Tag: charity

Lunna House charity event

LUNNA House is hosting a charity lunch and dinner next Sunday (15 Nov) in aid of the RNLI, MacMillan nurses and Clan Cancer Support.

Owners Tony and Helen Erwood, with support from neighbours and friends, have come up with a mouth-watering fish and vegetarian menu.

Their ‘pop-up’ fish restaurant is organised in association with fishmonger Dave Parham whose Hand Made Fish Company is providing the best quality fish.

Every adult diners will be offered a free glass of wine with their meal donated by regular visitors to Lunna House, Michael and Judith Bilton, from Hampshire.

There is no charge for the meal but diners are asked to make a generous donation towards the three selected charities.

Lunch will be served between 12 and 2pm and dinner between 6.30 and 9pm.

As space is limited, booking is essential and can be made by either phoning Lunna House on 01806 577311 or 01806 242851 or e-mailing helen@lunnahouse.co.uk
Helen Erwood said: “If the event is a success, we may do this again in the New Year.”

Lunna House fish restaurant menu
151105_LUnna_House_menu

Kids help refugees with charity walk

A charity walk on November 15 hopes to help refugee children. Involving children from all over Cyprus, the event is receiving enthusiastic feedback and support.

Founded by a group of young Limassol mothers, the initiative ‘Bearfoot children helping children’, a sponsored walk by children with their teddy bears which will then be donated to refugee children, seems set to leave footprints of the most positive kind.

The image of a little Syrian boy who had drowned during his family’s attempt to flee war seen by the world in early September shocked many people and inspired numerous initiatives to help.

One group of young Limassol mothers also felt compelled to ‘do something’, but also wanted to involve their children to make them understand just how fortunate they are to live comfortable and sheltered lives.

The women are of various nationalities, and are connected to each other through their children.
From their very first small meeting at one mother’s house it had become evident that this was going to develop into something big – and it did.

The walk

The 1km walk will take place on November 15 with the participation of children from all over Cyprus.
They will bring along one of their own teddy bears to take part in the walk to then be donated to refugee children in Cyprus and Greece. The children are asked to find sponsors for their walk and will receive a certificate for their participation.

They will leave at 11am from the Beachside Pedestrian Pathway near PlusSea Lifestyle Bar and finish at St Raphael Resort where an after-party will be organised for the participants and the general public, with children’s activities, free entertainment, a raffle with generously-donated prizes and stalls.

“The great interest and support by so many have been truly inspiring,” says Sarah, one of the initiative’s core members. “We set a goal of raising €25,000 which we are now set to surpass.”
Sponsors coming from all walks of life, businesses small and large and individuals have all stepped forward to help; the main sponsor is the Grammar School Limassol, gold sponsors are David Steps – Kickers, The English School and ÖL Shipping Group.

Thanks to the power of social media and the varied backgrounds of the organisers’ families, individuals outside of Cyprus, including a marathon runner in Athens, a group in India and a young teenager in England, are arranging to do smaller walks in their countries to raise money.
All information concerning the event has been put out in Greek and English ,turning the walk into a sign of solidarity across the island.

The organisers hope that the very positive feedback and support of the idea of involving and educating children from an early age to become socially responsible citizens will be carried forward after the event.

The contributions

It was important for the Bearfoot initiative to choose a worthwhile children’s charity that was registered, transparent and helping refugee children. All of the money raised will be given to the international non-profit organisation Save the Children and their Child Refugee Crisis Appeal.
The organisation has been working with refugee children for almost a century.

This year alone, over 95,000 children have arrived in Europe, nearly 10% of them without any family.

“No child should be left behind – thank you to all those who are working hard on the Bearfoot – Teddy Bear Walk and are donating their money and time. You are all showing such generosity and eagerness to support child refugees,” says Save the Children spokesperson Helena Wiltshire.
Donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/bearfootchildren. To register an e-mail should be sent to bearfootchildren@gmail.com.

Coatbridge woman raises grand sum for epilepsy charity through football fundraiser

KERRY Mackay donated more than £1000 to Epilepsy Scotland after rallying family and friends for the match at Greenfields Football Centre.

A COATBRIDGE fundraiser pulled off a stunning victory after netting a grand sum for an epilepsy charity.

Kerry Mackay, 20, raised more than £1000 for Epilepsy Scotland after rallying family and friends for a charity football match at Greenfields Football Centre in Glasgow.

Kerry, who is a dog groomer and trainee football coach, decided to raise cash for the charity after her brother John died following an epileptic seizure at the age of 23.

And she was delighted with the sum gathered, saying: “I cannot believe how much we have raised. I am so happy with the effort everyone has made.

“I cannot thank everyone enough, from the players and the ref to the photographer.”

Epilepsy Scotland’s Kerry Shearer is over the moon with the kind-spirited gesture.

She said: “We are delighted that so many people kindly donated towards our cause. £1000 is a huge amount to us and will help us to deliver essential services to those living with the condition.

“This includes our award-winning youth project and vital epilepsy first aid training.”

Kerry is also looking to start weekly football sessions for people living with Down’s syndrome.

Anyone interested can contact her on Kerrymackaysj@hotmail.co.uk

Peterhead Prowl raises thousands for charity

Walkers in Peterhead have put their best feet forward to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

The annual Peterhead Prowl – now in its second year – encouraged locals to walk a five or 10km route around the outskirts of the port this summer to raise money for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS).

Organiser Nicola Drummond nominated the charity because a family member is helped by the stroke nurses the charity provides in the north-east.

This year, the popular event raised £2,000 for CHSS while the group has also raised £2,000 for Breast Cancer Now.

Last night, the organisers thanked the 250 people who took part, and confirmed they would “definitely” run another event next year.

CHSS fundraising officer Katie Jones thanked the participants for their “generous” efforts.

She said: “We are so grateful for the support of the committee in organising this fantastic event and raising a substantial amount for CHSS.

“Community fundraising activities like the Peterhead Prowl are crucial in raising awareness of CHSS services in the north-east and all across Scotland.

“The money raised will help our vital services ensure that people who are affected by debilitating chest, heart and stroke illness get the opportunity to have an improved quality of life and rehabilitation.”

A similar Prowl event was held annually in Fraserburgh which raised thousands of pounds for cancer research.

Its walkers raised about £700,000 for potentially life-saving studies at Aberdeen University, as well as helping to kit out a laboratory with vital equipment.

Highway to heaven: Pope auctioning his Harley Davidson chopper for charity

Pope Francis stands by a Harley-Davidson he was given at the Vatican on June 12, 2013.

BY ELISHA FIELDSTADT, NBC NEWS
Pope Francis has quickly gained a reputation as the “cool” pontiff, but who knew he had a Harley?

The pope plans to sell off his 1,585cc Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide, embellished with a signature on the tank that reads “Francesco,” Bonhams auction house announced Monday.

The bike was originally gifted to Pope Francis by the company last June in celebration of the 110th anniversary of the motorcycle brand. The pope is known for refusing to ride bullet proof Popemobiles so that he can interact with the faithful and turning to more low-key modes of transportation.

But it’s unclear if Pope Francis ever took the bike for a spin.

“I suspect that it will (have) a very limited mileage,” said Ben Walker, head of motorcycles at Bonhams told Reuters.

The money raised will go toward Catholic charity Caritas Roma’s renovations of a hostel and soup kitchen in Rome.

“We hope to be able to do both Pope Francis and Harley-Davidson proud by raising a significant amount of money for a very worthy cause,” Walker said.

Bonhams estimated the holy hog could fetch between 12,000 and 15,000 euros, or about $16,000 to $20,000.

After the Harley is auctioned at the Grand Palais in Paris on Feb. 6, a Harley Davidson leather jacket also signed by the pope will be sold separately, according to Reuters.

Free philanthropy school sets sights on nonprofit sector

In the first initiative of its kind globally, Saudi Arabia’s Al Dabbagh Group is seeking to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing non-government organisations (NGOs) globally: human capacity.

The group has set up Philanthropy University, a free online education platform aimed at supporting the NGO community worldwide. The university, which is receiving on average 1,000 sign ups per day, offers courses designed to build skills and knowledge to address NGOs’ most pressing needs and topics of interest.

“The initiative addresses a very urgent issue. The world is full of challenges, ranging from health to children, the environment; you name it, and this is a product of lack of adequate policies, governance, and a private sector lacking the will to address social concerns,” said Amr Al Dabbagh, chairman and CEO of Al Dabbagh Group.

“This massive vacuum has been filled by millions of NGOs supporting billions of people worldwide. They face the challenge of capacity and how they scale, measure their impact, and sustain their work and offering. Philanthropy University fills that vacuum and offers a global free online platform to support NGOs worldwide with their capacity building.”

The university offers courses on scalability, fundraising, capacity gap and strategic impact, among others. It has collaborated with UC Berkeley Haas and employed “the crème de la crème of faculty members” from different universities and institutions, said Al Dabbagh.

Among its faculty members is Paul Brest, who chairs the curriculum committee at Philanthropy University, is former president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and is the Dean Emeritus at Stanford Law School. Brest is teaching a course titled Essentials of Non-Profit Strategy.

The courses, also known as MOOCs, or massive open online courses, start in September, with seven options to choose from. The university plans to add more each year, adjusting them to meet NGOs requirements. There is no cap on the number of enrollees.

“Our finish line is to impact NGOs supporting 100 million people by 2020,” said Al Dabbagh.

Participants have joined from more than 100 countries, with big representation from India, China, and Africa. Half of them between the age group of 24 and 34, and an equal split between female and male participation. The university is reaching out to homegrown NGOs that require assistance; however, any individual can sign up for the courses.

“We’ve been supporting local NGOs dealing with homegrown challenges and problems. We are bringing our value proposition and UC Berkeley Haas to the doorstep of local NGOs whether small, medium or large,” he said.

The Al Dabbagh Group is a family business operating under three principles – giving, earning and sustaining. Its UK-based Stars Foundation supports NGOs in countries with the highest under-five mortality rate, and helps disadvantaged children in areas of protection, education, health and WASH (water and sanitation).

Its initiatives include the annual Philanthropreneurship Forum, which debates the next generation of best practices in philanthropy.

On financing, Al Dabbagh said the group represented the founding investors, but will welcome other co-investors in the future. He declined to mention the size of the investment, but said it was significant.

“We are strategic philanthropists. We are not chequebook philanthropists. We like to talk about impact rather than how much the cheque value and the dollar sign are, and this is something that I have been advocating,” he said.

“We hear lots of talk about how much x, y and z are putting on the table in terms of endowments and donations, but very little talk about impact and how they are measuring the impact of their dollar.”

Al-Dabbagh Group, headquartered in Jeddah, was founded by former Saudi Minister of Agriculture Sheikh Abdullah Al-Dabbagh in 1962. It employs more than 13,000 people across 57 companies in more than 60 countries. It has business interests in areas of food, housing, petroleum, auto services and packaging. The family’s philosophy of giving started with the founder and has become part of its modus operandi.

“Since 1962 when my father started the family business, for every dollar we’ve been distributing as dividend, we matched it with a philanthropic dollar. This is a tradition that we have religiously followed over the last 50 years,” said Al Dabbagh.

“I think that’s what differentiates our giving from giving practices of other family businesses. The founder decided not to make an endowment and then for the next generation to not practice giving… He wanted every single member of the future generations to practice giving.”