Charity that Helps Families of Sick Children Awarded £100k

Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity could help families reach £1m in unclaimed benefits.

A charity set up to help ill or disabled children has been awarded just over £104,000 to assist families struggling to cope with the financial pressures of caring for their child.

Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, the new name for Yorkhill Children’s Charity, has been awarded the cash from the STV Appeal.

It will now be able to help 500 vulnerable families with children at Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow in partnership with NHSGGC.

The charity says parents and carers are often unaware of the financial and practical support available to them and its new Family Support Project aims to claim over £1 million every year in previously unclaimed benefits for qualifying families.

As well as offering financial help, the project will provide practical and emotional support to families, ensuring that their long-term needs outside the hospital environment are valued and supported to prevent poverty cycles recurring.

It is hoped that over 50 referral services and agencies will engage with the programme to identify those families at greatest risk.

Shona Cardle, chief executive at Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We are delighted to be working with the STV Children’s Appeal and NHSGGC on such an important project.

“Having a child in hospital can be one of the most frightening and stressful experiences for any parent or carer, without having the added worry of how you will cope financially.

“This project will provide support, reassurance and comfort to many of Scotland’s most vulnerable families, listening to their needs and helping them to find a suitable path forward.

“Children from throughout Scotland are treated at The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and it is fundamental to both Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and the STV Children’s Appeal that these children and their families receive the best care and support available.”

John MacKay, presenter of STV News at Six and an ambassador of the STV Children’s Appeal, presented Shona with a cheque and visited the hospital (pictured). He said: "The Family Support Project is a truly worthwhile initiative and I'm thrilled to present the cheque on behalf of the STV Children's Appeal.

“The visit was an eye-opening experience and a great opportunity to meet some of the children and families who will benefit from the project."

Sir Tom Hunter, whose Hunter Foundation launched the appeal in 2011 and helps meet its overheads, ensuring 100% of donations are spent on the children who need it most, added: "Through the appeal our singular ambition is to deliver sustainable solutions to end child poverty.

“It is simply unacceptable in modern Scotland to still have young people debilitated by poverty through no fault of their own.

“Thanks to this project and many more, the people of Scotland are doing their level best to combat poverty.

"This is about communities coming together and with a hand up, not a hand out, from the STV Children’s Appeal, helping themselves deliver sustainable solutions to end child poverty."

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Source: http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/

3M’s Fun Run for Hungry Minds

The fitness craze in the country has been on a roll in the last few years, with runs and sports activities being put up by various organizations. What made last Saturday’s Fun Run special though, was that it benefited not only those who were running in the event, but it was for an underprivileged sector as well. A few months back, our friends at 3M Philippines asked us to partner with them for a Fun Run for a children’s NGO in need of support. 3M has always been active in their Corporate Social Responsibility, staging programs and even donating to one of our beneficiaries in the past. We were happy to take on the task of organizing this Fun Run for them, and tapped community-based partner Food for Hungry Minds as the event’s beneficiary. Food for Hungry Minds aims to create schools for disadvantaged children, so they can succeed academically through Philippine basic education–to serve in life and to dream of a better future.

The day started early, with 3M Philippines employees and friends coming in at around 4AM. We distributed customized singlets for the run participants, and started off the program with welcome remarks from 3M Philippines’ Managing Director, Anthony Bolzan. Before gunstart, we also called on kuya Josh Berin, a pro-runner and coach who is part of Team Rio. He woke up the participants with his energetic stretches and exercises, also meant to lessen the risk of any injuries while running. The fun run soon commenced, and over a hundred participants went on their way to finish one round of 2.5KM, or more–depending on the number of cycles they were willing to run. Bananas and water were located in various stations to ensure the participants were getting enough hydration and energy, and U! Happy volunteers also acted as marshals to lead the runners in the right direction.

Once everyone had completed the run and got to the finish line, we did a cool down exercise led by kuya Josh. It was a pleasure seeing the runners ecstatic to have finished the route, and having done so for a very good cause. Raffle prizes were up for grabs also, which were in the form of various 3M products that ranged from stethoscopes to car tint. It was overall a great event, and we capped off the jampacked morning with a group photo to capture the event. We would like to thank 3M for being a consistent partner in CSR campaigns, and we look forward to working with them again!

Ormskirk Schoolgirl Planning to Cut Off Hair for Children's Charity

A little girl from Bispham Green, near Ormskirk, is planning to cut off her locks for a children's charity.

Five-year-old Lucy Robinson has decided to cut eight inches from her hair for the Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs for children suffering with hair loss.

The Mawdesley St Peter's pupil decided to cut her hair, after completing the Race for Life last year and asking her mum Emma what more she could do to help people.

Lucy also wants to raise £350 to cover the cost of making a wig for the children.

Emma, 35, said: "She did the 5K Race for Life with me last year, when she was just four, she really wanted to do it with me and raised £60.

"Lucy is an inspiration and always thinking of those less fortunate.

"She came across the Little Princess Trust and was really keen to get involved.

"It obviously was playing on her mind and she kept bringing it up, before she said she wanted to cut it off.

"We gave her a month to think about it and she has decided that she definitely wants to do it. "

Lucy will be having her hair cut on Saturday, March 19 at Headquarters in Parbold.

Emma said: "She's really excited and keeps asking me how many sleeps until she can have it done and how much money she's raised.

"She's a really amazing little girl and me and her dad Paul are just so proud of her."

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Source: http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/

Ate Rvy’s Star City with John David Salvador

Today was a very exciting afternoon as we brought 25 kids to Star City. I always love our field trip events. It is an opportunity for children to experience things outside of school and home. Most of these marginalized kids do not get to go out often and see different kinds of places. Today was the birthday celebration of Ate Rvy. As a flight attendant she gets to travel around the world and see all sorts of beautiful places. She wanted to share this exciting experience with the kids of JD Salvador. Before we went in Ate Rvy gave out gifts for the kids. They got Frozen, Spiderman, and Minion backpacks with gifts inside. They also got party hats that they happily wore inside the park.

I personally haven’t been to Star City for a while. I have forgotten how much fun it was to be adventurous once in a while. As they always say, “life is like a roller coaster!” Most of the kids haven’t had the opportunity to try the kinds of rides offered in Star City so they were very eager to try. In addition to the existing rides the park is offering, they opened up an Annex in the outdoor area. It features several new attractions including the Classic Carousel.

The first adventure we got to try was the Telecombat. Here you get to zoom through the universe on space ships that circle, dip, and climb. The kids shouted as the space ships went up and down. As it went around the kids were able to turn the individual ships around. One of the children wanted to have a solo spaceship. It was adorable as he closed his eyes holding tightly on the sides while he tried peeking every so often.

We then got to try the Dragon Express. It is a mini dragon roller coaster that travels through China. It could fit all sizes of the family so we all had fun as we were able to ride with the kids. The U! Happy Events core team partnered and sat together with a kid. We had so much fun as some of us even tried taking selfies while the dragon was moving.

Then we tried the popular ride The Viking. It is the classic swing ride where the huge ship rocks back and forth. They hugged and held on to each other as the ship rocked upwards. As the ship rocked downward the kids shrieked in delight as they waived their hands up in the air.

We also got to try several other attractions like the Happy Swing, a huge swing that rocks back and forth, Jumping Star, this ride bring you all the way to the top, then all of a sudden drops you all the way down, and others. The kids shouted in delight as they felt like their hearts were dropping to the ground.

Some of the kids went on the Giant Star Wheel. it is the third tallest Ferris Wheel in the country where you get to experience the beautiful view of Roxas Boulevard and Manila Bay. The kids were excited in anticipation as they waited for their gondola to reach the top. They were amazed how stunning the view was from high up. It’s not everyday one gets to be at about 205 ft above ground!

The last attraction we got to try was the Classic Carousel. The ride was quickly filled by our kids as most of them wanted to try it. Ate Rvy joined our kids in the carousel. She was able to go around and bonded with some kids as the carousel went around.

As we reached the end of the day we gathered the kids around. They gave us their heartwarming hugs and thank you’s for a great day. They sang Ate Rvy a Happy Birthday song. That day was her actual birthday which made it even more meaningful as she was able to spend it with these delightful children. For Ate Rvy, the best way to make yourself happy is to help others. Lifting other people’s spirits will lift you up too. She further added, “Doing a good deed makes you feel like you have a purpose in the world – a purpose that’s much bigger than yourself. Isn’t that the best feeling ever?”

4-Year-Old Donates Long Locks to Wig Charity for Kids

BUTTE — Any kid who loves haircuts may be a cut above his peers.

Nolan Drake of Butte, a Lego-loving 4-year-old, gladly let his golden locks grow long for an entire year then donated the hair to charity.

He wants his dearly departed hair to be made into natural wigs, specifically for kids. Christina Drake, his mother, let him make the call — despite his previous hatred for haircuts.

"He made the decision about a year to a year and a half ago that he was going to grow out his (already long) hair and donate it to children who don't have hair due to illness or disease," said Christina.

On Thursday, exactly one year to the day since his last haircut, she took her precocious son into Beauty on Broadway.

Then cosmologist Kyle Marshall started snipping Nolan's precious locks.

"I have cut a little girl's hair for charity, but not a boy's before," said Marshall. "He was very good. He was probably one the best toddlers I've had. I'm super proud of him."

Marshall said her shop usually uses Locks for Love, a charity that converts donated natural hair to wigs.

But after much research, Christina selected Children With Hair Loss, a nonprofit based in South Rockwood, Mich. The charity takes donations — monetary and follicle — to make human hair replacement wigs for children with medically related hair loss.

"I read reviews and audits, and from what I read, they've got only one paid employee," she said of Children With Hair Loss. "It's totally nonprofit, and they don't charge for the wigs, so I figured that was the one."

Plus, the charity only required a minimum of eight inches of hair. Nolan ended up with about 10 inches, reaching nearly to his elbows. Some organizations require 12 inches.

"It was pretty long," Christina said "He was totally satisfied. He couldn't wait to show all his friends his boy haircut."

Jennifer Smith, Nolan's Silver Bow Montessori teacher, used his charity experiment as a teachable moment for her early education class of 25. Nolan is one of the oldest students among the 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds.

"Some of the older kids understood enough," said Smith. "You don't need to give them a lot of information. I explained to them about sick children taking medication, losing their hair and needing wigs."

Smith took before-and-after photos of Nolan to share with the students.

"Montessori is very experiential and concrete, and that's real hair," Smith added. "We wanted to have some fun with it. As soon as Nolan walked in Friday wearing his stocking cap, he said, 'I did it.'"

In keeping with the school's mission, Nolan was a big hit with his school mates.

"We're all very close to each other, and some of the older students know, too, and we were excited to see him," Smith said.

Montessori, a private school for kids ages 3 to sixth grade, stresses hands-on learning while nurturing "independent children engaged in joyful learning" in its mission statement.

"He's a great boy — a very kind, empathetic child," Smith said. "It's been a neat thing to share in the classroom."

Nolan will turn 5 on March 26, then he moves up to the big leagues next year: kindergarten at Margaret Leary Elementary. His willingness to part with his hair impressed everyone.

"That's a pretty significant decision for such a young child to make," added Christina. "He's got a heart of gold, that kid. Now he wants to do it again."

Little brother Logan, a redhead, wants to follow big brother's lead.

"Logan never has said anything negative about his brother's hair," Christina said. "But yesterday he told me, 'I want to grow my hair out.'"

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Source: http://billingsgazette.com/

NGA Human Resources Art Workshop with Ysiro Elementary School

Going to San Ysyro Elementary School was difficult. Not only were the roads rough, it was far from the commercial establishments of Antipolo. Houses sprung up every once in a while, but not too often. So you could imagine the distances that San Ysyro students traverse to get a chance to learn. The difficulty to get to the location was something that the NGA CSR team recognized, as such they partnered with Team ICE and U! Happy Events to make a fun filled art activity for the kids.

It took almost 2 hours to get to the school. But upon arriving, the school’s backdrop was very picturesque – there were just hills upon hills and green pastures in sight. It was also surprisingly chilly, a sign that it’ll be a perfect day for an event.

There were almost 200 children at the back of the open court waiting for the teams to arrive. You could see in their faces how giddy they were to start. For the first activity, the kids grouped themselves into 10. Around 5 volunteers from NGA were assigned to each group. The host asked the groups to introduce themselves by saying their name, their favorite color, and their favorite celebrities. To energize the groups, a game of Bring Me Shapes had the groups forming themselves into stars, triangles, squares, trees and even roller coasters for a chance to win prizes. As everyone settled in from the energizing activity, it was time for the art activity.

The art activity was simple, but useful – a fishing game. Materials distributed to the groups were barbeque sticks (with the tips cut off), yarns, paper clips, scissors and papers drawn with fishes. The first task was to create the fishing rods. A foot length of yarn was simply tied to the barbeque stick. The paper clip was then reshaped into a hook, then yarn was tied to it. After that, the volunteers were tasked to help the children cut the fish shapes off the paper. A finger length of yarn was then tied from the fish’s mouth, knotted to create a round shape. Basically, the fish shapes would just be spread on the ground, with the fishing rod’s hook attempting to catch the fishes. You could see the joy in the children’s eyes as they try their best to hook one fish after another.

It was finally time for merienda – chicken adobo, vegetables and rice. The volunteers were asked to eat with the kids to foster more interaction. Once everyone’s done eating, it was time for gift giving. The NGA CSR Team and Team ICE had a lot of gifts to give, like school supplies, ice creams, and goodie bags. More importantly though is that they’d be giving away Crocs to the children because they saw how far these children walked just to get to school, and how damaged their current slippers were.

The event ended with a group picture and a round of hugs.Thank U! to the NGA CSR Team and Team ICE for making this event a joyous success.

Rescue Mission Completes Shelter Expansion

SAN DIEGO — As she looked across the room at the shelter where she and her baby once slept on a mattress on the floor, Tiffany Newby began to tear up.

“We used to sleep back there,” said Newby, a program manager and supervisor at the San Diego Rescue Mission.

Newby wasn’t fighting back tears at the memory, but at the improvements that have been made to the mission’s Nueva Vida Haven since she stayed in it about 10 years ago.

“The beds are amazing, and I love the kids’ corner,” she said about the recent improvements. “The kids have chalkboard walls and toys to play with. It’s just awesome.”

The San Diego Rescue Mission, 120 Elm St., is opening its doors to the public Saturday afternoon to reveal the results of an August fundraiser that renovated an emergency shelter for women and children.

Like many who have gone through the mission’s rehabilitation program, Newby said her life has turned around since she first showed up with a three-month-old son.

Recently released from prison at the time, Newby had been repeatedly riding the trolley with her baby just to have a place to sleep after being turned away from a shelter for violating curfew.

Arriving at the mission in 2006 on her 35th birthday, she said she was taken in without question.

“You mean I can just show up?” she remember asking someone who referred her to the mission.

The mission had been in several downtown locations before moving into the former Harbor View Hospital on the corner of Elm Street and 2nd Avenue in 2004.

Herb Johnson, president and CEO of the mission, said the first years in the hospital were lean, and about 30 percent of the building was leased to Volunteers of America and other tenants.

“When we moved in, we could barely afford to be here,” Johnson said, recalling the early days at the location.

Vice President of Development Michael Johnson said the mission could only provide mattresses for the emergency shelter.

“Everything was on the ground,” he said. “Mattress next to mattress, person next to person. If we had to squeeze in more people, we put down more mattresses.”

In recognition of its 60th anniversary last August, the Rescue Mission held a casino night as a nod to its original location in a downtown card shop. The event raised $135,000, enough to fund the renovations to Nueva Vida Haven, which included installing a new floor and raising the ceiling one foot to allow for new bunk beds.

“We’ve reduced the numbers in here a little bit and made it considerably more humane,” Herb Johnson said.

The mission is licensed for 60 people but can take in more in bad weather or if the San Diego Police’s Homeless Outreach Team brings in a woman with a child who have no place else to go.

The new shelter also has a separate room with a crib and a few beds for mothers with young children or children who have autism and need a quieter environment. On Thursday, Newby said the shelter was expecting a woman with a one-day-old baby that night.

A children’s corner is filled with play things and a toy kitchen for the young ones and computer stations for their mothers.

Besides Nueva Vida Haven, the mission also operates 12-month residential program for men and a separate one for women and children, transitional housing, a children’s center, recuperative care, work therapy and an outpatient therapy clinic.

Newby said her life began to change shortly after coming to the shelter and entering the rehabilitation program.

“Two months into the program was when I decided I wanted to go to college,” said Newby, who is working on a master’s in psychology with plans to earn a doctorate.

“When you’re homeless and in the legal system and living the lifestyle that goes with it, you opinions and thoughts are different than when you’re able to get into a place like NVH (Nueva Vida Haven),” she said about her transition.

“Tiffay’s story is amazing,” said Dr. Nikki Watkins, vice president of clinical programs. “But it takes a lot of personal work as well. I would say Tiffany took it and ran with it.”

The shelter is open for women and children from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and never closed during the renovation.

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Source: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/