Planet Buddies Expands on Conservation Efforts with Major Charities

Marine Conservation Society & World Land Trust Become Charity Partners of Child Friendly and  Sustainably Packaged Accessory Brand, Planet Buddies 

Planet Buddies, an environmentally conscious child friendly  accessory brand announces their first charitable partnerships in pledge to educate and support  conservation efforts and educate children through use of technology. 

Trek Kilimanjaro...from home! With Child Bereavement UK

To provide some light relief for families coping with being at home during lockdown, Child Bereavement UK are launching an exciting fundraising event that the whole family can get involved in.

They are challenging families to ‘trek’ to the summit of Kilimanjaro without even leaving the house!  This imaginative challenge will see participants keep active, work as a team and keep up their spirits while stuck indoors.  

Sennheiser launch 'Season of Giving' charity program

Donations of 1,500 headsets, worth €148,000, made to 7 charities globally 

Sennheiser unveil their Season of Giving program, donating huge quantities of the special edition GSP 305 gaming headsets to 7 charities across the globe. 

Tiny Tickers BBC Lifeline Appeal

Airing Sunday 21st May 2017, 4pm on BBC 1 & Wednesday 24th May 2017, 1pm on BBC 2

Every two hours a baby is born in the UK with a serious heart condition. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the biggest killer of babies in the UK, causing one in every 13 infant deaths. Early detection of heart defects means babies will get the treatment they need from the first opportunity – which can save lives, improve post-surgery survival rates and lead to a better long-term quality of life.

Tiny Tickers is the only national charity with a focus on improving the early detection, diagnosis and care of babies with heart conditions. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect and it is Tiny Tickers’ ambition that no baby should ever die with an undetected heart defect.

Learn more about baby CPR with St John Ambulance and Tesco

Last week I shared about St John Ambulance teaming up with Tesco to give away CPR babygrow in a fantastic campaign to raise awareness of baby CPR.

Whilst the event at selected Tesco stores where baby CPR was being demonstrated and the #CPRbabygrow was being given to parents has passed, St John Ambulance are giving away baby CPR babygrows via their facebook page (ends 19th October 2016).

As I think learning first aid and having knowledge of CPR and what to do when someone is choking, especially little ones as my baby choking is one of nightmares which I hope never comes true, I wanted to share with you a few of the video's that St John Ambulance have created to raise awareness and inform people on what to do when a baby is choking and how to perform baby CPR.

Rockin’ Baby Child To Child Charity.

I’ve written before about Rockin’ Baby’s amazing charity initiative Child To Child where for every item of Rockin’ Baby clothing purchased the company donates an item of clothing from their colourful Hero collection to children from impoverished backgrounds in Uganda. As I think the concept is amazing and I admire Rockin’ Baby even more for their fabulous charity initiative I was delighted to hear news about them making a clothing drop of the donated clothes to children in need.

World’s First Child To Child Kidswear Charity makes inaugural clothing drop with Rockin’ Baby donating their first 2000 items of clothing from their Hero collection of clothes to underprivileged and disadvantaged children in Uganda.

As part of their Child To Child Mission in parternship with ChildFund International, Rockin’ Baby have handed out 2000 brand new items of childrenswear, including brightly coloured and comfortable shorts and t-shirts, to children in villages across Kampala.

Thanks to the sales of their first childrenswear collection, which launched in Autumn/Winter 2015 Rockin’ Baby are able to help make a big difference to the lives of children across the world, starting by helping desperate children in Uganda, by providing them with much needed clothing.

The Giant Wiggle – Action for Children event.

Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar™ by taking part in The Giant Wiggle to help vulnerable children and Action for Children

Leading UK charity Action for Children is teaming up with The World of Eric Carle™ and the most read children’s book in the UK, The Very Hungry Caterpillar™, to get children’s centres, nurseries and other groups throughout the country to host Giant Wiggle events during the week of 21st-27th March 2016.

Children’s charity to repeat sweet success of cream tea delivery.

This summer renowned children’s charity Action Medical Research are giving cream tea lovers a fresh chance to indulge and satisfy their sweet tooth as its popular cream teas in a box scheme runs for a second time.

Following the sweet success of the first cream teas charity campaign, when thousands of cream teas were delivered to homes, schools and workplaces across the UK, the charity is running a second cream teas delivery in August.

To help promote the charity and raise funds for the worthwhile charity, Action Medical Research is calling upon supporters across the country to take part in its unique fundraising campaign whilst enjoying a sweet treat at the same time!

SpecialEffect Charity GameBlast Marathon.

Disability charity launches UK-wide 24-hour video game marathon weekend.

SpecialEffect, a charity who help people with disabilities to benefit from the fun and inclusion of video games, is running a GameBlast marathon weekend on 21-23 February 2014.  People of all ages across the UK are invited to play video game marathons with friends or family to raise money for the charity.

The sponsorship raised from the GameBlast marathons will provide funds to modify and provide technology and gaming equipment that will enable more people with disabilities to enjoy video games with their friends.

The charity is calling for teams to set themselves a fundraising target, register onthe website, and undertake their own sponsored marathons, which can last anything up to 24 hours during the weekend.  Every team that registers will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win gaming goodies.

Mark Saville, SpecialEffect Communications Officer said, “Many children across the UK can only watch their friends and family play video games because their disabilities prevent them from using a controller.  We want to change this and the money raised will enable the Special Effect team to create bespoke gaming equipment to bring joy to many families across the UK.” 

SpecialEffect will be running its own marathon from the Gameblast HQ, and will keep the world up to date with their progress through Facebook and Twitter.

For more information visit: www.specialeffect.org.uk/gameblast

 *  I have not been given any form of compensation for sharing this and have done so to support the fabulous work that the charity SpecialEffect does *

Know the glow - Childhood Eye Cancer Trust.

December is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in the UK.  One small charity is working extremely hard to make sure parents around the world ‘know the glow’ and take action if necessary.

Do you know the glow?

The ‘glow’ is a very subtle sign in a child’s eyes that their life may be at risk.

Childhood eye cancer ( retinoblastoma) is rare but can be deadly.

It can rob children of their sight, in most cases at least one of their eyes and from time to time, sadly, their life.  For those affected they can face years of treatment, dozens of examinations under general anaesthetic and the life-long impact of living with an artificial eye.

Yet many parents have never even heard of it.  More worrying, GPs too are failing parents by missing the symptoms – in 2012 72% of GPs who examined a child with retinoblastoma either missed the tumours altogether or misdiagnosed them as a less serious condition – delaying these children access to vital life-saving treatment.

Now the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) is campaigning to educate parents about the signs and symptoms so they can take action if they ever see the signs in their own child.  Early diagnosis offers the best chance of saving a child’s sight, preventing the need to have their eye or eyes removed and ultimately will save their life.

In 2011 CHECT convinced the Institute for Child Health to publish the signs of retinoblastoma in the Personal Child Health Record (red book) as prior to this there was no public information at all about the condition which is found in around 50 babies and children in the UK each year.

As children with Rb, as it is known for short, often show no other signs of illness, it is crucial that parents know what to look out for and this is why CHECT has released a series of posters online during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in hope of using people power to share these vital messages.  More than 100,000 people on Facebook have been reached so far since the beginning of the month.

A glow in the eye can of course be nothing to worry about – in most cases it is the light of the flash bouncing off the back of the eye  but CHECT reminds us that you cannot rule out serious eye conditions, which include cataracts among others, from a photograph alone and we should always get it checked out.

The good news is there is a simple test our GPs can do to rule out anything serious.  The red reflex test involves shining a torch into the eye of the child - the room should be dark so the pupils are nice and wide.  But CHECT advise to print off details of the test from the website and take them to the GP to help explain any concerns you have. http://www.chect.org.uk/cms/index.php/signs-and-symptoms/who-to-see

The second most common sign of this eye cancer is a squint – often dismissed as a lazy eye, CHECT is doing its best to raise awareness amongst GPs and health visitors to ensure all children with suspected squints are automatically checked with the red reflex test before being referred to a squint clinic.

There are four other signs of Rb which you can read about here http://www.chect.org.uk/cms/index.php/signs-and-symptoms

CHECT’s campaign runs until the end of the month, you can help support their efforts by liking their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Childhood-Eye-Cancer-Trust-CHECT/123729324370622) and more importantly by sharing their awareness posters. It’ll cost you nothing but could save a life.

*  Charity guest post *

Save Santa's Home!

Santa’s home is melting!!!

Help!!  Santa, the Elves, Rudolph, the other reindeer’s and all their arctic animals friends are in danger!!

Dear old Santa is finding it hard to keep a big smile on his face in spite of all the festive spirit and excitement of making little boys and girls across the country very happy at Christmas with the lovely gifts he delivers because he is worried about his home which is danger.

Santa is in desperate need of your help because without your help his home, the job he is passionate about and all the presents for children across the globe will be underwater and ruined thanks to climate change.

Tweeting bra Breast Cancer campaign - sponsored video.

Since losing my grandmother to breast cancer over 10 years ago breast cancer is an issue that is close to my heart.  Having lost a loved one to breast cancer I support campaigns that raise awareness of breast cancer and charities that raise money for the cause.

As I like to support breast cancer campaigns I wanted to share with you about Nestle Fitness’ latest video campaign where they are raising awareness for breast cancer and highlighting the importance of monthly breast self-check-ups.

Realising that due to busy lives some women simply forget to regularly check their breasts Nestle Fitness are aiming to remind women about the importance of regular breast self-check-ups with their innovative breast cancer campaign.

Recognising that in spite of hectic lives many women still find the time to check social media, Nestle Fitness have come up with a ground-breaking way to raise awareness for breast cancer and remind women about the significance of the monthly self-exam on the social media platform twitter with the unique Tweeting Bra.

"Show Your Spots, Let's Raise Lots!"

It is that time of year again; no I am not talking about Christmas I am in fact talking about BBC Children in Need. This Friday, the 16th of November 2012, BBC Children In Need will take over the BBC 1 Channel as the charity aims to raise as much money as they can to help make a difference in the lives of children and young people across the UK. The appeal night this Friday is a fun filled evening of entertainment with one-off specials of favourite programmes and celebrities doing crazy things to help raise money.

BBC Children in Need is a charity that aims to have a positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK, helping achieve a positive change. The charity’s vision is that every child “has a safe, happy and secure childhood and the chance to reach their potential”. With the help and support of the public BBC Children in Need makes a difference to lives of children and young children across the UK by supporting projects that works with children facing disadvantages including poverty and deprivation, disability and abuse or neglect. The money that people raise and donate goes towards helping disadvantaged children and young people across the UK; with every penny you raise and donate going towards the cause, making a real difference. BBC Children in Need promise that every penny goes towards helping children and young people as they use investment income and Gift Aid to cover all running costs rather than use the money that is directly raised and donated for this charity.

The Day is Here - Little Monkeys Sing for Charity

I think it’s great for little ones to be introduced to music from a young age as I believe not only is music entertaining but it is a fantastic way for little ones to learn.  We listen to a variety of different music with little man and he loves music!!  He loves a good boogie to music, keeping him active and burning off his excess energy and actions songs help encourage movements and motor skills whilst number and rhyme songs help his numeracy skills and learn new words.

As little man loves music and I believe it has numerous benefits for little ones I would love to take him to a music group for pre-schoolers but sadly one of the draw backs of living in the sticks is that there are no such classes in my area.  A particular well known national music group appeals to me, Monkey Music, as their classes seem great for little ones.  I love the fact that Monkey Music classes are highly interactive and children learn to make music on the finest percussion instruments rather than with toy insturments.  I also think its great that they have developed age specific classes to make the experience rewarding for little ones and that children learn and thrive with friends of similar ages.  I would love to take him to Monkey Music but alas the classes are too far which is a shame as Monkey Music offer a wide variety of music classes for pre-school children.

When I heard that Monkey Music were releasing a new charity single called “The Day is Here” on the 18^th of May I just had to share about it.  Because of Monkey Music not only are little ones benefiting and learning from music but a fantastic charity is also benefiting too.

#dosomethingyummy Survival

I am where I am today in my life because I survived depression. 

I have a fiancée who I love dearly because I managed to crawl out from the dark hole I had found myself living in and start to venture out into the World once more.  I am a mum to a beautiful boy because I did not let the fears and sadness that consumed my thoughts take over my life anymore, I decided to live life and take a chance on happiness.

#dosomethingyummy Getting Together

A few years ago I suffered from depression and during that time I drifted away from a lot of friends and sadly never really found the confidence to approach them again, build bridges and explain why I lost touch and what I had been doing with myself and my life.  That time in my life had a negative affect on my confidence and to this day I find it hard to make friends.  Over the years my confidence in meeting new people and making friends has grown but I still get nervous and tend to distance myself, worrying I won’t be liked.

Freedom

Freedom to me means to be free from the darkness of depression.  Years ago I suffered from depression.  It invaded my life, creeping into the crevices of my mind and filling it with darkness and despair.  This unseen illness sucked out the happiness and hope, it made me feel trapped and imprisoned. 

Even though there are still the odd day when I feel the darkness of depression in my mind, haunting me, I have shook off its grip and I now live with hope, happiness and love in my heart.  I feel free from its all consuming grasp.

I am free to live once again, to feel happy, cherish love, have hope, dream and enjoy my life.

This post was written in response to the thought provoking prompt “What does Freedom mean to you?” by Claire over at The Lazy Girls Guide To Life.  She has provided this prompt and linky to raise awareness of Oxfam’s Get Together Campaign.  She is helping to promote the #gettogetherforoxfam campaign leading up to International Womens Day on the 8^th of March.

Please help promote and support Oxfam’s Get Together Campaign and International Womens Day.  I am grateful that compared to so many people in this World I have so much freedom to live my life the way I want, to make my own choices.

#dosomethingyummy Family

I had a lovely childhood, growing up with my mum and younger sister in the countryside in beautiful south west Wales.  Our father left when I was young and I don’t remember him.  For personal reasons I never saw him and sadly he died when I was 10.  All I knew was growing up in a fatherless family, it was how it was for me and my mum gave me the best childhood I could ever dream of having.

#dosomethingyummy What My Child Means To Me

When I read about the CLIC Sargent Do Something Yummy awareness campaign I just had to join in as any causes connected to cancer or children are close to my heart and I like to do my bit to help worthy causes like this. 

Yummy Mummy is a fundraising campaign run by the children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent.  For the last six years mums all across the UK have been raising money for this fantastic charity that helps children with cancer and their families by taking part in Yummy Mummy Week.  This year mummies are asked to Do Something Yummy to help raise money for CLIC Sargent during the Yummy Mummy week that will take place from 10th-18th March 2012.

90 Words of Support for Breakthrough Breast Cancer

When I learnt that Kate on Thin Ice was looking for 90 kind bloggers to write about an important woman in their life in 90 words to make a difference and help Breakthrough Breast Cancer I just had to join in and show my support.  The 90 words can be about any woman that matters to you – a grandmother, a mum, a daughter, a friend, a woman who means something to you.

Did you know that around 1000 women die from breast cancer every month?  One in eight women will develop breast cancer at sometime in their lifetime.   It is important to note that men also get breast cancer.  The good news is that more people are surviving breast cancer due to greater awareness, improved treatments and better screening.