Charities

This month I want to shout out LOROS Hospice – a great local charity that cares for over 2,500 people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

They provide free, high-quality, compassionate care and support to terminally ill adult patients, their families and carers. 

LOROS Hospice has been supporting families for 30 years, and to celebrate they are holding a 30 for 30 campaign throughout September where they want you to help the hospice by doing 30 things, or raising £30!

Find out more on their website: loros.co.uk/30for30

Follow @LOROSHospice on Twitter  #LOROS30

Like LOROS Hospice on Facebook

I’m supporting West End Bares once again this year, raising vital money for The Make A Difference Trust for their fight against HIV and AIDS.

Hello my lovelies. Hope you’ve all had a great summer so far, and if you are going on holiday make sure you pack those wardrobe staples that I’ve been showing on ITV This Morning recently!

This month I am supporting The One Foundation – a fabulous charity that sells bottled water in the UK and gives 100% of the profits to help fund clean water in the world’s poorest communities.

There are still 663 million people in the world without access to safe drinking water. Many people walk up to 4 hours a day to collect water from the nearest stream or river. Over 2 million people die every year from waterborne diseases, and most are children under 5 years old. A child dies every 20 seconds from unsafe water or sanitation!

You can help by picking up a bottle of One water. You can find them in Starbucks, Holland & Barrett, Ocado and selected Tesco stores, and other shops; and if you’re a regular flyer, you’ll spot them in World Duty Free stores at all UK airports. Check out their website to see how buying their water really can help others. www.onedifference.org

Love you xx

Hope you lovely people are enjoying this gorgeous weather! This month I am supporting World Vision, the largest international children’s charity. On Friday 10th July they launch a campaign called Floral Friday. It’s your opportunity to wear florals and donate to help vulnerable children all around the world. Text FLORAL to 70060 to donate £5, then share your pics on Facebook and Twitter using the #FloralFriday hashtag! Lets use the flower power!

In 2013, donations from the UK transformed the lives of nearly 4m children. World Vision’s main focus is protecting children from early marriage, child labour, sexual violence and impacts of armed conflicts. World Vision has a continued presence in almost 100 countries, which means when disasters strike it is able to respond immediately and effectively to protect children, who are particularly vulnerable in emergencies.

#floralfriday

Follow @worldvisionuk on Twitter

Like World Vision UK on Facebook

As you guys know I love dogs, and this month Dolly and I are supporting the animal world by making PDSA my charity of the month. This great charity provides free treatment for sick and injured animals whose owners can’t afford their vet bills.

See below for more details, and support them by bagging some great bargains at your local shop or donate online! xx

At PDSA saving, protecting and healing pets is what we’re all about. We are dedicated to improving pet well being in three very special ways – by educating owners, preventing disease and carrying out life-saving operations.

Pets are members of the family. Our four-legged friends give unconditional love and they can often be a person’s only companion. They don’t ever deserve to become victims of economic and social hardship. They can’t help themselves…but we can – with your help. PDSA shops support the charity’s vital work by providing the money to fund life-saving operations for sick and injured pets. They are also a great place to pick up a stylish bargain! Every time you donate to PDSA or buy from one of its high-street shops, you are helping vets care for some of our most vulnerable pets.

To find out more go to www.pdsa.org.uk

Facebook – facebook.com/pdsa

Twitter – @PDSA_HQ

Hey beautiful people, what a crazy busy few weeks it’s been… just how I like it! This month, on 8th May, its World Ovarian Cancer Day, and to support this I want to promote the work of Target Ovarian Cancer who do an incredible job working to save lives and help diagnosed women live life to the full! They are a great charity, so please support them and check out the details below. BIG hug, love you xx

Each year, 7,000 women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the UK, and 4,300 lose their lives too soon. The UK has amongst the lowest ovarian cancer survival rates in Europe. We want to change this by:

• Improving early diagnosis, both with women and GPs across the UK
• Finding new treatments, through our UK-wide research programme
• Providing support for women, via events, publications and information.

We will join with ovarian cancer communities from around the world as we unite in a global movement to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. For women living with the ovarian cancer and their families and friends, World Ovarian Cancer Day has built, and will continue to build, a sense of solidarity against the disease. Annwen Jones, Chief Executive of Target Ovarian Cancer said: “We’re very excited about World Ovarian Cancer Day. A pledge to pass on the awareness message to at least five friends will highlight the importance of ovarian cancer awareness, and will save lives. As part of the World Ovarian Cancer Day steering group, we are very proud to be a founder member of such an important worldwide initiative.”

Please find out how you can support Target Ovarian Cancer’s work by visiting: http://www.targetovariancancer.org.uk/ovarian-cancer-fundraising

Find out more about World Ovarian Cancer day: targetovariancancer.org.uk/wocd
Join Target Ovarian Cancer on Facebook: facebook.com/TargetOvarianCancer
Follow Target Ovarian Cancer on Twitter: twitter.com/TargetOvarian

Hello my darlings! The clocks have rolled forward and summer feels closer than ever! This month I am supporting a great charity – Ditch The Label. This wonderful charity has one main message which I fully support – “It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, gay, straight, asexual, disabled, skinny, curvy, old, young, interested in sports, work in a salon or feel good in drag – we think that you are amazing”. I think that says it all!

Please check out their work and support them any way you can. Their anti-bullying survey report is out on 16th April so keep your eyes peeled for the results.

Loads of love xx

Ditch the Label are one of the UK’s largest and most ambitious anti-bullying charities. Their award-winning work spans across the UK with schools, colleges, young people, parents and organisations towards their objective of helping to combat bullying and to promote the importance of equality and diversity.

WHAT WE’RE CURRENTLY UP TO

• We provide pioneering digital advice, support and training for young people through our website and strategic partnerships with key online communities such as Habbo Hotel, The Student Rooms and Twitter.
• We produce pioneering research designed to explore the complex and changing nature of bullying and the wider impact that it has upon the mental, emotional and physical health of young people.
• We provide training to teachers, safeguarding professionals, parents and guardians and other adults involved with young people to share our best practises to help them tackle issues relating to bullying without regurgitating old, dull and ineffective strategies.
• We run public awareness campaigns to help shape and change societal attitudes surrounding equality and diversity. Recent campaigns have focused on mental health stigmas, appearance based bullying and a movement away from the villainisation of bullies.
• Working with celebrities, influencers and inspirational people – we provide a platform for others to share advice, stories and experiences for the benefit of those who are currently impacted by bullying.
• 45% of young people who experience bullying suffer in silence. We strategically work with other people and organisations to vary the touch points that we have with young people to make our support systems more accessible and natural. In the past, we have collaborated with celebrities, YouTubers, blockbuster movies, fashion designers, music festivals and on one occasion – a sausage dog called Albus.

www.ditchthelabel.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ditchthelabel

Twitter: @ditchthelabel

Hey lovelies, it’s March already and that means spring is just around the corner – always a great excuse to update your wardrobe! This month I am shouting out another amazing charity.

The Seashell Trust, based in Manchester, do a fantastic job of helping severely disabled children by providing residential education and care at their school and college. They want to build two new multi-sensory rooms, and with Imperial Leather they hope to raise over £100,000.

You can help them by buying a bar of Imperial Leather original soap! So scrub up and help this wonderful charity at the same time!

Lots of love
xxx

Seashell Trust is a charity that transforms the lives of profoundly disabled children and young people, from across the UK, with complex combinations of physical disabilities, learning and communication difficulties, brain damage, autism, visual and hearing impairments, by providing residential education and care.

Shower and bathing brand, Imperial Leather, has announce a 12-month partnership with Seashell Trust, with an aim to raise over £100,000 for the charity. The funds will be raised through sales of the iconic Original Bar Soap and be donated to Seashell Trust to create two new multi-sensory rooms.

The multi-sensory rooms are a vital part of their on-going interventions, helping the children to learn and understand the world around them. The rooms provide a stimulating multi-sensory environment using interactive lighting, music, and fragrances to stimulate the children’s senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell.

Follow the Seashell Trust on Twitter: @Seashelltrust
Like the Seashell Trust’s Page on Facebook: facebook.com/Seashelltrust

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.

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