Constructive kick-ass

I am pleased to be writing this blog for Unicef, especially at times of crisis such as the Ebola outbreak. It is heart-breaking to hear how many families it has devastated so any support given to Unicef to help protect families from this horrific disease is fantastic.

Human resilience and perseverance despite the most awful conditions, both physically and emotionally, is amazing and if everyone can pull together it is possible to fight such diseases. I wonder how much longer cancer will be around for. I love the current advert about the progress to fight the disease, ‘cancer its time to die’. There is nothing like the feeling of empowerment to conquer grief and fear. Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and get on with it.

If all else fails, get angry and channel that anger effectively.

The worst thing you can do is bury your head in the sand and dull the pain, which the vice of alcohol and drugs tends to support all too easily.

I’m rambling now but I guess what I’m trying to say is when you are feeling low, no matter what the reason, shake yourself up and go kickass (but in a constructive not destructive way).

This blog is for Unicef,a charity that has been kicking ass on behalf of vulnerable children for decades.

Thanks for reading.

Charitable capitalism

I have recently joined my school’s PTA committee and I am seeing at first-hand how difficult it is to entice parents to fundraising events and part with some cash. For instance,  out of the 200 families that were sent books brochures (where every order placed also creates money for the school to buy their own books for the children), only 3 parents placed orders – 2 of which are members of the committee.

If people struggle to reach into their pockets to help the schools educating their children, then no wonder charities overall are finding it particularly tough to enrol supporters.

Parents lead busy lives so require constant reminders about dates and events.Now I realise why I am bombarded with letters, emails and texts from charities asking for money, because people need constant reminders about what is going on outside of their own day-to-day bubble.

The money it must cost for charities in communication must be phenomenal. I wonder how much they have to spend to raise £1.

That is why initiatives such as Easyfundraising is so clever because it weaves the draw of online shopping with online giving making it easier for people to donate. Making life easy to donate is key. I think retailers could do more to encourage charitable giving. For instance, Tescos could ask customers if they would like to make £1 donation to a charity of their choice when paying their bill. The charity’s overheads would be reduced and customers simply tag it on to their weekly shopping rather than fending off yet another telephone call/ door sales person or sending in a seperate cheque or online payment.

In short capitalism could do more to be charitable.

This blog is for Unicef.

Thanks for reading.

When bloggers come together

On 16 October I am joining hundreds of thousands, even millions of fellow bloggers to take action against inequality. The gap between the super-rich and everyone else is widening, so this day will be an exchanging of ideas on wealth re-distribution to make the world a better and fairer place.

Do you fancy joining us? If so register here – http://blogactionday.org/

Right, I better start getting my thinking cap on.

This blog is for Unicef.

Thanks for reading.