Re-home an unwated gift for free (and make a sick child smile)

vikki_louise
vikki_louise Posts: 2,358
First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post I've been Money Tipped!
Forumite
edited 18 October 2011 at 3:47PM in Freebies (no spend required)
This was posted just after Christmas but cards and little gifts can be sent all year

Did you get a present you feel you can spare and give away for free? If you have something that you think could have a new home or have spotted a bargain in the sales then please consider sending it to a seriously ill child, their sibling or their parent or the family of a child who has passed away.

Just log onto www.postpals.co.uk click “find a pal” then have a read of their story, it lists their interests and ages so you can see who would like your gift, the siblings (or parents) on the memorial section who have an address on their page would loved to receive. Post Pals is of course free.

The New Year can be a very difficult time for anyone but its especially hard when your ill.

There is a little video about how you present could help here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l42sKtdPXrw

samfrontpage.jpg?t=1204653020

Thank you, :j


www.postpals.co.uk – Winners of Queens Award for Voluntary Services
Reg charity number - 1137175
Patron Fearne Cotton



Edited- as lots of people had said they don't know what to say I thought I would share this from the news page on the site


Quite a few people ask “What do I say?" when writing to our Pals. Some people are even put off writing because they aren’t sure. Although we have some info on our FAQ page, I thought I would write a post about it.


Starting off with what we advise against saying:

“Get Well Soon”, a well meaning great phrase, providing it is a healthy person who has appendicitis or something similar, who will have a time of being ill then get better soon. It’s not such a good phrase if your illness is never going to go away, you're young and don’t realise you're ill or any different to any other kid, or worse still - that will never get better.

“I hope you win your battle”, a lot of the children don’t know they could ‘lose their battle’, and others might not want to be reminded that they may not.

“I know how you feel”, have you been through the same thing as the child or parent? Even then everyone reacts and feels differently about things.

“You're so brave”, bravery is one of those things that is relative, what is bravery? Is bravery getting on with living when you have an illness or is it when you take a brave decision? Some kids like hearing they have been brave, others don’t.

“Sorry you're ill/poorly/sick”, see get well soon above.

“Poor you”- empathy is good, but sympathy isn’t generally wanted. Also see above about kids often not knowing any difference.

“I don’t know how you do it”, simple answer - kids and their parents don’t get a choice in the matter.

“Write back”, we ask that you enclose your address and email address so if able Pals can reply to can you, but please don’t expect one.


Now going onto what we suggest you could say. This depends greatly on the age;


Now for things TO say

Talk about yourself, are you a teenager, do you have kids, do you live in England or America, do you work in a school with other children or something else?

Do you have pets, are they cute, do they do silly things like hide your slippers behind the radiator (I once had a dog who did this!), does your parrot say funny things, does a squirrel in your garden do strange things to get to the bird seeds?

Have you been on any day trips or holidays It's great to pick up a postcard from where you have been and write on the back (gift shops often have them), was it a fun day, any funny bits of history about the place, did a bird poop on you or did you drop your icecream everywhere?

Jokes and funny poems you can Google “kids jokes” or “kids poems” and thousands will come up, or you can google “Star Wars jokes” for the kids who are fans of Star Wars or “animal jokes” for those who love animals.

For ones of the right age group, have you been watching Britain’s got talent/X Factor/the latest program like it? Who is your favourite act, what made you laugh? Who do you want to win?

For younger ones (remember we have some children whose mental age is behind their physical age and there will be a note on their page explaining this) what Cbeebies character do you like, is Mr Tumbles funny, does Peppa Pink oink all the time, can you say “Hello” in Spanish like Dora the Explora can and what's your favourite Wiggles song? Often if you google the program or go onto the Cbeebies website you can find printable pictures for the kids to colour or pictures you could stick onto the front of a card.

Write about what is on the front of the card, if there a dog - then talk about a dog you know (I sometimes put things from the past into the present tense), is it a funny picture, could the picture give you an idea of what to write about?

Draw a picture or have your kids draw one, they can brighten up a hospital wall and make the child smile

Include a little gift - this doesn’t have to be expensive, once I sent some confetti stars (cost about 3p) to a young child who was screaming through her chemo and nothing they were trying would calm her down. They gave her some post to open and when she opened my card some confetti stars tumbled out. She stopped crying and started making pretty patterns with it. Another girl got sent a pretty bouncy ball that cost less than 10p, she decided a magic fairy lived in it and took it with her to the hospital or school or where ever she was going so her fairy could always be with her. It also gives you something to talk about.

Over all remember that just because a child has cancer, cystic fibrosis or is on the transplant list, they are still first and foremost a child. Also remember your post is going to make them SMILE, what is more precious than that?
Best wins in 2013 £200 and Mini iPad. 2014 no wins. 2015 2 nights 5* hotel with £300 vouchers plus £1150 Harrods gift card
Rehome an unwanted prize or gift with a seriously ill child through Postpals.co.uk
«13456789

Comments

  • Volvic
    Volvic Posts: 244 Forumite
    PostPals is a brilliant cause and I've intended to write to a few of the kids on there before but I just don't know what to say. If anyone on here has written before or does so regularly I'd be happy to receive any tips!
  • What a fab idea! Will dig out stuff to send off! It is also good to be reminded how lucky we are...going to stick on Facebook aswell!
    :j
    Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!
    :hello:
  • I don't have a gift for a child but my mum got a Boots P&P set for Christmas which is highly inappropriate for her because she's allergic to almost every cream/shower/bath type product available. Anyway, it would make a perfect gift for the female carer of a sick child, any idea how I'd go about doing it?
  • Wow, this site is incredible, thank you for sharing. I think I'll write a few letters and think of a few presents to send, people who need/deserve them!
    OU Student! - ED209, SDK125, DSE212, SK124, DSE141, SD226, DXR222, DD303, DD307 = BSc Psychology
  • Lol! 11yr DD & I spent an hour last night picking appropriate gifts for the kids and wrapping them! PO won't know what's hit it tomorrow!
    :j
    Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!
    :hello:
  • Dizzie77
    Dizzie77 Posts: 2,206 Forumite
    What a lovely idea - I had never heard of them before.

    I will ask if we are allowed to promote this at work - but in the meantime, I will add it to my facebook and encourage my friends to send something too.
    Why does nobody say Thank You anymore??:mad:
    Debt Free as of September 2011 :j
    Sealed Pot 2009 number 334 - £100 Saved! yey!!
    Sealed Pot 2010 number 334 - £116.51 Saved! Yey!! YIPPEE!!
  • vikki_louise
    vikki_louise Posts: 2,358
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    edited 29 December 2009 at 6:15PM
    Volvic- thank you :) I often send cards and then chat about whats on the front, for example if there is a dog on it I ask them if they like dogs, say i have a dog (although i don’t anymore!) and tell them her favourite thing to do was hide my dads slippers etc. Older ones I just chat about random stuff! Things like X factor and Britains got talent is great to talk about as a lot of them love it and theres a lot of scope to write about (your favourite, what you think of the acts etc). Or do you have pets you could talk about, or kids?

    Infamy- thank you ever so much :) We are on Facebook if you would like to add us and keep up to date with everything, our username is “Post Pals”

    Formaldehyde- If you click onto www.postpals.co.uk/find.php you can see all the current kids and it lists their mums, there are also addresses on some of the pages on the memoral section of mums who have lost their children. Thank you for wanting to send it to a carer, they go through so much watching their kids suffer.

    Littlestar- thank you so much!

    Infamy- thats so lovely of you and your daughter, the kids often don’t have much contact with others their own age so its especially nice to hear from other kids.

    Dizzie- please do spread the word at work :) I have a poster I could email you if you would like?

    Thanks again :)

    There is a video here which shows how it helps (the first half has some upsetting images but the second is full of smiles), make sure you have your speakers on

    http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=99b190dfbf42658e7a43ff&skin_id=1901
    Best wins in 2013 £200 and Mini iPad. 2014 no wins. 2015 2 nights 5* hotel with £300 vouchers plus £1150 Harrods gift card
    Rehome an unwanted prize or gift with a seriously ill child through Postpals.co.uk
  • Volvic- thank you J I often send cards and then chat about whats on the front, for example if there is a dog on it I ask them if they like dogs, say i have a dog (although i don’t anymore!) and tell them her favourite thing to do was hide my dads slippers etc. Older ones I just chat about random stuff! Things like X factor and Britains got talent is great to talk about as a lot of them love it and theres a lot of scope to write about (your favourite, what you think of the acts etc). Or do you have pets you could talk about, or kids?

    Infamy- thank you ever so much J We are on Facebook if you would like to add us and keep up to date with everything, our username is “Post Pals”

    Formaldehyde- If you click onto www.postpals.co.uk/find.php you can see all the current kids and it lists their mums, there are also addresses on some of the pages on the memoral section of mums who have lost their children. Thank you for wanting to send it to a carer, they go through so much watching their kids suffer.

    Littlestar- thank you so much!

    Infamy- thats so lovely of you and your daughter, the kids often don’t have much contact with others their own age so its especially nice to hear from other kids.

    Dizzie- please do spread the word at work J I have a poster I could email you if you would like?

    Thanks again J

    There is a video here which shows how it helps (the first half has some upsetting images but the second is full of smiles), make sure you have your speakers on

    http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=99b190dfbf42658e7a43ff&skin_id=1901
    Sorry, your confusing me with all the J's. What do they mean?:confused::confused:
  • Sorry, your confusing me with all the J's. What do they mean?:confused::confused:


    Sorry I wrote the reply on another screen and copied it across, the J's are smiles that have copied across strangely, sorry about that
    Best wins in 2013 £200 and Mini iPad. 2014 no wins. 2015 2 nights 5* hotel with £300 vouchers plus £1150 Harrods gift card
    Rehome an unwanted prize or gift with a seriously ill child through Postpals.co.uk
  • Sorry I wrote the reply on another screen and copied it across, the J's are smiles that have copied across strangely, sorry about that
    No problem:D, I was just trying to work out what they were.
    I thought I was going mad or something:o
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 606.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.7K Life & Family
  • 247.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards