Charities
Charity in the St Christopher's Cities
This month I reached out to the managers of the St Christopher's Inns and irritated them (in a similar fashion to athlete's foot) until they spilled the beans on their charitable endeavours during June. There's some surf and sea support in Newquay, a teddy bear's picnic in Hammersmith and some biking action in Brighton.
Charity Paddle in Newquay
On June 5 there will be a charitable paddle on surf boards from Watergate Bay to Towan Beach. That's 2.25 nautical miles or more than 160 lengths in a 20 meter swimming pool. St Christopher's Backpacker Hostel in Newquay completes this stretch of sea every year for a different charity so keep your eyes peeled and be the first to know who all that paddling will be helping in 2007. Be sure to check out www.justgiving.com/charitypaddle for more details.
If You Go Down To The Woods Today In Hammersmith
Hammersmith is warming up to the grand re-opening as a Belushi's and St Christopher's Inn by laying down some roots in the local community.
The Acorn To Oak Children's Trust is a charity that helps to raise funds for children who suffer from a broad range of health conditions such as Cancer, Leukaemia, neurological disorders, heart defects and other terminal conditions.
The Trust desperately needs £12,000 to help four very special children who just want a chance at a normal life. Here are their stories.
Summer is only two-years-old and suffers with Cerebral Palsy. She will never be able to walk, talk or feed herself but she can communicate and it's important to help her do that. She uses facial expressions to do this at the moment and needs mental stimuli to help in the development of this. The Trust are hoping to get Summer sensory equipment for her bathroom and bedroom to give her more of the music and bright colours that she loves and find new ways for her to communicate.
Brothers Harry and Jack are 12 and ten-years-old and they both suffer from severe Autistic Spectrum Disorder. They have limited speech and rely on strict routines and schedules to provide the security and stability that they need to participate in life. The hardest thing for the boys to do is make sense of the outside world but a touch screen computer will help to change this, teach them loads of social stories, allow them to communicate their needs and enjoy a variety of games.
Last but by no means least is Kim. She is 16-years-old and suffers with Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy. She depends on her mother and carer because she is not mobile. She didn't get the opportunity to take her GCSEs because her school felt she could not cope. Kim felt that they only ever saw her wheelchair and not her true potential so she now attends college, is doing well and plans to take a business course. Kim is learning to use a computer at college but the facilities aren't there to cater to her personal needs. This means she has to go home everyday at 1pm. With her own specialist laptop this would change and Kim would be able to practice her skills and develop the confidence she needs to keep up in her classes.
So what can you do to help? Simply put you can buy a raffle ticket to win a teddy bear from Hammersmith or you can get in touch with the charity by sending an e-mail to aocfund@hotmail.com and ask what you can do.
Have A Heart
A little birdie at Greenwich told me that a bike ride from London to Brighton had to be worth a mention and given the distance involved, the necessity for Lycra and the good cause that it's in aid of, I have to agree.
The British Heart Foundation has organised this event on June 17 to raise vital funds for the people that need help to maintain a healthy heart. One in three of us are affected by heart disease at some point in our lives, so the chances are that you know someone who's had heart problems.
27,000 riders will be taking part in this spectacular event so get involved and help save some lives. To make a much needed donation take a trip to https://www.bhf.org.uk/default.aspx?page=6978 and while you're there, why not take the time to look through the website at all the good work carried out by the Foundation?
