It hasn't even been a whole year yet and I've given over double the amount of money to charity this year than I set out to.
My first donation since my 34th birthday was to Children in Need. I do give a donation to them every year as I truly believe in the work they do for children in this country. I sit and watch all the entertainment (winding it forward when they start to repeat them) but I also sit through the videos about the children who are helped by the donations that are made every year. Some of them I do actually sit there and cry - so heart-warming. I donated £10.
My next donation was to my friend, Paul. He decided to take on Movember. He probably shouldn't have done because a moustache really doesn't suit him but good on him for doing it for charity. Movember promotes men's health. I sometimes think men think they are invincible. This charity aims to get the message out there that even men can get sick and they should look after themselves. One of their key areas is prostate and testicular cancer. I sponsored him £5.
My friend Rachel (who is probably the biggest consumer of alcohol that I know) decided to raise money by having a Dry January. She chose to raise money for The Alzheimer's Society as it was a charity close to her heart. I sponsored her £5 at the beginning of the challenge and told her she'd get another £5 if she did it. She found it incredibly hard to do it. It was like giving up an addiction almost. But, being the person she is, she managed to get through the challenge. At midnight on 1st February we celebrated by consuming a fairly large quantity of alcohol and ended up with hangovers when we woke up in the morning. I don't know why she got me involved! To be fair, we didn't drink as much as Rachel would have liked as her body couldn't actually take it. Proud of her though.
In March there was a craze that swept the nation - the "no make-up selfie". Women all over the country took photos of themselves with no make-up on and then donated £3 to Cancer Research UK. Here's the photo I took for the no make-up selfie:
I then sponsored my mum's cousin, Natalie, in her challenge - THE London Marathon (you'd never catch me running, let alone a marathon). She was raising money for Children with Cancer - not a very well known charity but a very worthy cause. I sponsored £10.
My friend Ben ran the BUPA London 10K for Diabetes UK. He's a good friend of mine so obviously I was obligated to donate to support him as he promised to support me in my crowd-funding campaign for my EP (tit for tat as they say). I sponsored him £10.
My friend Marion and her friend Emma decided to walk the length of a marathon around Maidenhead. An incredible achievement. I'd like to think I could potentially walk a marathon but I don't think I'd have the stamina or the willpower. I sponsored £10 which went to Berkshire SANDS - Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity) and Family Friends in Windsor and Maidenhead.
Crohn's & Colitis UK - last year it was just another charity, now it's a charity that is incredibly close to my heart as I was recently diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. When I found out my friend Stuart was raising money for CCUK again by cycling from London to Brighton I actually went searching for his fundraising page so I could donate. I sponsored £10 in July and Stuart did the challenge in September.
Another craze that swept the nation was raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support and it was Shave or Style. One of the people who really takes care of his hair and doesn't like one hair out of place is Antonio Lulic (a fantastic singer/songwriter by the way). He decided to get involved and get his head shaved - so brave. I sponsored him £10.
It started off with celebrities nominating each other and then before we knew it, it was us regular common folk who were getting nominated. It was the Ice Bucket Challenge! In America it was for ALSA (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association) but the UK equivalent was MND (Motor Neurone Disease Association). The more my friends were getting nominated, the closer it was getting to me. I was getting incredibly busy leading up to my holiday and then a couple of days before I was due to go abroad, my friend Darren nominated me (I honestly thought a member of my family was going to get in there. I made my donation of £5 within the 24 hour time-frame but seriously had no time to do the challenge until I went away. The pool bar in the hotel looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for an ice bucket. They didn't have any buckets at that bar so I filled up a couple of cups with iced water and gave a third cup to my mum for added effect. Out of all of the people I nominated, only one person did the challenge - well done to my little brother, Paul. Check out the video below.
My last donation was actually made this evening but an error on JustGiving's site means it's not showing on the fundraising page although I got the PayPal receipt come through. My friend Laura is running the London Marathon for Joint Action - the charity I work for. What a trooper!! I wanted to be the first donation on her page. I hope they'll fix it tomorrow. I sponsored her £10.
So, as you've read, I've donated more than double what I intended to donate - £93 in total. It resets again in October.
