No, that's not me, that's my little brother Laurie when I showed him this research from Which? magazine which found that high street shops are passing on as little as 6% of the price of charity Christmas cards to charities.
OK, so that's actually Laurie from Christmas last year and I'm using poetic licence to be able to use a great photo, but the point remains. Here at JustGiving we thought we could do better, so we came up with the idea of JustGiving's cardless Christmas.
This is my cardless Christmas page, so first things first, merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Rather than sending me a Christmas card this year, I'd like you to make a minimum donation of £2.00 to my chosen charity. That way 100% of your donation is sent directly to the charity and if you're a UK tax payer, JustGiving will reclaim Gift Aid on the charity's behalf.
What's more, you're saving the energy that goes into making, distributing, posting and disposing of a card, so it's better for the environment.
Check out my Christmas video message by clicking on the 'My video' link to you left.
So what has 2009 been like for me? It's been good. I got a new job as a community manager at JustGiving, the charitable giving website (hint: you're on it!) meaning I get to help amazing users raise more money for charity than they ever thought possible.
Tara (my girlfriend) and I have spent a lot of time crashing at each others places due to accommodation turbulence, but I'm happy to report that we're both now settled in great new flats within easy walking distance of each other and we're both walking to work every day (also better for the environment!).
Kate (my little sister) got married in The Gambia (congratulations Kate!), meaning I got to go to Africa for the first time. While I was there I was lucky enough to see the work of one of JustGiving's member charities, Schools 4 Schools, which encourages UK schools to help disadvantaged children in The Gambia get a basic education through the provision of schools, educational materials, human resources and community infrastructure.
However, because one of the benefits of going cardless is a greener Christmas, this time around I've decided to support Green Thing, a not-for-profit website that inspires people to lead a greener life with the help of brilliant content from top artists and community members from over 200 countries.
Ready to create your own cardless Christmas page? Click on this link, choose your charity and your page will automatically be associated with the JustGiving cardless Christmas event.
Raised:
114%
Raised so far: £114.00
|
Epic cardless. Donation by @kaichanvong on 11/03/10 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
Cardless is where it's at... Donation by Ms Claus on 09/12/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
A bit more Christmas sparkle for you! Donation by EAK on 09/12/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Happy Christmas Alex. Congratulations on reaching your target. Donation by Austin Latham on 04/12/09 |
£4.00 + £1.13 Gift Aid |
|
|
You look great Alex have a wounderful Christmas what a great idea this is. Donation by patricia spragg on 04/12/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Merry Christmas :) Donation by anonymous on 03/12/09 |
|
|
|
Have a merry christmas. Donation by Noam Lenz on 03/12/09 |
£10.00 |
|
|
Happy Xmas Alex Donation by Naren on 01/12/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Ho Ho Ho, good idea Alex! Donation by Santa on 01/12/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Thanks Alex! :) all the best and Merry Christmas! from Kate and Lamin x x x Donation by kate conteh on 27/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
I wasn't going to send you a Christmas card anyway :) Donation by Adam Tibi on 27/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Nice! Donation by Niamh Neville on 27/11/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
I don't know you but Waddingham's doing a fine job of promoting this on Facebook. Merry Christmas. Donation by Gregory Foulger on 26/11/09 |
£15.00 |
|
Ho ho ho Merry Christmas! Donation by Liz Smith on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Fröhliche Weihnachten! Donation by Marco Kuntze on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
What a grea idea....who was clever enough to come up with that one??? Donation by Neil B on 26/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Brilliant idea, well done. Donation by Will Colley on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Delighted to donate to such a great cause - the Buy Nothing campaign rocks: http://www.dothegreenthing.com/amazero Donation by Sophie de A on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
Do the green thing, save yourself some trees! Donation by Jonno on 26/11/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
|
|
Happy not quite christmas! Donation by David Whitney on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Brilliant idea! Donation by Anne-Marie on 26/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
|
|
Alright Alex no need to guilt trip us all. Here is some money. Please share it with the otters. Donation by Dianne Tanner on 26/11/09 |
|
|
|
Donation by Zarine on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Welcome to the team Alex :-) Donation by Heather Bird on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
|
|
Happy festivus! Bring on the feats of strength.... Donation by EAK on 26/11/09 |
£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid |
| * Total raised online: | £114.00 |
|---|---|
| Offline donations: | £0.00 |
| Mobile donations: | £0.00 |
| Total Raised: | £114.00 |
| Gift Aid plus supplement: | £25.10 |
* Charities pay a small fee for our service.
Find out
how much it is and what we do for it.