Help Sue Ryder support elderly and sick people in need

Hello and welcome to my blog on the Sue Ryder charity. I would like to start by saying thank you for visiting and reading my blog. The aim of this blog is to raise awareness about the sick and elderly people suffering their illnesses alone without family, friends or support. So, why support Sue Ryder? Supporting Sue Ryder means understanding the basic social needs of sick and elderly people who are fighting illnesses and diseases alone. Sue Ryder relies heavily on volunteers and donations through their several charity shops around the UK. I am aware that the attitude towards the elderly throughout the UK is unsympathetic and often careless. I am therefore attempting to change the views on loneliness and people’s behaviour towards sick and elderly people, particularly those without any support or motivation to continue fighting.

• You may be wondering how helping the elderly and sick would affect or benefit you – you may not be terminally ill yourself – but I would like to inform you on how supporting this charity can benefit you in the future. We all know someone who will develop an incurable illness at some point, and all of us will eventually grow old and elderly, so don’t wait until it’s too late before supporting the Sue Ryder charity.
• Jane was born with a hole in her heart, and although she lived longer than doctors expected, in her early 60s her health began to weaken.
• She had been in hospital for several weeks when the staff told her daughter, Vicki, that there was nothing more that could be done for her mum, and referred her to their local Sue Ryder hospice. Vicki dreaded telling her mum – they’d always thought of the hospice as a sad and gloomy place – but Jane just wanted to be somewhere she could receive the medical care and support she wanted.
• The Sue Ryder hospice gave Jane more than just specialist medical treatment; they gave her peace of mind.
• “Gone were the tubes and machines she’d been attached to in hospital. Instead, she sat looking as relaxed and pretty as ever in her nightgown with her own duvet, just as if she was at home. Mum was no longer a dying patient: she was back to being my Mum.”

Read more about Jane’s story here: Jane's Story

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog! For more information on Sue Ryder and their work as a charity, please visit:
http://www.sueryder.org/.
It would be really helpful if you could leave a comment giving some general feedback, and it would really help me if you could also mention your hometown and country (if not in the UK).
Thanks again,
Lauren

‘Support the Wounded’ at Help for Heroes

Hi, I’m Jessica. Thanks for showing an interest in my Blog! Help for Heroes help in a variety of ways including Army, Navy and the RAF veterans that have been injured whilst fighting for our country. The war in Afghanistan may be nearly over, but for those who have suffered life-changing injury; their personal battles are just beginning. This is why we need to donate and support this amazing charity. Once you’ve read my Blog, I hope that you will know a bit more about Help for Heroes and some problems ex-servicemen and women have faced.

Here is Royal Marine Mark Ormrod’s Story. It was Christmas Eve 2007 when Mark was involved in getting one half of his section into their firing positions. It was when he went to get into his firing position that his life changed completely.

He set off an IED (Improvised Explosive Device)!!

After the explosion his first thoughts were to stand up and start fighting back to the enemy. With all the confusion and everything going on, he knew something wasn’t right. As the sand and dust began to settle down he looked down and saw that both of his legs were missing. He needed 28 pints of blood. After he got into hospital and was starting to recover, in his own words he said to the nurse ‘The morphine’s making me feel crazy it looks like my arms not there’ He remembers seeing the nurses face and she said ‘Mark your arms not there’. Mark had both of his legs amputated up to the knee and his right arm amputated just above the elbow. After 4 weeks of lying in a hospital bed, he was released from hospital in a wheel chair. His family were staying

right across the road in a flat that the military provided. One of the most depressing times for him was when he discovered he couldn’t do the simplest of tasks, for example to be able to fit through the doorway unless it had been widened for him. He couldn’t get up because his legs were too sore and the floor looked a million miles away. Marks treatment has paid off and he is living a happy life once again.

The cost of Marks treatment was about £115,000. The 2010-11 financial years was the worst year so far for amputations in Afghanistan, often caused by hidden improvised explosive devices. There were 75 over that period alone. Since then it has declined markedly, with 24 in 2012. Although as the situation is supposed to be improving, that may feel too high still for many. Help for Heroes need your donations to make sure every wounded soldier associated with H4H gets the same support and care as Mark did.

As Mark said “The injuries I sustained in Afghanistan changed my life…but they do not define it…”

Thank you so much again for reading my blog, I really appreciate it. Please now post me a response with your thoughts. In particular it would be great if you could write just a few words to answer to the following questions – and help in any way you can. Please feel free to have a look at the website: http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/ . Please ‘Support the Wounded’!

• Had you heard of Help for Heroes before?
• Do you now feel more informed about Help for Heroes?
• Have I changed your opinion about Help for Heroes? If so how?
• Would you now support my campaign by donating or doing one of their fundraising events? If yes what?

If you do post a response, please can you tell me where you come from i.e. your home town/ country. (If not UK!)

Thank you so much for taking an interest in my Blog!
Jessica

Dig toilets, not graves – keep the world clean, support WaterAid

Hello, my name is Izzi. I will be talking to you about my chosen charity WaterAid. Trying to stop lack of sanitation in the world is a hard job, but WaterAid is making it possible. You reading this blog could change a family’s life. Providing villages, schools and family’s with clean water and sanitation WaterAid needs your help to keep this world healthy, which is why I am writing this blog, that’s what I am here to explain.

2.5 billion People don’t have access to adequate sanitation and 60million children per year are born into homes with poor sanitation. This should stop. No one should be born into a world not being able to access water that isn’t dirty and germ ridden. Here is Orke’s story.

Orke Otta and her seven children live in Abba Roba, in the Konso district of Ethiopia. She told us that before WaterAid started working in her village, her family suffered from giardia, a parasite transmitted in dirty water, which causes chronic diarrhoea. A round trip to collect water took around four and a half hours, and Orke's children would often have to wait until someone had collected water for their first drink of the day. People from the village had been bitten by snakes and died, or fallen and injured there selves when collecting water. Orke had to make the journey even while pregnant. Without water Aids help Orke would have died. WaterAid can only carry on to save lives with your donations and support.

Many other Women in Orke’s village go through this, losing count of how many months and days they have been pregnant so still collect water. They had no choice.
It would be amazing if you could leave a comment in Support of my charity answering the following questions.

• Do you now feel more informed
• Would you consider doing the following – Donating, join a fundraiser (London to Paris) or simply tell friend and family
• Have you heard of this charity before

To find out more about my charity and more fundraising events go to www.wateraid.org

Thank you so much for your time spent. Leave your country and hometown when leaving a comment.
Izzi

RNLI – Sea them save lives.

Hi, my name is Hannah.

Thank you very much for taking an interest in my Blog! Trying to help the RNLI save lives at sea is something that I feel very strongly about.

Although many people have heard of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, they don’t realise all of the hard work and determination it takes from volunteers. At the end of my blog, I hope that you know a lot more about this charity and the work that it does. Hopefully you will want to help!

Last year, the RNLI saved, on average, 22 people every day. This works out as 8030 people each year.

One of these people could have been you!

People don’t choose to get stuck.  People get into difficulties because they are unaware of the dangerous conditions. The sea and the coast is a dangerous place. There are always accidents waiting to happen. It is an accident.

Imagine you or one of your family getting caught out by the tide and the RNLI wasn’t there to help.

If you aren’t there for them now, they won’t be there for you later.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the only charity that has the skills and equipment to save peoples’ lives at sea. It takes hundreds of hours of volunteer’s time to set up all of the equipment and training needed to save lives, possibly your life.

Time is freely and willingly given and, unfortunately, sometimes lives are given so that you can be helped.

Why not take part in some of their fund raising events, such as sand castle building competitions, RNLI open days, raffles, purchasing of cards etc.  The events are fun for all the family and it is an experience that you will never forget.

Thank you so much again for reading my blog. Please post me a response with your thoughts. If possible, it would really help me if you were to answer a couple of these questions. If you want any other details about the Royal National Lifeboat Institution then please don’t hesitate to visit the website. rnli.org/.

Please help and sea them save lives!

• Do you now feel as though you know more about the work that the RNLI do?
• Do you care more about this charity?
• Would you now be prepared to do things such as…

1. Make a donation to the RNLI
2. Take part in a fund raising activity
3. Sign up to get the RNLI magazines/books
4. Support the RNLI on eBay
5. Pass on the knowledge that I have given to you.

If you do add a response then please put your hometown and country (if not the UK)

Once again thank you so much for reading my blog,
Hannah.

ONE Billion Reasons why YOU should be supporting CAFOD in their work against Poverty and fighting for Civil Rights globally

Hi everyone!

Don’t worry if you don’t know who and what CAFOD do already because I am about to tell you! So I really want to show you all what CAFOD is and how they help so many people all around the world because they are a fantastic charity that really deserves and needs your help! They are basically a charity based in England and Wales who help people globally against poverty, diseases and support people who are campaigning for certain causes. I really really hope that if you read through this blog, you will maybe think about supporting my charity by signing petitions, donating and raising money for them because they are such a super charity that make a lot of people happy globally. I hope that you will understand this charity better at the end and have a different opinion about helping people in other countries in need. Hopefully, this will encourage you to support them and tell other people about CAFOD!!!

Now, I really want to tell you WHY you should CARE because it is really important to me and basically everyone in the world that needs your help!

• Ok so point number 1 is, imagine if you lived in a poor country that was in debt, you had no rights to speak up against anything you didn’t believe in and you were living in serious poverty with hardly any food, water, education for a big family? How would you feel if people around the world weren’t helping you because of a simple reason like they couldn’t be bothered?
• Point number 2 is, 55% of the people in Britain don’t help and support charities because they can’t be bothered to make the effort or think they won’t be listened. If you donate money to CAFOD, it isn’t wasted or stolen, it is put into buying food, blankets and water supplies for the needy. I want everyone who reads this blog to change that by supporting this charity. You may think that if you sign one petition, it won’t change anything, but trust me, every comment/signing counts!
• Point number 3 is, if you do support a charity, (hopefully CAFOD), then you will feel like you have done something good for other people and haven’t just said that you will do it later and then don’t.
• If no-one supported charities like CAFOD then all around the world poverty and human abuses would thrive getting worse and worse every day. Poverty and no rights are getting better, however all the time that we are sitting down on the sofa watching T.V. and eating chocolate, people are dying of hunger and cold.  CAFOD needs to help change that by receiving as much support as they can get. They use the money that YOU give them to buy all the essentials for people to survive on in the poorer countries. If you sign a petition, this helps to get a meeting with the government to discuss a law or discuss a growing issue.
• YOU could change a person’s life. Give them food, water, education and their civil rights. YOU could save them from a painful death, or eternal misery. ONLY YOU can do that.

So please post at the bottom of this blog your thoughts and feelings towards CAFOD and the amazing work they do for the people around the world.
If you could also take 2 minutes to answer these questions then that would be great.

1. Had you heard about CAFOD before you read this blog?
2. Do you now feel like you now know enough about CAFOD so that you would support, donate or fundraise to help them with their cause?
3. Would you tell your family and friends about CAFOD and convince them to help in any way that they can?
4. And finally please tell me where you live, (country or hometown) if not the UK. This is just so that I can see how many people in different parts in of the world have read this blog!

If you want to read more about CAFOD and what they do in more detail or find out how to support them, then follow this link, http://www.cafod.org.uk/. So thank you very very much for reading my blog and I really hope that you feel differently about my charity, CAFOD, now!

Hannah

A stepping stone to a loving home.

Thank you very much for showing an interest in my Blog. I'm Brooke, helping and supporting Animals In Distress (AID) is something I feel strongly about. People hear of Cancer Research and Dogs Trust but Animals In Distress isn't very known. AID is a charity which cares for and re homes dogs cats and rabbits. I hope that after reading my Blog you will know more about the Charity and what it does.

Here is Molly's story. Molly was a stray, who was found in an alley way when Animals In Distress came to her rescue. She was abandoned by her owner and was suffering from an illness. AID helped her by giving her a safe and caring home and giving her the right medicine and food which made her healthy and loved once more. Animals In Distress is also known as the kennel of hope. If you want to help a dog like Molly then please donate some money to Animals In Distress and then maybe you can save an Animals life too.

 Thank you so much again for reading my Blog. Please do now post me your thoughts and if you would be able to answer a few questions below I would be very grateful.

1. Had you heard of Animals In Distress before?
2. Do you now feel more informed about the Charity?
3. Would you now be prepared to donate to Animals In Distress?
4. Would you help support Animals In Distress?

If you do post a response please can you tell me where you come from i.e. you home town and country (if not UK)

Thank you so much for taking an interest in my Blog!
Brooke

Not all dogs have a home to belong in – Help Dogs Trust today

I see that you have an interest in Dogs seeing as you clicked on my blog, well then let me just say; Hello, I’m Basia, and thank you for taking your time to read my citizenship blog. I am advocating Dogs trust, which you may have heard of due to adverts in magazines or on TV. I feel very strongly about this topic, and I hope that after reading my blog you will too, if you don't already.

There are several points that form my advocacy, these are:

• To raise awareness, I feel that lots of people are not aware of just how many dogs are not so well off as others.
• To lower the amount of homeless dogs, by getting people to support and donate, and telling them what to do to help.
• We must stop fit and healthy dogs, getting abandoned because their owners can't handle them anymore.

Did you know that out of an estimated 500 million dogs 75% of them are stray?

This is Finch's story:

Finch was found wandering around the streets with no collar, alone and injured, so Dogs Trust took him in, and nursed him back to health. At first Finch was a bit stubborn and he would always bark and growl at other dogs, but the people at Dogs Trust trained him to be nice to other dogs and humans. He has now been re-homed in Harefield - West London, with a lovely new family with two daughters who absolutely adore him.

 Thank you again for taking time to read my blog. Please do now leave me a response with your thoughts and answer the following questions, and help in any way that you want to. If you have any further queries, please feel free to go to http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/

• Have you ever heard of the charity, Dogs Trust?
• Do you now feel more informed about what this charity does?
• Would you now consider doing any of the following:

1. Make a donation to Dogs trust
2. Sign up to the Dogs Trust website and receive information on what they are doing?
3. Tell family, friends are relatives about Dogs Trust?

If you chose to post a response, please can you include your hometown and/or country (if not in the UK), because it would really help me!!

Thank you so much for taking time to read my blog
Basia

Young Carers shouldn’t be alone - Support YoungMinds

Hi, I’m Anna. Thanks you so much for taking interest in my blog about the charity YoungMinds and more specifically about young carers. I feel strongly about the issue of young carers because it could be me in the near future or it could be you, so I believe that people should be informed about how to receive help and support if you ever find yourself in this situation because 1in 8 teens will or have already become a young carer and out of the 700,000 young carers in the UK, 13,000 of them will carer for someone more than 50 hours a week.

James is a young carer and cares for his mother, brother and sister since he was very young. When James is not at college he is helping around the house. This means he doesn’t have any time of his own to relax and spend time out with friends. In 2013 James appeared on Children In Need and took part in the rickshaw challenge, the money raised from this event goes towards funding for a local charity that provides him with a place to go and enjoy himself with other young carers! Young Minds offers support for parents if they are struggling to find a way to help their child. With the training of professionals, YoungMinds can provide you with 1:1 sessions to help the child to talk about their problems.
 

Thanks again for reading my blog! I would appreciate it if you would please write me a response with any comments you have on my blog. Specifically, could you write some words to answer to the following questions?

• Had you ever heard of a young carer before reading my blog?
• Do you now feel more informed about the difficulties faced by young carers?
• Would you consider helping them in the following ways:

• Donating to “Young Minds” or a charity helping young carers- so they can fund their professionals to help the Young Carers
• Taking part in a fundraising event?
• Taking part in any campaigns?
• Multi-year investment?
• Spread the word about young carers to parents, friends, and relatives?

If you do post a response please tell me where you come from- Hometown and country (if not UK)

If you require more information about Young Minds please visit http://www.youngminds.org.uk

Thank you once again for taking interest in my blog!!
Anna

Would you let a child die for something they can’t stop - join the fight against cancer

Hi, my name is Amelia thank you so much for showing an interest in my blog and supporting my work! In my opinion helping children with cancer is very important and needs to be addressed immediately. Every day children all over the world die of childhood cancers like leukaemia, neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. I hope my blog will inform you more on how Children with Cancer UK helps children with this terrible illness. It’s my hope that after reading my blog you will me a lot more informed on the charity and will consider helping the charity yourself.

My cousin Bella was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia cancer at the age of three in February 2006. This is no age to deal with such an awful thing but she and her family had no choice they were pushed into the world of cancer with no warning and no way out. Bella had year’s chemotherapy,  treatment of radio theory and those are only touching on what she had to endure, there were countless operations and different types of medication. She spent most of her time in intensive care away from her family. Bella went to three different hospitals in London - Great Ormond Street, Chelsea & Westminster and St George's Hospital. Twice Bella’s family were told she had recovered and could carry on with her life but the cancer cells in her body had grown to strong. Her cancer kept on coming back. In 2010 Bella’s elder sister and only sibling made the courageous decision to donate some bone marrow from her own body to her sister as she was the only relative with the same marrow type. Octavia was only 11 years old at the time and this was a huge deal, she was extremely brave. The operation went fantastically and the family were told that after this Bella had a 98% chance of having a full recovery. Unfortunately, not long after the hospital told Bella’s parents that the treatment wasn’t working and they could not do anything to keep the cancer away. They had to make the decision to keep her on drugs even though they couldn’t save her, put her into a children’s hospice or take her home and care for her there until she died. Bella returned home for a big Christmas with all the family. Over the next months they gave Bella as many good experiences and opportunities as they could. Bella then passed away on the 19th of May 2011, her family waited up with her all night, she was a very much loved girl.

Children with cancer UK helps children like Bella and her family deal with these hard times, they provide opportunities and days out. They fund life saving research in 50 projects all over the UK. They fund hospice care, help people with financial issues, accommodation for families and even children overseas. We couldn’t do it without them. Please, you can help save lives of people like Bella by donating a small amount to Children with Cancer. To find out more go to http://www.childrenwithcancer.org.uk/. Don’t let a child die of something that you can stop.

Thank you for showing an interest in my blog please could you leave a comment and some feedback.

Rowcroft Hospice do all they can to support cancer victims - will you?

Thank you for your interest in my advocacy – I’m Tallulah and I believe it is very important to support people coping with terminal illness. This is what Rowcroft Hospice aim to do on a local basis in South Devon. I hope that when you have read this you will:

• Feel more informed about Rowcroft Hospice.
• Want to support this admirable charity.

Jean Mary was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and two weeks after this tragic news, her partner died from a heart attack from the stress and sheer heartbreak. She was distraught and this lead to her extreme and rapid deterioration. She was admitted into hospital in the night and three days later was told that the cancer had spread to the brain. She was then taken to the Inpatient Unit at Rowcroft Hospice and her family moved in for three days, staying in the family room and taking it in turns during the night to sit by her side. Volunteers gave every bit of care and advice hey could – from a simple cup of tea to specialist medical treatment and art therapy. When she passed away her family were given all the understanding and advice they deserve after such a tough time.

However, despite the fact that Rowcroft are doing so much already – they need your help. In south Devon, more and more people are being diagnosed with cancer or other terminal illnesses, and Rowcroft are supporting people at a rapidly increasing rate. Unless they have the money they can’t continue their diligent care for everyone who needs it. It’s so easy to support – not like many charities where you can only donate. To support the Hospice you could:

• Buy from one of their local charity shops            
• Go on the sponsored ladies only night walk around the bay.           
• The 5K ‘colour rush’ a run followed by live bands.
• There is the Annual Christmas Ball.
• And there are so many other ways!

For more information and event details, please visit http://www.rowcrofthospice.org.uk

You could change a families’ darkest times to a time that they can spend with their loved ones without worrying, and that will mean so much. YOU could be the person who makes life more bearable, when it is the most important time to enjoy life – but so many are still in pain and anxious about their families and the future.

Ella Rowcroft, who wanted to provide care for tuberculosis patients and pregnant women who couldn’t afford private hospitals founded Rowcroft Hospice in 1937 – Rowcroft was a community Hospital helped out by generous locals.

Throughout the years, the aim of the charity has changed – it is now a hospice offering 24-hour care and support to terminal illness sufferers and their families - but the key value of community remains at its heart.

Despite that this is a depressing issue, Rowcroft workers remain upbeat and cheery so that they can give their patients the best days of their lives, however it suits them.

Thanks again for your time. I’d be so grateful if you’d please leave a response below – specifically to these questions.

1. Had you heard about Rowcroft Hospice before reading my blog?
2. Would you consider supporting in any way you could? (If so how?)
3. Would you tell family/friends about the charity?
4. Where do you live - town (and country if not UK)

Thank you - Tallulah

Support the Blue Cross- Save a poor, disadvantaged animal`s life!

First of all I would like to say thank you for choosing to read my blog. My name is Olivia and I feel very strongly about fighting against animal cruelty and abandonment. I`m am advocating The Blue Cross and trying to raise awareness so people are more informed and know what they can do to help save an animal`s life. My aims for this blog however are to:

Raise awareness and spread the word of all the good work The Blue Cross do,
Inform you of the ways you can donate,
And gain more supporters for this cause.

I think you should support The Blue Cross for many reasons. One being that they do so much to help animals and their work really goes un-noticed. Are you an animal lover? Do you own any pets? If so then what would you do if your pet had to go into emergency care and was being looked after by The Blue Cross, then your pet made a full recovery thanks to all the hard work The Blue Cross did to keep your pet alive? Would you want that hard work to go un-noticed? NO! This is one of the reasons why I am advocating this cause.

The Blue Cross rescue and save over 30,000 pets a year. They require a lot of medical treatments and other things too, to save this amount of pets and this is where you come in.

You can help the Blue Cross by:

• Fundraising
• Donating
• Visiting a Centre
• Volunteering at a Centre
• Adopt an animal from the Blue Cross.
• Please see their website (http://www.bluecross.org.uk) /for more fantastic ways to contribute.

Flush`s Story

Flush was an un-healthy young kitten, who lived in an un-loving home. She was unfortunately flushed down a 4 foot drain and was stuck down there for many days until her owners neighbour heard her crying for help from her drain. She phoned up the Blue Cross, within minutes they arrived and rescued this poor, starving cat from her sewer. The Blue Cross nursed Flush back to health and now Flush is living in a happy, loving home with new owners who adopted her.

Once again thank you so much for showing an interest in my blog and taking the time to read it. If possible could you leave a comment which answers these questions?

• Have you ever heard of The Blue Cross?
• Do you now feel more informed about this cause?
• Would you now be prepared to take any of the actions mentioned above to help out The Blue Cross? Please specify.

If you do post a response could you please include where you come from? Eg. Your home town and country (if not UK.)

Thank you SO much for reading my blog!
Olivia :)

Lost memories; lost histories- support Alzheimer’s Society today

Hi, we’re Olivia and Izzy and we’d just like to thank you for taking an interest in our blog! We support Alzheimer’s Society who try to combat a disease called dementia. If you, by the end of our blog, support Alzheimer’s society yourself then it would be great if you could tell your friends and family about this blog and the charity- or even donate money or time to Alzheimer’s Society. The aims of our advocacy is to make sure the latter happens, that you feel more informed, can inform others and help to make a change.

Dementia is a terrible disease which affects the part of your brain that stores short term memories, currently there are 800,000 people living with Alzheimer’s in the UK alone, this figure is expected to treble to 135 million by 2050. Dementia is most common in middle aged to elderly people and destroys their lives and the lives of those closest to them.

“Dementia is my dad sitting in his care home, looking at the door, waiting for my mum, who died a year ago.”

If this quote doesn’t send shivers up your spine then we don’t know what will. Imagine your mum, one day you wake up and she can’t remember who you are. Imagine how scared you would be, how alone you would feel. That’s why we have Alzheimer’s nurses who will help care for your loved one when you can’t.

Unfortunately, at the moment there is no cure for this disease, this is what Alzheimer’s society raises money for. To find a cure, so that future generations don’t have to go through what people before them have. Currently Alzheimer’s society have raised around £10 million for dementia drug research

You can help too, whether it’s telling a friend, holding a fundraising event or even donating your time to help out at one of their bases. Remember every penny counts towards beating Alzheimer’s disease.

Sandy’s story

“One afternoon, I left work and did not know how to get home. This was the start of a "downhill no return" into the Alzheimer's world. I am now in my world, a world of confusion, fatigue, and most days, in severe pain.
I know there are days that I am more confused than others, and there are some days I am more agitated than others. I used to be this very independent, overachiever. And now, I am this very dependent underachiever, which causes me much frustration. Where things used to be very easy for me, all things now I find very complicated – even the easiest task. But I now have a part-time caregiver, and she has been a lifesaver for me. She gets me out of the house, and I try to with my time with her help others. I go to a support group meeting near my home, which has been very helpful. I am hoping there will be a support group for early-onset Alzheimer's disease coming to my area very soon, and I am looking forward to it.”

If you don’t want this to happen to you or your family then please, spread the word!

If you would like to know more then visit their website!

Thank you so much for reading our blog and if it’s okay could you please answer some questions in the comments?

Do you now feel more informed about how Alzheimers Society can aid people with dementia?

Would you be prepared to do any of the following to help Alzheimers Society in their mission to eventually eliminate dementia…?
this number needs to go up and up if we are to beat Alzheimer’s disease. To raise money, Alzheimer’s society hold fundraising events such as: fun runs and raffles.

1. Make a donation to Alzheimers Society?
2. Take part in a fundraising event or campaign?
3. Tell your family and friends about Alzheimers Society to either inform them or encourage them to take part in any of the above

If you do leave a response, please let us know where abouts you’re from (e.g. hometown and country – if not UK.)
THANKS!

Would you leave an animal homeless?

Thank you for taking a moment to look at my blog, hopefully by the end of reading it, you will feel the need to help this charity as strongly as I do. Animals being left and abandoned on the streets is a very serious issue, and the Blue Cross put all of their effort into preventing this from happening. I am trying to raise awareness for this charity because they work so hard to help brighten up the lives of these animals, but do not get the notice they deserve for this or the level of funding they desperately need. Donating to the Blue Cross could help an animal hold on that little bit longer to stay alive, and hundreds of lives could be saved. Some reasons why you should consider donating are:

• The Blue Cross never put a price on an animal’s life
• Lots of people know about the Blue Cross, but fail to notice all of the hard work they put themselves through to help as many animals as possible
• They vaccinate, microchip and neuter all animals in their care

This is Ella, my cat that I adopted from The Blue Cross around two years ago. She came from an abusive home before she was given to the Blue Cross, as her old owner couldn’t be bothered to take care of her anymore. The woman who had her before used to leave her outside for up to 24 hours, and when Ella wasn’t being ignored, she was being shouted at for ‘not being the lap-cat this woman wanted her to be’.  But it didn’t end there. When Ella’s old owner decided that she wasn’t worth keeping anymore, she told lies about Ella to the Blue Cross staff just to get rid of her, such as ‘she hates being brushed and hates attention’ and ‘she brings in things that she’s caught on a regular basis, she won’t come in when she’s called’ and that ‘she bites and scratches when you try and pick her up.’ By the time Ella was taken in by the Blue Cross, it had come to the point where she wasn’t living anymore, just existing. And if that wasn’t bad enough, because of the false review her old owner had written about her, Ella was in the re–homing centre for over four months. The Blue Cross noticed that Ella had been unhappy in her old home, and had built up a wall around herself. They worked extremely hard to encourage her to come out of her shell, and eventually succeeded in breaking the downward spiral Ella was plunging into, and turned her into the sweet cat that I know and love.

Thank you so much again for reading my blog, I hope you now feel more informed about the work of the Blue Cross. Feel free to leave me a response with your thoughts - it would be great if you could answer the questions below. More details on the Blue Cross can be found on their website at  http://www.bluecross.org.uk/ Please help in any way you feel you can and save the lives of sick, injured and abandoned animals!

• Had you heard about the Blue Cross before?
• Do you now feel more informed about the Blue Cross’ work?
• Would you now consider donating/helping the Blue Cross in any way you feel you can?

If you do post a response, please can you state where you come from - for example – your home town or country if not the UK?

Thank you very much for taking an interest in my blog, find more at http://tggscitizenship.blogspot.co.uk/

Heather

Help end of life care - Help Rowcroft Hospice

Hello, my name is Natasha. First of all thank you for showing an interest in my blog. You may have heard of Rowcroft Hospice before, for those who haven’t – they are a great cause that helps and supports people with terminal illnesses as well as their friends and family. Their main aim is “To take care further; demonstrating compassion and humanity in providing relief from symptoms, pain and stress of a serious illness even if it is incurable and to improve the quality of life for the patient, friends and family.” I recently learned about Rowcroft and the amazing work they do there, that is why I chose it as my charity.

Rowcroft Hospice is based in Torquay but provides care across 300 square miles of South Devon. Rowcroft relies on donations for over 70% of its funding. Even though it relies heavily on donation it also helps to raise money by setting up charity events - lots of money is raised through these charity events, they include events such as; Skydiving, Rowcroft Sleep Walk and The Rowcroft Big Bake. However Rowcroft always need more charitable donations as the current yearly costs for all the hospice’s services stand at over £7.5 million. Rowcroft receives less than a quarter of this from the NHS, leaving the hospice needing to raise £16,000 each day, 365 days a year, to provide its vital services.

Why Should You Care?
If you or someone you knew needed their services they would be there willingly to help. It is really important that people keep donating so that they will always be there for people who need intense round the clock care. Even if you don’t need Rowcroft’s services it could make a great impact on the community if they weren’t there to care for people with terminal illnesses.

How Could You Help?
You can take part in their charity events; Rowcroft Skydive, Sleep Walk, Colour Rush etc.
Simply donate some money via their website or their hospice in Torquay.
As well as donating money you can donate things like; clothes , furniture, toys, games, books, cd’s, dvd’s  etc. to any of their charity shops. You can also buy things from charity shops as well.
It’s so easy to donate money or get involved, so please support Rowcroft.
For information or to donate go to www.rowcrofthospice.co.uk

Thank you again for taking time to read my blog. Please post your response to a few of these questions and anything else you might want to add. It would be really helpful if you could state your country or hometown (if you don’t live in the UK).

• Have you heard of Rowcroft Hospice before? Did you know what work they do?
• Do you feel more informed about Rowcroft Hospice after reading my blog?
• Would you consider supporting Rowcroft hospice by:

• Taking part in some of their charity events; Rowcroft skydive, the big bake, dine@mine etc.
• Donating money
• Donating; clothes, furniture, toys, games etc.
• Would you tell friends or family members about Rowcroft Hospice?
• Anything else you want to add?

Thank you again
Natasha

Let’s help Macmillan Cancer Support to change lives

First of all, I would like to thank you for opening my blog. I am Megan and I’m trying to raise awareness for Macmillan Cancer Support in which I hope you have heard of as it a charity that has changed many people lives. By the end of reading my blog, I hope that you feel more informed and possibly want to help, as there are many ways that you can do so.

Macmillan has helped many people including Amanda who is suffering from breast, liver and bone cancer. Amanda was first diagnosed when she was 43-years-old. She was very surprised and upset to receive this awful news. For a while she continued to live normally and get on with her day-to-day routines. However, when she soon realised that she wasn’t going to get better she decided to get in contact with Macmillan Cancer Support. They gave Amanda advice and reassurance. After this, she made a courageous decision to stop working and try to live the rest of her life to the fullest. By taking this advice she has been able to do many things that she has wanted to for a long time. For example: get married and go to Egypt on a holiday. Even though Amanda doesn’t have long to live, she knows that when she is gone her family will be fully supported.

Amanda is able to keep having treatment in order to as many new and exciting things as possible by money being donated to this charity. Anyone can get involved by fundraising of even just raising some awareness for this amazing organisation. By looking on this website, you will be able to see many different ways in which you can help. http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx

 

Again, I would like to thank you for taking your time to read my blog. Please could you leave a comment explaining to me what you thought of my blog? In your response can you answer the following questions and include the town/country that you live in?

• Were you aware of Macmillan Cancer Support before reading my blog?
• Do you feel more informed about this charity?
• Would you now consider helping to support this charity by doing the following things..?

1. Donating some money to this charity?
2. Joining the ‘Not alone’ campaign?
3. Help to get more people involved?
4. Get involved in many of the fundraising activities taking place?

“I’ll have a pint of tar, please!” - said the smoker with cancer - help ASH fight the dangers of smoking

Thank you for taking interest in my blog! My name’s Meg and I strongly believe in stopping smokers and making them aware of the dangers. Did you know that 1 cigarette is estimated to shorten someone’s life by 11 minutes? Did you also know that cigarettes make you blood clot and have the constancy of strawberry jam (sorry for putting any one off of jam)? I didn’t until I researched the harms of smoking. Education is now making people more aware, but it isn’t enough. People need to know about the harms and addiction of cigarettes. Teenagers now-a-days feel like smoking is an easy way out of things of get pressured in to it by friends who think it is “cool” or “fun”, but they wouldn’t think this if they knew what’s in cigarettes.
 

If you smoke 20-a-day, in one month, there is enough tar and dangerous chemicals in your body to fill up a pint glass.  For an easier way of picturing this, imagine putting, Batteries, paint, vinegar, toilet cleaner and candle wax ( as well as all the other stuff) into a blender, blending it up, putting it in a pint glass and drinking it, once every month. Would you do it? Could you stomach it? No? Then why do other people choose to do it?

The simplest reason is because they are not aware of the dangers and “ingredients” in the cigarettes; if they were they wouldn’t start. And once you start it is so hard to stop. My mum didn’t realise this when she was younger, so she started smoking. She started smoking when she was very young and unaware, she didn’t realise the harm of smoking and why it’s bad.

This is where ASH comes in. ASH is a Charity that helps people like my mum stop smoking. But even though she has stopped, it is still going to affect her health in later life. They have kits advice and most importantly encouragement. ASH stands for “Action on Smoking and Health”, that’s what they do, they support smokers and take action on smoking to increase peoples health. ASH supplies loads of ways of helping smokers quit e.g. Electric cigarettes. The only reason people still smoke is because they are addicted to nicotine (something in cigarettes). Electric cigarettes have a lot less nicotine than normal cigarettes and a lot less of the poisons and chemicals.

Thank you so much for reading my blog! To find out more about ASH and what they do click the hyperlink: http://www.ash.org.uk/ ! Please can you leave a comment and answer these questions it would be much appreciated. If you do, please leave where you live .e.g. Home town or country (if not UK):

1. Have you heard of ASH before?
2. Do you feel more informed about ASH?
3. Do you feel more informed about the dangers of smoking?
4. Do you know anyone who quit smoking? Or anyone who still does? (Please specify which one).
5. Would you consider donating to ASH?

Thank you again!
Meg

Keep our green hearts beating, Keep Cockington Country Park Alive

Hi my name is Lucia and first, thank you very much for reading my Blog to helping the Cockington Green Heart Foundation. The cause was created to restore Cockington Country Park to its former glory as it has deteriorated greatly through the years and this is what I want to tell you about and get you to care about their environment. They hope to help the environment such as the lakes there, the heritage there and the leisure activities there.

You May be thinking Why You should care about Cockington even if you don't live near Cocking ton or Torbay you should still care for many reasons, Including:

• All the plants, animals and lakes will have to cope with even worse conditions than they live in at the moment which is not fair on them
• The whole park will have to be closed off eventually loosing the important history from the park https://www.countryside-trust.org.uk/cockington/funding-appeal/why-donate
• If the park is closed then the natural beauty of it will be lost to everyone
• Even if the park is not closed it will become un-usable and unstable to locals and tourists and will be spoilt for everyone
• Cockington is a major part of Torbay's economy and without it Torbay would be worse off with less jobs and a community far apart

 Even £1 makes all the difference to the appeal and to the environment.
 
Thank you greatly again for taking the time to read my blog. I would appreciate it even more if you could please post a response including the following:

1. Had you heard about Cockington Green Heart Appeal or Restoration Project before and Do you now Know more about the appeal
2. Would you be prepared to donate to the charity, tell your friends and family about it or volunteer for them
3. Have I changed your opinion about Cockington or the environment if so please say how
4. Finally please tell me where you live including your home town and country (If not in the UK)

Thank you so much,
Lucia

Save a Tree, Save a Life, Save the World – Support the Rainforest Foundation UK

Thank you for taking an interest in our blog! We are Laura and Blossom, advocating for the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) charity. It was established in 1989, after the rock star Sting and his wife visited the Amazon rainforest and witnessed for themselves the pure destruction going on there. We would like to tell people about this destruction, and how everyone can help prevent it. The problems raised by the deforestation are closer to home than you think:
Although they cover 2% of the world’s surface, the rainforests are home to 50% of the species on Earth. However, every day, approximately 137 species of plants and animals become extinct because of deforestation, with their homes being cut down – approximately 1.5 acres are destroyed every second. That’s the most rapid rate of extinction in the history of the world.

That means that around 50 000 (half a million) species are lost every year.

Scientists have discovered many plants with the cures to diseases in the various rainforests; by cutting them down we are potentially destroying the chances of finding cures for things like cancer or AIDs.

It also greatly affects the indigenous tribes living there (50 million people; 80% of the world’s poorest people depend on the forests), for the worse, with their initial human rights being taken.

If this rate of deforestation continues, by the next 40 years we will have no rainforests left whatsoever.

The RFUK are working to STOP this, by working with the indigenous people whose lifestyles and homes are threatened. They work in over 20 different countries, and are currently working in Peru, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon and the Central African Republic. They use the knowledge of the tribes, who have been the ‘rainforest guardians’ for centuries, and the power of the RFUK, to:

• Provide legal support for the boundaries of the tribes’ territories, including mapping the areas and assisting their leaders in negotiations with legal authorities.
• They are currently working on a new law in Congo, protecting the rights of the people living in the forests there – the first law like that in Africa.
• Many of the tribes are living in extreme poverty, like the 40,000 Baka, Bagyeli and Bakola 'Pygmy' people who live in the rainforest regions of Cameroon, so the RFUK is trying to provide their children education, for a better future.
• Administering information on what products contain palm oil (palm oil companies recently destroyed 7 million acres of rainforest).

But they cannot do this all by themselves – they need your help!

Thank you for reading our blog; would you please post a response with your thoughts on how well this blog has informed about the RFUK and the issues of deforestation:

1. Had you heard of the issue of deforestation before?
2. Had you heard of the RFUK before?
3. Do you now feel more informed about both things?
4. Do you feel that deforestation is a prominent issue and must be addressed?
5. Would you now do any of the following things to save the forests and tribes?

• Tell people you know (i.e. family, friends) about deforestation and the RFUK?
• Make a donation to the RFUK? http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/Donate%20now
• Fundraise or raise money for the RFUK? http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/Get_involved

Also, could you leave your hometown (if in the UK) or country (if not UK)

Again, thank you so much for reading our blog!
Laura and Blossom :)

No child. Involved in War. Ever.

Hello, my name is Kiera and for my citizenship advocacy I have chosen the charity “War Child”.

I chose this charity as I feel strongly about the suffering of innocent families and children affected by war, as a child myself I can’t imagine how awful it must be for these children on a daily basis.

I hope that after you have finished reading this, you will have a better understanding of the suffering of these children and help me to raise awareness of their plight. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

What is War Child’s Mission?    
“To support and improve the protection and care of children and young people who live with a combination of insecurity, poverty and exclusion in some of the worst conflict-affected places”.

War Child look forward to a world in which the lives of children are no longer torn apart by war. They work in countries devastated by armed conflict. They help children suffering the worst effects of violence including child soldiers, victims of rape and abduction, disabled children and street children. They are often very close to the fighting, but they need to be committed to standing by the children and their families long enough to sustain an improvement in their lives.

They have three ways of working:

• Direct service delivery (going into the countries and helping people hands on.)
• Capacity building (helping communities to help themselves.)
• Advocacy (Helping to raise awareness and changing attitudes.)

Some examples of things they have done:

• Creating child-friendly 'Safe Spaces' in Lebanon
• Providing safe transport to and from the schools and providing 'Back to School Kits' for students.
• Setting Up Early Childhood Development Centre’s
• Building Resource Centre’s For Street-Working Children
• Building Schools and Training Teachers
• Providing a Night Ambulance and Drop-In Centre for Street – Children

Here is the story of a little girl affected by war. Her name is Dima.
10 year old Dima and her family were in a car waiting to cross the border into Lebanon to escape the violence in Syria. Their home had been destroyed.

Her Dad had got out to see what the hold up in the convoy was. Now he lay dead.

Dima’s mother and five siblings feared further attacks so were forced to leave his dead body by the roadside. They arrived in Lebanon with only clothes on their backs. They had no money. Dima had to look after her siblings whilst her mum worked.

War Child’s team is in Lebanon where they are finding and supporting families like Dima’s. They helped Dima and her siblings into ‘Safe Spaces’ – schools and nurseries where children have the chance to play and learn and help them to cope with the trauma they’ve experienced
Dima’s story is just one example of how terrible some children’s lives become because of War. More children can be helped with your donations:

Please text SAFE to 70444 to donate £3 to War Child.
*(UK ONLY)*

 
Please take a minute to comment on my blog by answering the following questions:

• Had you ever heard of War child before you read this blog?
• Do you now feel more informed about War Child?
• Would you be able to explain to someone else about the work that War Child do?
• Would you be prepared to support War Child in any of the following ways:

1. Make a Donation?
2. Take part in a fundraising campaign or event?
3. Sign up to a regular email/letter explaining War child’s upcoming events and activities?

Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog.
Kiera :)