Hello hello everyone :)

Madeline is off to Croatia...with absolutely no clue as to how I'm getting there! I will be using my (hopefully wonderful) powers of persuation to cross land and sea over in order to get myslef to Zadar in just 7 days! I'm leaving Sheffied on Thursday April 16th, with just £15 to feed, water and shelter myself, as well as the tricky task of getting across Europe.

Why why why would I do this? For to raise money for the lovely People & Planet of course...P&P is a charity campaigning to end world poverty, to defend human rights and to protect the one and only planet we live on. People & Planet is the society I run at uni, and I have spent many hours out in the fabulously unpredictable British weather, getting petitions signed, demonstrating against all things bad and generally attempting to make a positive difference. The society is part of a national charity, and in their time P&P have done some amazing things...

+ Access to AIDS treatment for millions: People & Planet persuaded the UK government to lead on providing AIDS treatment for all by 2010, as a result millions more now receive treatment. We campaigned relentlessly to ensure the government kept their promise. In 2004 only 120,000 people in Africa received anti-retroviral treatment. By 2007 2 million Africans received treatment, and 3 million world-wide.

+ 71% of universities cut carbon emissions: People & Planet's Green League ranks universities' environmental performance. The latest Green League saw 71% of universities cut their carbon emissions, as a result of People & Planet's environmental campaigning on campus. The Green League won the Best Campaign award at the British Environment and Media Awards 2007. 

+ Cutting the support of Burma's military dictatorship: People & Planet students forced Pepsi to end its support for Burma’s brutal military dictatorship.

+ Ethical Investment: People & Planet's Ethics for USS campaign persuaded the £20 billion lecturers’ pension fund to adopt a socially responsible investment policy.

P&P isn't about sticking a plaster over a problem and hoping for the best, it's a democratic charity that aims to fix problems from the core...finding permanant solutions and making wrongs right wherever they are found.

Unfortunately campaigns cannot run on happiness and enthusiasm alone, and require money to get everything done, hence me writing (pleading) to you now. Any and all money raised will be going in the big national pot, ready to realise campaigns.

So please please dig deep for a good cause, and I will try extra hard not to get lost along the way

Thank you very very much

Madeline xxxxxx

*update* after spending the day on fargate, holding a big blue bucket and encouraging the public of sheffield to empty their pockets, i managed to raise £70 in spare change. £70 exactly, actually, which i am taking as a sign of good fortune :)

*update* today i had a lovely cake sale on the concourse outside uni, and raised £67.87!! thankyou to everyone who baked for me, as well as everyone who came and filled their bellies :)

*update* a couple of hours packing bags at the marks and sparks food counter earned another £15.87 in donations....thankyou shoppers