An early one this week as I'm heading to Glastonbury Festival. So I thought I'd pick my favourite Glastonbury charity, WaterAid. They are committed to providing that most basic human need that we all take for granted - clean, safe water and proper sanitation.
Two weeks ago an ex-colleague of mine passed away. Janet was a strong-willed character who faced up to the troubles in her life with an acerbic wit and a sharp tongue. She was diagnosed with diabetes late on, sadly too late to prevent the amputation of both her legs due to the degeneration of her cardiovascular system. She survived the extreme surgery for about two years but sadly contracted an infection that she just couldn't fight.
I have fond memories of Janet cracking jokes following the loss of her legs. I didn't know her particularly well but I very much enjoyed her company. Her family asked for donations to Diabetes UK so Janet, this one's for you.
My friend Wenna Blewett successfully completed her H2Only challenge this week. The challenge was to give up all drinks except water for ten days. She was allowed on lifeline which she took on day 4 due to craving an ice-cold glass of Coke but she had to donate £24 for it - that's an expensive glass of Coke!
The challenge was to raise money for the RNLI. The blurb on Just Giving describes them as such;
"The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. It's volunteer lifeboat crews rescue an average of 24 people a every day and the RNLI lifeguards provide a seasonal lifeguard service on selected beaches. The RNLI is independent from Government and relies on donations from people like you."
Wenna's Just Giving page is here - https://www.justgiving.com/wenna1977/
I had an idea that I've been mulling over for some time and I've decided that it might make for interesting reading so I thought I'd blog it. I often feel I should give more to charity. In the age of social media we all get lots of requests for sponsorship. Sometimes I give, sometimes I don't but why don't I? I'm really not sure, time, circumstance. I might see a post when I'm not in a position to donate and then forget to go back to it. I certainly can't use the excuse that I can't afford it. But I'm someone who likes structure and that's where the idea came about.
The plan is to donate £5 a week for a year. Maybe longer. To sponsorships, to urgent appeals, to telethons, to whatever's on my mind or in the news at the time. Every week will be a different charity or appeal. It's difficult to know if it will turn out easy or hard to find things. Which is why I thought I'd blog it from the beginning!
The plan is to take nominations throughout the week and donate on a Friday. I've already got a couple lined up but it'll be interesting to see where it leads...
