11-12T05:08:00.001-08:00

Today's charity thing was buying some books that were - gasp! - destined for landfill. £1 for this little pile that will keep me occupied for ages and will help me with my new project of teaching Spanish to MrM!

The Community Furniture Project takes donations of furniture that people are looking to throw away and then sells them to others who need it. It's a brilliant idea that employs local people and keeps lots of items from landfill. I recently bought a chest of drawers - there's no way I could afford to buy a newer set and why buy a new flatpack set from that well-known blue and yellow furniture when there's already one in existence.

The Newbury Community Resource Centre is a registered charity (no.1082243) that runs the Community Furniture Project (Newbury), the Community Reuse Centre at New Greenham Park, the Community Furniture Project (Basingstoke) and the Growing Together Project at Kingsclere.

As well as running the furniture and horticultural projects we provide support and accredited training in practical skills to over 300 volunteers and trainees from all backgrounds, many of them requiring high levels of support due to learning disabilities, learning difficulties, mental health issues or young people with behavioural issues. The income derived from our furniture sales only covers 60% of the costs of all the services we provide so we are always grateful for any financial support people are able to offer us.

http://cfpnewbury.org/

Friday, 11th November - Alzheimer's Society

2011-11-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

After two minutes of silence at 11am, I decided to take a bag of bric-a-brac to the Alz Society so they can sell it (or give it away) at their coffee morning next week. I volunteered at their annual sale last year the day after I got back from my honeymoon. An amazing TWENTY people helped out that day, so I'm going to be a customer this time around.

While I was there, I also dropped off a bag of wool. For some reason, I decided that I could knit and crochet last year and bought lots of supplies. I made one blanket for my nephew (I just knew he was going to be a boy) so knitted an almost blanket shaped item in blue and white. My sister thought it was for her dog....

A year later I decided to crochet a blanket for another baby and have made two long items that look like scarves. My craft days are over. The wool can now be used by people with dementia who find knitting therapeutic.

We have information for anyone worried about potential symptoms of dementia including if you are worried about your own memory or someone else's.

www.alzheimers.org.uk/

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

2011-11-10T05:45:00.001-08:00

I nearly didn't open it as it was addressed to someone else (ahem - me by my married name, which I never use!) but how exciting! A certificate for completing the recent Memory Walk!

Thursday, 10th November - St Thomas Church Woolton Hill

2011-11-10T03:55:00.000-08:00

Today's charity was St Thomas Church in Woolton Hill who held a coffee morning at St Nicolas Church Hall where I made today's contribution by buying lots of lovely things; a photo frame, a notebook (I am addicted to these - as if the prettier the book, the lovelier the things I will write in them!) and some toiletries.

Is it possible to be addicted to a coffee morning, because I think I might just be.....

Enter a fab photo competition and help Peruvian children at the same time....

2011-11-09T08:12:00.001-08:00

Just had a note about a lovely photographic competition from a photographer that we work with:

Wendy has just set up www.amantani.org.uk/meetmyworld to help raise funds for a charity close to her heart, that helps impoverished Peruvian children from having to walk eight hours daily to get to school and back.

The competition has great judges including the Director of Photography at the TATE and some great prizes.

It's nationwide and open to anyone over 18 years old amateur and professional.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Wendy xxx

Wednesday, 9th November - Operation Christmas Child

2011-11-09T06:12:00.001-08:00

Finally dropped my full shoebox to the Shoe Zone in the Kennet Centre. There is no real sign that they're collecting shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child; I thought there might be a Christmas tree with boxes underneath it stacked up festively. But...nothing..

I handed my box to the lady behind the counter, who said: "I'll take that for you". I thanked her for taking my donation and she rolled her eyes and said "you should see how many we have out at the back".

Not the most festive charitable experience, but never mind, it's for a great cause. Hopefully someone will be a bit more excited about the things I've placed in the box!

Operation Christmas Child is, by its very nature, creative. The finding of an empty shoebox. The selecting of the gifts to fill it with. The selecting of the wrapping paper. The wrapping of the shoebox. The packing of the gifts.

What's more, when groups of children and adults come together - be they families, churchgoers, school pupils, workplace colleagues or members of local community groups - that creativity and inspiration just grows. There are countless ways in which your group can make Operation Christmas Child an exciting, involving and meaningful pre-Christmas project.

www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/

Tuesday, 8th November - Woodland Trust

2011-11-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

Today's charity was the Woodland Trust which is great as I was thinking that I needed to do more for environmental charities - a subject which is very close to my heart.

Such is my lifestyle that I actually got a call from someone I hadn't seen for a while asking me if I could come round for tea and cake and advise them on how I make their house and life greener! Perhaps there's a business idea in there!

Having just said that, today's charity thing might not be considered green in many regards. I don't actually intend to send many Christmas cards this year - for anyone who I'm in touch with via FB, Twitter or LInkedIn, I'm afraid, I won't be using resources to wish them a Happy CHristmas. I did buy just one packet today so that I can send cards to older people that I know who would benefit from the contact!

So this packet raises money for the Woodland Trust and the beauty is that the recipient can, if they like, recycle them and turn them back into trees as they're collected in January in biggish shops. I've also only written on the right hand side so they can also be reused as gift tags.

I really do think of everything (a work-in-progress strapline for my new green consultancy business!).

The Woodland Trust has a vision. A UK rich in native woods and trees enjoyed and valued by everyone.

We believe:
•there should be at least twice as much native tree cover in the UK

•there should be no further loss of any ancient woodland

•every child should have a chance to plant a tree

•there should be a wood with open access close to everyone’s home

•everyone should recognise that trees and woods are an essential part of a healthy environment

We aim to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees; protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future and inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

Monday, 7th November - Operation Christmas Child/Samaritans Purse

2011-11-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

I finally finished making up my shoebox for Operation Christmas CHild but today had to make an additional £2.50 payment so that the box will be delivered!

I'll be dropping this off at the Shoezone shop in the Kennet Centre tomorrow!

Operation Christmas Child is the largest children's Christmas project in the world, run by the Christian charity Samaritan's Purse. We have been sending gift-filled shoeboxes to disadvantaged children around the world since 1990, bringing joy into the lives of over 80 million children.

Last year, over 500,000 people from across the UK and Ireland got involved - including many churches, schools and workplaces. Children and adults alike wrapped and packed around 1.12 million shoeboxes full of gifts and goodies, which were then sent to disadvantaged children across Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/

Sunday, 6th November - NCT (again!)

2011-11-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

More NCT!

Saturday, 5th November - Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust

2011-11-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

I'll never, ever forget how lucky I was that my experience with cervical cancer was put to an end thanks to early detection. So I made a special effort to ensure I attended Hungerford's annual Christmas fair which is a fundraiser for Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust.

Unfortunately, while there were lots of lovely goodies at the fair, the lady on the door was so rude to me that it took the Christmas gloss and shine off a little and I didn't end up buying anything.

HOwever, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust is a great charity.

Our Vision
To improve the lives of those affected by cervical cancer and to work towards a future where cervical cancer is a thing of the past.

Our Mission
Our mission is to see cervical cancer prevented, reduce the impact for everyone affected by cervical abnormalities and cervical cancer through providing the highest quality information and support services and campaigning for excellence in cervical cancer treatment and prevention.

Core values
Everything we do, across all aspects of our work is based on our core values:
•Highest quality
•People focused
•Working in partnership
•Valuing and respecting others
•Empowerment
•Openness, transparency and accountability
•Honesty and integrity
•Innovative and creative
•Influencing.

How we do it
•Providing information, emotional and practical support to women, their families and friends affected by cervical abnormalities and cervical cancer.
•Bringing people affected by cervical abnormalities and cervical cancer together for shared support.
•Campaigning for improvement in standards of support and care.
•Promoting the importance of prevention and early detection to the public, health professionals and key decision makers.

www.jostrust.org.uk

Friday, 4th November - Poppy Appeal

2011-11-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to buying my Poppy today.

Fundraising for The Royal British Legion

Each year the nation expresses its unequivocal support for The Royal British Legion's charity work through the Poppy Appeal, emphasising the need to help all generations of the Armed Forces and their families - today and for the rest of their lives.

Thanks to you and your generosity, we reached our target of £36 million for 2010 but our work is as vital as ever and with your help hope to reach £40 million this year.

www.poppy.org.uk

Thursday, 3rd November - Big Issue

2011-11-03T08:08:00.001-07:00

Today's charity thing was buying the Big Issue and am looking forward to sitting with a mug of hot milk to read the cover article "Can you really feed your family for £50 a week?"

MrM and I can live on that for a month - but we desperately want to know if that's sustainable once there's a new member of the family!

Can you really feed a family for £50 a week? As inflation hikes up the cost of living we ask family of 4, the Jardines, to put shopping on a budget to the test... Also in this issue... Star of Batman Begins and Inception, Cillian Murphy, on why he's happy to let the 'charismatic Justin Timberlake' take centre stage in his latest film... We explore the UK adoption crisis which is leaving thousands of kids stranded in care... And funnyman Stephen Merchant on going from gawky teen to Golden Globe winner.

Wednesday, 2nd November - NCT

2011-11-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

A bit of a cheat maybe, but today's charity was again the NCT! I went to an evening hosted locally and bought a few raffle tickets, all in aid of the area group.

There were some fabulous prizes on offer all donated by local small businesses.

Run by local parents, your local Newbury and District Branch offers you support, information and friendship to new parents and parents-to-be.

We try to reach everyone in West Berkshire from Hungerford and Lambourn in the west to the borders of Reading in the east, the Downlands villages in the north, the Cleres in the south and everywhere in between.

Please take a moment to join us on Facebook where you can ask questions, get advice from other mums and keep up to date on local gossip, activities, events and groups where you can meet other members, mums and dads.

We would also really like to meet you, our members and their friends, at any of our committee meetings. nearly new sale, bumps and babies group, relax stretch and breathe, working bumps, cafe bambino or any of our other get togethers. Please take a moment to visit the groups and events pages.

www.newburynct.org.uk

Tuesday, 1st November - The Prostate Cancer Charity

2011-11-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

It's Movember!!

Most of my male friends are partaking and growing themselves a fine bit of facial hair for a very good cause. Today I decided to sponsor my lovely friend James the Cat who is not the sort of chap who looks as if he could grow a 'tache!

Thank you for your donation. Your support of Movember and the more than 10,000 men who will die of prostate cancer and the more than 2,000 men who will be diagnosed with testicular cancer this year, is sincerely appreciated.

Through the Movember Foundation and our men’s health partners, The Prostate Cancer Charity and The Institute of Cancer Research, Movember is funding world class awareness, research, educational and support programmes which would otherwise not be possible.

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face and then for the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember

http://uk.movember.com/about/

Thailand for CLIC Sargent!

2011-10-31T07:33:00.001-07:00

The lovely Dannie (who, I think, is the only person reading my ramblings!) has emailed about the World Book night post I wrote a couple of days ago where I registered to be one of the people giving out books on World Book Night next year (23rd April 2012).

She said: "I am running a readathon next February for people to sit back, relax and read for anything from an hour to 12hours, all for charity. It costs just £5 to register for the event and can take place in the comfort of your own home."

What a brilliant idea! Please have a look if you can!

http://thailandforclicsargent.blogspot.com/2011/10/readathon-is-coming.html

Monday, 31st October - NSPCC

2011-10-31T05:39:00.001-07:00

My gorgeous nephew has been a good boy this year, so I've just made the suggested donation to the NSPCC who will communicate with Santa who in turn will be writing to him at Christmas!

The NSPCC receives 82 per cent of its funding from generous people like you, who care about the safety of children.

Across the UK the NSPCC provides services such as 24-hour helplines, therapeutic and young witness centres - each one making a big difference to children’s lives.

But until every vulnerable child has the support they need, we will continue to develop our services and this is why we still need your help .

Your donations make a difference

£4
Answers a child's call for help on ChildLine.

£25
Enables a trained practitioner to deliver one hour of support through the NSPCC Helpline, to protect some of the most vulnerable children in society such as babies or toddlers who cannot call for themselves.

£42
Pays for a child who may have nowhere else to turn to receive confidential, one to one counselling through ChildLine, about an issue which is important to them.

£50
Pays for an hour of direct one to one support for a vulnerable child and their family. This includes the time it takes to prepare and write up the session.

https://christmas.nspcc.org.uk/santa

Sunday, 30th October - NCT

2011-10-31T03:13:00.001-07:00

We paid the NCT for a course on childbirth today which proved to be very useful.

Our charitable purpose
We offer information and support in pregnancy, birth and early parenthood
We campaign to improve maternity care and ensure better services and facilities for new parents
We aim to give every parent the chance to make informed choices
We want to make sure that everyone has access to our services and activities

www.nct.org.uk

Saturday, 29th October - World Book Night

2011-10-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

After a talk last week where I learned the depressing statistic that 50% of children in the UK start at school with impoverished speech and language communication, I've been doing all I can to ensure that our little bean shares a love of books with MrM and I.

If you look around, you'll see that it's incredibly rare to read a sentence - even in the newspaper - that doesn't contain a spelling mistake, punctuation error or misuse of grammar. At the talk I attended, given by an ECAT worker (Every Child a Talker), it became obvious why children can't string a sentence together - many parents can't read or write! Combined with a love of texting, pushchairs where the baby faces forward and the fact that not many families eat together any more, it's clear that the English language and communication is the victim.

As an aside, I am so sick of seeing signs like this:

"Job vacancy's available" that I actually got a red marker pen out of my bag and changed one the other day. The funny thing was, that when I returned to the shop a week or so later, ALL of the signs had been reprinted to contain my correction!!

I'm actually in the process of trying to use my pedantry for the good and am about to include a proof reading service on my new website: www.macmabel.com

Anyway, I've been looking here: www.talktoyourbaby.org.uk/home

and here: www.hello.org.uk

..and have just registered with the World Book Night site in the hope of being invited to distribute books on their night next year 23rd April 2012. If you're interested in books, please consider registered to give away a book from their list on the night! I chose the brilliant Roald Dahl novel Someone Like You, because he's a writer who appeals to children and adults alike and is eminently readable. Someone Like You is filled with compelling short stories and I feel it will encourage people to get reading!

World Book Night is a celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. Celebrated on April 23, 2012 it will see tens of thousands of people gift books within their communities to spread the joy and love of reading. In 2012 World Book Night will be celebrated in the UK, Ireland and USA.

The 25 books that will be part of WBN 2012 in the UK have now been announced and application to be one of the 20,000 givers has opened.

This site exists in order to celebrate books and to connect readers with one another. You can learn more about World Book Night itself, the 25 books, apply to be a giver and connect with other passionate readers.

www.worldbooknight.org/

Friday, 28th October - The Woodland Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support and Age UK.

2011-10-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

Simply bought a book from Green Metropolis www.greenmetropolis.com which means that not only is it being recycled, but some of the price is going to the three charities that the site supports: The Woodland Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support and Age UK.

Thursday, 27th October - National Association of Widows

2011-10-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

St Nic's coffee morning again (is it really a week since the last one?!)

Today's charity was the local branch of the National Association of Widows. To be honest, I didn't know this existed, but what a lovely idea. I wish I'd known about this earlier so I could have recommended it to various people I know who've lost their husbands.

Instead of a jumble sale (and the associated punching and elbowing), there was a tombola this morning where I bought a ticket and won a Christmassy gift!!

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Widowhood has been described as the single most common personal catastrophe. This catastrophe is a bereavement which affects women physically and socially as well as emotionally.

The National Association of Widows was founded in 1971 by June Hermer, who was herself a widow, in order to give ALL WIDOWS the specialist information, advice and support they needed.

If you are a widow you may find that you need:

the chance to contact other widows
someone to listen to without being judgmental
company and the chance for a better social life
help with practical matters
unconditional support
We are the only national self help organisation that offers comfort, friendship, and a listening ear as long as is needed.

Our local branches provide

regular meetings
the companionship of other widows
support to all members especially in times of difficulty or distress.
We also offer the hand of friendship through our national membership plus free pen club.

If you are a younger widow you can benefit from our "Younger Widows Contact List" which puts widows up to the age of 50 in contact with one another nationally.

Free confidential advice and information is given from our local Advisory Service (in conjunction with our sister charity The Widows Advisory Trust)

We know that becoming a widow is a devastating experience. We understand how adjusting to life without a partner is a slow and painful process; because we understand we are able to foster strength and a sense of purpose in women who feel that they have lost their future after the death of their partner.

And because the National Association is a self-help organisation we encourage widows to learn to grow in self confidence, to develop new skills as well as new friendships; to help in running local branches and in the policy making of the Association.

www.widows.uk.net

Wednesday, 26th October - Pedigree Adoption drive

2011-10-26T02:47:00.000-07:00

Pedigree is donating £1 for every "virtual tour" completed simply by taking Ripley the dog for a walk here:

www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.com.

Simply spend 2 minutes clicking through to help give a dog a home. For every "tour" completed, Pedigree is giving money to the Association of Cats and Dogs Homes.

Most dogs in rehoming centres are there because their owners have decided,
for one reason or another, that they can no longer look after them.