Dear Friends & Fam

Hello! I hope you are all well and enjoying the autumn season.

This year I am happily turning 30 and I wanted to do something different to celebrate.

I love to read and write. Growing up I would read a book a day (Judy Blume was a favourite), write long poems (mostly about boys) and elaborate letters to friends who I saw every day. I owe my wonderful, wandering and now "adult" life to the books and writing of my youth. That and cake.*

So it's only natural that I support the Ministry of Stories - a writing centre which encourages youngsters to think creatively and share their stories with the world.

Your donation will help brilliant kids discover themselves and the world through fun workshops and one-to-one mentoring. And they get to do it in a really cool space in East London fronted by a monster shop that sells weird and fantastic things like fang floss and tins of fear.  How is that not awesome?

This is what I want for my birthday present: please make a donation to the Ministry of Stories here - or to the US organisation that started it all, 826 Valencia (via 826 National at: http://www.826national.org).

I will, in return, read 30 books in a year. That's two and half books a month. That's a lot for a slow reader like me. Recommendations welcome!

Thank you all for your friendship and love.

* I love cake. Please eat cake for my birthday.

Here's some boring but important info: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.