New Site Charity Nominations Now Open

toobigaspenda

I would like to nominate a small charity called Unique.

http://www.rarechromo.org/html/home.asp

Unique is a source of information and support to families and individuals affected by any rare chromosome disorder and to the professionals who work with them. Unique is a UK-based charity but welcomes members worldwide. Membership of Unique is free but the group receives no government funding and is heavily reliant on donations and fundraising to continue its work.

Our son died at 21 months from a rare chromosome disorder and Unique help us to understand his condition, find other parents for moral support and to share the special abilities our children have that others take for granted.

kimsie

https://www.futuretalent.org

I would like to nominate Future Talent: Basically this charity gives children the opportunity to receive specialist musical tuition. :T

In my understanding Future Talent provides children with specialist musical tuition and supports them in their musical education. Numerous projects have been set up throughout the country allowing children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to pursue music the chance to receive musical tuition from specialist teachers. It is simply a lovely little charity that gives all children from all backgrounds the chance to learn some wonderful skills, improve their self confidence, develop a sense of achievement and improve their self esteem. In a nutshell equal opportunities in musical education for all children. The charity is fairly new and is run by some lovely people. Generally a top charity focussing on something positive and giving children the chance to enjoy themselves and have fun through music. It'd get my vote anyday!:j

gwjohnston

Send a Cow

https://www.sendacow.org

Breaking the cycles of poverty and malnutrition

Send a Cow is working in eleven African countries, providing livestock (not just cows!) and the training and support people need to make a success of rearing it. Milk helps supplement children's diets, and the remainder can be sold to pay for education and healthcare. Over the years many tremendous stories have been heard: young people paid through university to new opportunities thanks to the milk money; market gardens and other businesses begun where previously there was little hope; and people's potential released thanks to the "hand up" Send a Cow gives. Through sharing farming techniques and using the animals' manure, previously barren land is producing vegetables, and crops that families need to see them through are doubling or trebling - often more. With its network of on-the-ground support by highly trained staff, Send a Cow aims to make a real difference in people's lives - and to bring hope.

kimsie

Future Talent
https://www.futuretalent.org

I would like to nominate future talent: basically a charity that gives children the opportunity to receive musical tuition.

In my understanding Future Talent provides children with specialist musical tuition and supports them in their musical education. Numerous projects have been set up throughout the country allowing children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to pursue music the chance to receive musical tuition from specialist teachers. It is simply a lovely little charity that gives all children from all backgrounds the chance to learn some wonderful skills, improve their self confidence, develop a sense of achievement and improve their self esteem. In a nutshell equal opportunities in musical education for all children. The charity is fairly new and is run by some lovely people. Generally a top charity focussing on something positive and giving children the chance to enjoy themselves and have fun through music. It'd get my vote anyday!

Trix

My nomination is The Percy Hedley Foundation (Registered Charity No: 515943) which promotes the rights, needs and aspirations of disabled people through specialist, quality service.

http://www.percyhedley.org.uk/public/Site/AboutUs.asp

The foundation has support services for people with disabilities, from babies to adults, and supporting it would help them to continue enabling people with disabilities, live as independent a life as possible.

My personal reason for nominating this charity is that my youngest daughter has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. She attends the primary school within the foundation (which is also the school that Stephen Miller, the paralympic gold medalist attended).

Without her place there that she has had since the age of 3, I doubt she would have made the same progress as she has made that has been beneficial not only to her, but to all of our family. This is thanks to the specialist technique they used called CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION which promotes independence. (Check the link for an explanation)

I could never repay them for the fantastic start in life they have given my daughter and the positive effect it has given to the whole of our family, but to be able to have them chosen as one of the charities that this site helps would be a fantasic way to begin to thank them.

The website has loads of information which shows what a difference this charity makes to others as well.

*****

PS - Hi to all the new members this is attracting :hello: Make sure you check out the rest of the site - it'll be worth it....promise

economydriver

I would like to nominate the Fredericks Foundation, https://www.fredericksfoundation.org
Helps a disadvantaged individual start his or her own business

Provides small start-up loans and grants to individuals receiving state benefit (many disabled) who cannot get a loan from a bank.
Saved the Treasury an estimated £15 million in the last 4 years.
Almost 80% success rate by careful selection and business mentoring - anyone fancy having a go at mentoring, please visit the site.
Founder is a generous entrepreneur who could do with some help from other entrepreneurs and corporates because the government don't help too much.
Very efficient use of funds due to low admin costs

Yes, I have a vested interest, I'm a trustee, frustrated by lack of goverment support (we're money saving experts, too, but they don't get it) and happy to sing the organisations praises

M1KIE

I would like to nominate the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The following is from the MS Society website http://www.mssociety.org.uk/

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults. Around 85,000 people in the UK have MS.

MS is the result of damage to myelin - a protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system. When myelin is damaged, this interferes with messages between the brain and other parts of the body.

For some people, MS is characterised by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern. For everyone, it makes life unpredictable.

Who are the MS Society?

The MS Society is the UK's largest charity dedicated to supporting everyone whose life is touched by MS.

We offer our services to all and provide a freephone MS Helpline and a wide range of information and other services. We are also committed to supporting professionals who work with people affected by MS so they can provide good quality services.

Our local Branches and Regions aim to support people of all ages and interests in local areas. Each is run by people with direct experience of MS.

Please visit the following link for more info http://www.mssociety.org.uk

Deb_Williams

it has to be the RNLI.

Having lived in a Cornish fishing village for most of my married life, I've seen at first-hand how selfless and brave those guys are.

and the recent documentary about the Penlee Lifeboat disaster, where 8 members of the Mousehole RNLI lost their lives (December 1981) only strengthens my admiration for this charity.

Please support it!!

cemitchell77

I would like to nominate the BIRTHMARK SUPPORT GROUP.

https://www.btinternet.com/~birthmarksupportgroup/home.htm

My 2 year old daughter has a birthmark on her nose which is basically a blood filled tumour. It almost suffocated her when she was 7 weeks old. She had to have a tracheostomy and chemotherapy, plus live every day with people staring at her and being very cruel. It has made our lives hell.

The BSG are trying to raise £2million to set up a research centre based at Great Ormond Street Hospital to try to stop these birthmarks.They do an excellent job of supporting people and families with birthmarks. They organise family days so that we can all meet other people in the same position. They totally rely on donations and would really really benefit from your help.

Thank you.:A

pokem02

Every single one of us will have strong personal reasons for support specific charities. I can identify with many (RSPCA, Cats Protection League and the Cancer Charities) but one life-changing experience (read between the lines, I don't want to make an emotional plea here!) means I would like to nominate 2 more baby charities (in addition to Tommys which has been mentioned before). BLISS works on research to prevent premature birth and The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society helps bereaved parents to pick up the pieces and rebuild lives...

BLISS https://www.bliss.org.uk
"Some newborn babies need a little extra special care. BLISS is dedicated to ensuring that more babies survive, have the best possible quality of life and that their parents and families get the support they need."

Sands https://www.uk-sands.org
"SANDS is working to support bereaved parents and families, and to press for improvements in care during pregnancy and when a baby has died." I'm so sorry if this is a taboo subject, but sadly the shocking fact is that in the UK 17 babies a day are stillborn or die within 28 days of birth That's 1 in every 100 births. And this figure has gone up from 16 a day last year.

But whilst I'm on, I'd also like to mention another charity

Action Medical Research https://www.action.org.uk
"We are one of the UK's leading medical research charities. Entirely independent of political or commercial influence, we rely on voluntary support to fund our research programme. We've been making medical breakthroughs for over 50 years - including helping develop the UK polio vaccine and ultrasound scanning in pregnancy - saving countless lives and preventing disease and disability."

They are also trying to raise awareness within government of the lack of funding - please see their online petition at https://www.standupfortinylives.org (shameless plug, sorry but hope you don't mind).

But I must say, every single charity on this thread deserves financial support so it's sad that there will be more losers than winners in this noble and worthy idea. So if you support a charity, please sponsor them/fund raise etc and Gift Aid it if you are a tax payer. I'm a DFW but I still donate little and often (monthly direct debit) but I also volunteer my professional services to them and other charities.

Thanks for reading and Martin, HUGE thanks for a great idea.