Hello my darlings, I hope this message finds you well and you’re not snowed in somewhere! As long as you’re looking and feeling fabulous it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing, just embrace it!

My charity of the month for February is Hope Against Cancer. It’s terrible that we will all be affected by cancer in some way, whether directly or through family or friends. So it really is so, so important that we do all we can to support cancer sufferers and find new ways of battling the disease. That way as many people have the best chance of recovery they can.

Please read on to find out more about these guys and how you can help their vital work.

Love you more than the world, Auntie Gok xxx

Who We Are
Hope Against Cancer is Leicestershire and Rutland’s local cancer research charity. We were established in 2003 to bring cutting-edge research to our area and make clinical trials available to local people. Since 2003 we have raised almost £4m and funded 40 research projects tackling many different forms of cancer.

Our Vision – Our vision is working for a future where more local people survive cancer.

Our Mission – Our mission is to fund innovative research that leads to improved treatments and better outcomes for people and that achieves the greatest impact in the local and national fight against cancer.

What We Do
We work in partnership with local universities and hospitals to fund pioneering research to ensure that Leicestershire remains a hub of expertise in cancer research and treatment.
In 2012 we established and opened a dedicated clinical trials unit at Leicester Royal Infirmary to offer patients access to new medicines and therapies. We fund our very own HOPE Nurse there who adds to the care and support trials patients receive.

Why We Need Help
2 million people in the UK are living with or affected by cancer. This is set to rise to 4 million by 2030.
Every year, over 250,000 people in England are diagnosed with cancer and around 130,000 people die each year as a result of the disease.

Annual NHS costs for cancer services are £5 billion. The cost to society as a whole – in terms of social, caring and other support costs – is £18.3 billion.

Because of life-saving research more people are surviving cancer. Survival rates have doubled in the last 40 years. But our survival rates are still worse than those for other countries that are as wealthy as us.

Helping us Make a Difference Locally
Around 5,000 people in Leicestershire are diagnosed with cancer each year and the region currently has hot spots of cancer associated with cultural and socio-economic factors and healthcare inequalities.

There is over-whelming evidence to show that regions with diverse, local research have better health outcomes within their communities

Hope Against Cancer has been instrumental in the city of Leicester becoming a cancer research centre of excellence, one of only about 15 in the UK. We need to raise over £350,000 every year to fund vital research within the new centre of excellence. We will prioritise research that influences potential practice changes in early detection, prevention and treatment of cancers. Our research projects will have a clear benefit for patients across the region.

The charity will continue to develop talent and help train the next generation of local cancer researchers through our funding to support postgraduates and cancer clinicians pursuing a career in cancer research – a critical area for which national funding is being cut and limited.

HOPE will also support the development of new treatments through continuing support of our clinical trials nurse.

Visit Hope Against Cancer’s website and find out how you can help. Like Hope Against Cancer on Facebook.

To donate via a text message, text “HFCR01” and the amount you would like to donate to 70070 (max £10).
For example, to donate £5 simply text HFCR01 £5 to 70070.

Take a peek at my brand new spring collection for Sainsbury’s Tu over on look.co.uk – it’ll be in stores on 3 February 2015.

“Well into the swing of designing for the brand, Gok has outdone himself with this season’s collection – making a monochrome statement inspired by modernist architecture that are reflective of urban cityscapes. Of course, as you would expect with king of making the ladies feel good, the range is strongly focussed on shape and form. We asked him to describe the collection in one word. He said, of course – and with no hesitation – ‘Confident’.”

Read more at look.co.uk

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have had the most amazing Christmas…eaten waaaayyyy too much Christmas pudding, laughed until you cried and of course looked amazing in your Christmas jumpers and dresses!!!!

After such wonderful times, I am asking that in 2015 we remember those most vulnerable and needy in society and do what we can to make their lives better. My first charity of the month for 2015 is Charity Link who help those living in poverty of all ages – can you still believe that we have got to 2015 in the UK and there is still so much poverty!?!?! Something so simple as having breakfast every day is not always an option for some and we must do what we can to make this stop. Please read on and find out more about what they do and how you can help.

Send you all so, so, so much 2015 love and kisses xx
Charity Link 

It is hard to believe that today there are 26,000 children and young people living in poverty in Leicester and 21,000 in Northamptonshire alone – children going without a meal in the evening, children going without a coat in winter, children sleeping on floors. Children like Stacey.

Stacey has lived with her disabled grandmother since her mum died shortly after her birth. The family relied on disability and child benefits and no funds were available to replace Stacey’s broken bed so she slept on the floor. Thankfully, Charity Link, a charity which has been supporting people in poverty, hardship and crisis in Leicestershire for nearly 140 years, was able to step in and provided Stacey with a new bed and bedding.

Charity Link, which now also works in Northamptonshire, helps vulnerable people of all ages and backgrounds who are affected by poverty. We help by providing basic items that the majority of us take for granted, such a cooker to prepare a hot meal, a fridge, clothing (including school uniforms), or a bed for children like Stacey who are sleeping on the floor. We also run a food bank in Leicester city centre – the demand for which continues to rise.

People can fall into poverty for a huge variety of reasons; ill health or disability, the breakdown of a relationship or losing a loved one, and being made redundant are just some of them. We can get help to those who need it, when they need it. Without Charity Link’s help these vulnerable people would often simply slip through the net and the results can be tragic. Yet with our help, the improvement in quality of life and increased personal dignity can be immense.

Thomas was suffering from depression, having been housebound for a number of years due to severe osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. Thomas’s GP felt that a mobility scooter would greatly enhance his quality of life but Thomas had no means to fund this expensive item and it wasn’t available on the NHS. Charity Link raised the funds and after getting out in the fresh air again Thomas said he felt “as free as a bird”.

How you can help

• Support Poverty Action Week which takes place from 26th January – 1st February, including ‘wear a funky scarf day’ on Friday 30th (visit www.charity-link.org/poverty-action-week for details)
• Give a one off donation or become a regular giver
• Donate food for our food bank
• Join us at one of our events or take part in a fundraising challenge

Follow us on social media and help spread the word:

• Twitter @charitylink and @charitylinknths
• Facebook www.facebook.com/charitylink

Because of the unique way in which Charity Link works, accessing grants from charitable trusts that are available to help those in desperate need, for every £10 donated we can raise £50 – all of which goes to the individual or family who needs it.

This means that a donation of £10 turns into £50, enough to help provide a family with food for a week and £25 turns into £125, enough to buy a child like Stacey a bed.

Your support really will make a huge difference.

Get in touch:
www.charity-link.org
Tel: 0116 222 2220
Email: Rachel.markham@charity-link.org

Charity Link is a registered charity, no 1078271 and a company limited by guarantee, no 03761954.

*Names and images may be changed to protect identities but all stories are true