An old man had a habit of early morning walks on the beach.  One day, as he looked along the shore, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.  As he came closer he saw that it was a young woman and she was not dancing but was reaching down to the sand, picking up starfish and very gently throwing them into the ocean.

"Young lady," he asked, "Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

She replied "The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die."

"But young lady, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it?  You cannot possibly make a difference."

The young woman listened politely, paused and then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves, saying... "It made a big difference to that one."

Starfish Greathearts Foundation is an international development charity that helps children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. They currently support over 36,000 children, working at grassroots level to deliver care for children that are desperately in need.

£20 will provide an emergency medical pack for a caregiver, which enables them to visit orphaned familes and ensure that the older children have what they need to feed younger siblings. £21 will enable an orphaned child to attend school - to help escape the cycle of poverty and vulnerability. £100 will provide equipment for a creche for 50 children, so that the older kids in a family can attend school.

More details can be found at www.starfishcharity.org

Thanks for taking the time to visit our joint JustGiving page and for reading this. If you feel inspired to donate something then doing so 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 - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you very much for your donation - It will make a difference!

Yours,

Simon, Sue, Keith and Geoff.