Every day at Great Ormond Street Hospital, young lives hang in the balance as patients, families and staff battle the most complex illnesses. Every day, the brightest minds come together to achieve pioneering medical breakthroughs that change the lives of thousands of children.
When Fiona our CEO asked which charities we would like to support as part of jellybean’s initiative – 12 Days of Giving, one immediately sprang to mind – A Passion to Inspire.
I have chosen WaterAid as my nomination for jellybean’s 12 days of giving. This is a charity that is close to my heart as it was the one that my Grandad donated to every month until he unfortunately passed this year. This has made me want to showcase what life-changing work they do.
I first picked up a golf club when I was eight years old. I wanted to spend more time with my dad, and that meant going to the local driving range every week. At that age I just thought it was a way for me and Dad to bond and have some fun, I was a really active child but dance and music never fully captured my imagination nor interest. Little did I know what golf had in store for me…
More than just a way to hang out with Dad, golf took me around the country – eventually around many parts of the world, too – teaching me discipline, focus, responsibility, sportsmanship and more. At any ability and any age, golf is a networking game. You’re constantly drawn to play against different people from different walks of life, at different stages in their life. With every new game that passed, my confidence and love for the sport, flourished.
It’s that time of year again! And sadly, with Covid still with us we haven’t been able to get out and about in person to volunteer this year, but we are doing the next best thing for charities who desperately need our support and that is to donate money! The charity I have chosen this time around is a new one for me and one I just started supporting this year. The RNLI – Royal National Lifeboat Institution was a charity my grandpa supported back when I was a little one, as he had a boat proudly flying the RNLI flag and helped to raise money for them. I however had never really taken an interest in this charity, focusing on other causes close to my heart, like the British Heart Foundation, Blood Cancer, Cancer Research and NSPCC etc.
Paw Pose Rescue UK was set up to help rehome dogs from Hungary. They believe that every dog deserves a chance of a happy home – no matter what their background or circumstances. Most of their rescue dogs come from kill shelters, which means a rescue is often their only chance of survival.
My chosen charity for the 12 days of Christmas is ‘Special Effect’, who use innovative technology to make computer games more accessible to physically disabled people.
For the past year I have volunteered for Cats Protection as a fosterer. Being a self-certified crazy cat lady, I have the privilege of donating my time, care and love to the many cats in need around my area, whilst lapping up the cuddles and head nudges at the same time.
For jellybean’s 12 Days of Giving I have chosen ‘Aspire’, a charity which supports people who have suffered a spinal cord injury. Such an injury can not only devastate the lives of those injured but also their family and friends. Life is never the same again! It is a charity close to my family’s heart as my sister, Katherine, was paralysed following a horse-riding accident and Aspire have supported her in many ways over the last couple of decades, helping her with wheelchairs and offering advice amongst other things.
DKMS is a charity established to create a global network of people willing to donate bone marrow to those suffering with blood cancers.
Every 27 seconds, someone somewhere in the world will be diagnosed with a blood cancer, and will be in need of a bone marrow match if they are to stand the best chances of survival.
There are so many worthy causes out there to support throughout the year and over the festive season but this year, for Jellybean’s 12 Days of Giving, I wanted to shine a spotlight on the fantastic Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
The Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF) is a charity based in Surrey that was founded by Simon Cowell in the 1980s as a small local wildlife rescue charity and that has grown since then into one of the UK’s leading environmental and animal welfare organisations.
