According to PDSA’s Animal Wellbeing report (Feb 2020), 51% of UK adults own a pet, 26% of those are cat owners. I am proud as punch to say I own one of the approx. 10.9 million felines in the UK right now.
We’re approaching the time of year when myself and Mr. F would usually take the short but muddy pilgrim up to St Nicholas Godstone for the village Christmas Carol Service. It sees the whole community and many of our neighbours come together over singing, mulled wine and homemade mince pies. It’s a time to pause and catch up before the usual Christmas chaos, talk holiday plans and share our well wishes for the year ahead. St. Nicholas is heaving, and many people are left standing in the doorways of the little church. It’s one of my favourite Christmas activities and one I’m sorely going to miss this year due to social distancing.
I don’t know Edward, but like most parents lost in an emotional swell of nappies, nursery and notes to Santa, when I see his face, I instantly see in him my own son, or the imagined face of a son or daughter yet to come into the world.
More than two-thirds of UK adults have worried about the effect of Covid-19 on their lives and what impact it will have for their future. Social isolation, job losses, financial insecurity, working front-line jobs and a loss of coping mechanisms has caused a widespread “mental health emergency”. It has been and continues to be, an incredibly difficult year for most.
This year for Jellybean’s 12 Days of Giving I have chosen to support Trekstock, who offer invaluable help and support to young adults suffering with cancer in the UK.
Kent Search and Rescue (part of the Lowland Rescue unit) is a charitable organisation dedicated to assisting the emergency services in the search for and rescue of vulnerable missing persons. Its voluntary members make themselves available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. They provide an essential service for the local community by responding to and supporting Kent Police, the Local Authority and other emergency services when they need to search for a vulnerable person who goes missing.
For this year’s Christmas Charity initiative, I am pleased to continue with my support for an amazing charity called The Hope Charity Project based in Sussex.
What a rollercoaster of a year 2020 has been! As we edge ever closer to waving goodbye to another year, another decade in fact, little did we know as we entered it, how we would be ending it. With so much uncertainty in a year that has been challenging for many, there are still so many people suffering who need our help. Christmas offers the perfect opportunity to give where we can by offering a much-needed lifeline. Off the back of two successful years of Jellybean’s 12 Days of Giving, this year we may well be doing things a little differently, but our aim remains the same; to give back. In doing so, this year we will be giving an average daily wage to a charity of our choice.
My chosen charity for the Jellybean 12 days of giving initiative is Prostate Cancer UK. It is a cause which means a lot to me as my dad was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. After having an operation to remove his prostate he is doing well, and I am so thankful for the excellent NHS staff who have helped him to make a positive recovery and deal with the after effects of his surgery in the middle of a pandemic. The whole experience has taught me to value every day you have with your loved ones as you don’t know what’s around the corner (oh and don’t sweat the small stuff!)
This year, my chosen charity for Jellybean’s 12 Days of Giving is Mind, a mental health charity which promotes the views and needs of people with mental health problems. I have chosen to support this charity because mental heath this year has suffered for a lot of the population.
The award-winning Northumberland Country Zoo is a family-run, not-for-profit organisation situated just over 20 miles from Newcastle and I’m honoured to be able to choose them as the beneficiary of the generous donation from Jellybean as part of our 12 Days of Giving campaign this year.
This year has affected everyone. Regardless of social status, living arrangements, career, ethnicity, gender and age, Covid-19 has inspired a national refocus – a shift in attention to wellbeing, both physical and of the mind.
Growing up in South London, like many others I saw people get into the wrong crowd and end up doing things that would affect their lives forever. But why did they do these things? That’s the question I believe we should all be asking ourselves when looking at shocking stats relating to youth crime.
My chosen charity for our 12 Days of Giving 2020 is Aspire, a charity that supports people who have suffered a spinal injury. Such an injury can devastate the lives of those injured, also affecting their family and friends, and Aspire offers amazing support. It is a charity close to my family’s heart as my sister Katherine was left paralysed after a horse-riding accident and over the years Aspire have given her grants towards her wheelchairs.
In the midst of lockdown 1 my best friend was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Why Lymphoma Action?
I think everyone can agree 2020 has been a spectacularly rubbish year. However, back in May, just as I thought this year couldn’t get any worse (long story, but suffice to say we’re now on our third date for our wedding, and who knows if that will even happen) it got a whole lot worse.
Like so many stories relating to charity support, this one concerns itself with family matters. Firstly with the birth of the Royal Marsden hospitals, and secondly with how they have come to help me and my family.
