Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
I'm trying to kill two birds with
one stone.
Bird One:
Most people who know me are aware
that I support the charity Crisis. Specifically, I am a volunteer at Crisis Christmas. For those who know a bit about
CC, I am what is known as a 'Green Badge'.
This means that once a year, for a
week, I boss other people about at a temporary homeless centre in London that
is staffed entirely by volunteers and which performs numerous important
functions for people who, for whatever reason, have ended up on the street. For
some guests it's time for an 'annual MOT' - an opportunity to be patched and
checked up at the start of another gruelling winter. For others, it's the
chance to escape the streets and get a roof over their heads. Most important of
all, CC is an opportunity for guests to meet people and have some
companionship.
Crisis
Christmas is MUCH more than a 'soup kitchen' (although we do aim to provide
guests with three meals a day) and people are often surprised to learn how many
services are provided at the centres. Dental care, chiropody, IT training,
hair-cutting, clothing repairs... I counted 27 different services one year. The
experience really challenges preconceptions and the effect on both guests and
volunteers by the end of the week is extraordinary.
Crisis is MUCH more than Crisis Christmas. It's quite a remarkable organisation that operates 365 days a year, working to end homelessness by helping people before they hit the streets and transforming their lives. One of the most important innovations Crisis has developed is its Supportive Housing model.
Bird Two:
I'm
overweight, unfit and not happy about it. I've been procrastinating about doing
something about my ever-expanding girth for years now, but all that has
happened is that I've become bigger and less happy. In the past three and a
half years I have gained three and a half stone - and I wasn't small before!
It's time for that to end. I won't bore you with details here, but I've built a
website at www.losingthebelly.com
where I go into more detail about my fitness campaign. There's even a blog on
the site where I plan to document my progress and if I can work out what I've
done with the password, I'll be updating a Twitter account, too.
--
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.
So please dig deep and donate now.
