Jeans For Genes (Charities Aid Foundation)

Member Name: FORCHARITY

Product:	Charities Aid Foundation
Date:	24/09/02 (351 review reads)
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[Wrong category but we'll get it moved as soon as dooyoo are able.]


What are you all doing on Friday 4th October? Working probably, right? Okay then more to the point what will you all be wearing? What? You all ask, has she gone mad? We?ll be wearing our smart suits and designer skirts as we do every working day. Fair enough but how about ditching those pinstripes and tailored outfits and going to work?.. In your jeans?

Ha, she?s totally lost it now; the boss will do his nut if we go into the office in our Levis instead of our Armani?s, right? Wrong, you see it?s all for a good cause and only the most hard hearted boss would deny you the chance to help a good cause.

So before you all think I?ve completely lost my marbles I shall explain the significance of the 4th October. It?s national Jeans for Genes day, the one day a year when we can all go to work in our comfy jeans or other casual clothes and raise money for charity at the same time, it really is as simple as that. They don?t even ask you to dig deep either, so those of you running for cover at the thought of having to give your much needed wages to yet another charity can get back here right now and read on.

All they ask for is a pound, that?s right, one measly pound. You and all your work mates wear your jeans for the day and in exchange donate £1 to Jeans for Genes. Pah hardly worth bothering with for the sake of a quid you might think, but the organisers of this charity are clever you see. A lot of charities ask for large or regular donations which most people can?t afford but not this one. I don?t think I honestly know anyone who can?t afford a pound, even my kids could afford that out of their pocket money! So sorry, unless you?re homeless and destitute (in which case what are you doing with a computer?) I don?t want to hear any excuses. Seriously though; the idea is a very clever one, by asking for such a small donation, a lot more pe
ople are bound to get involved.

It isn?t just for workers either; do you have children at school or playgroup? Well ask the head teacher if they?ll allow the kids to wear jeans for the day, they could even make a big thing of it, maybe have a day of games and fun (for the younger ones) and all the while raising money for a good cause. Do be sure to ask first though as some schools do have strict dress policies and we don?t want your kids getting into trouble now do we!

So now I?ve got you all a bit more interested I shall tell you a bit more about the Charity itself.

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Jeans for Genes began in 1996 as a way of raising money and awareness for children born with genetic problems. In that short time they have managed to raise over £12 million for research into serious and often life-threatening genetic disorders affecting thousands of children.

There are four main charities that partner to make Jeans for Genes and these are:

Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity (Reg. Charity No. 235825)

The Primary Immunodeficiency Association (Reg. Charity No. 803217)

The Society For Mucopolysaccharide Diseases (Reg. Charity No. 287034)

The Chronic Granulomatous Disorder Research Trust (Reg. Charity No. 1003425)

There are also four other ?guest? charities which change every year, this year they are made up of:

Alstrom Syndrome UK (Reg. Charity No. 10771196)
The AT Society (Reg. Charity No. 803576)
The Haemophilia Society (Reg. Charity No. 288260)
The Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (Reg. Charity No. 327669)

All the above charities and information about what they specialize in are listed on the official Jeans for Genes site for which I will give the link at the end of this opinion.

So with the support and backing of these charities almost all of the money raised by this yearly campaign goes towards research into th
e many genetic conditions that can affect children. (With only 35% taken to cover costs, which includes free educational packs sent out to schools) Not only that but it helps to find treatments and hopefully cures for many of them too. They also pay for support services for affected families ranging from simple booklets explaining how best to care for a child with genetic problems to funding specialists to run clinic in hospitals. So as you can see they really do need every penny they can get.

Looking on the official site I came across a couple of interesting points, these were:

?The net proceeds of the 2002 Jeans for Genes Campaign will go to research projects which do not use human embryos or foetal tissue. The Jeans for Genes campaign will continue this policy into the future?

And:

?The vast majority of research is undertaken without the use of animals and, where there is an alternative, it will be used. In fact, the only way of identifying human genes and developing an understanding of their function, faults and how we may be able to overcome genetic disorders is to investigate human genes.

Tests on animals are kept to an absolute minimum. When research reaches a stage where human trials for treatment can take place, ethical approval must be gained. In order to gain this approval appropriate tests using animal 'models' ? animals which mimic the human diseases being researched ? become essential. These animals are typically mice.

Our understanding of how genetic mechanisms work cannot be advanced and ethical approval to carry out human clinical trials cannot be gained, without the use of animals. It is, therefore, a vital part of the research process.

Researchers are continually making efforts to minimise the use of animals and prevent their suffering, and the Home Office has very strict regulations to ensure animals do not suffer?

Both of these points were very reassuring to me
as I know that there are many organisations that do use a lot of animals and indeed embryos in the name of research which I know many people myself included are very uncomfortable with.

Hopefully I have now persuaded a few of you to join in on the 4th October and even if you can?t or won?t wear jeans for the day you can still help by donating your pound (or more if you wish) direct to the charity. This can be done by the usual methods of sending a cheque or visiting your bank and details of this can again be found on the official site.

Of course the best way to get involved is to join in the fun and send off for a fundraising pack, this contains everything you will need to make the most of the day including: A fundraising guide; stickers; posters; collection boxes and more and if you send off for the school pack you also get an activity pack with lots of Bob the Builder goodies.

Another way to support them is to buy the official merchandise, these include clothes for adults as well as children and before you ask, no they don?t have the charities logo emblazoned across them so that you can never wear them again. They also do a selection of dolls and teddy bears as well as pin badges; bags and Christmas cards/paper. All of these look to be good quality and are all reasonably priced so it seems there is something for everyone?s taste and pocket. I usually buy the pin badges each year from my local Tescos store and I?m quite excited to see that they are selling the full set of 12 badges as a collectors set in a presentation tin for the princely sum of £8.50. Now considering I paid a pound a piece for these they are very cheap and again it?s all for a good cause.

If I haven?t convinced you by now to either take part or send off your pound I?d just like to give you a few facts, again taken from the official site:

?In the UK, one baby in every 30 is born with a genetic disorder or birth defect ? that?s one born every 26 min
utes whose life could be affected?
There are over 4,000 recognised genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis and ?baby in the bubble? syndrome?
Much more pioneering research is needed and that costs millions of pounds??

As you see there are a lot of children out there who need our help and personally I can?t think of a worthier cause right now, can you?

For further information go to http://www.jeansforgenes.com and see what you can do to help.

Just to finish I?d like to tell you a short story. Just under two and a half years ago a little boy was born; he had the biggest blue eyes, and the brightest smile. As he got older he grew a mop of blond hair and was as cute as could be. His parents noticed that he seemed different from their other child and when he didn?t crawl; roll over and walk when he should they started to get a little concerned. They spoke to their health visitor on several occasions who assured them that all babies developed at different rates.

When the time came for his two year assessment he was walking although rather wobbly and the health visitor started to share the concern of the parents. She immediately referred him to a group of specialists in the hope of finding out what his problem was.

During this time he became increasingly frustrated at his inability to communicate and do things that he wanted so started throwing temper tantrums. During these tantrums he would head butt his mother, bite, scratch and punch anyone who got in his way and even try to hurt himself. This as you can imagine was very distressing for all of the family and made life quite difficult.

Finally the appointments began and they started to get answers, not only wasn?t this normal toddler behaviour it was found that as they had suspected for a long time, there was something wrong with their son.

At the present time they are still seeing several specialists and finally getting help but it does l
ook very likely that their son has a genetic problem and have been told it may be best if he is registered disabled so that they can get extra funds to help him.

As you have probably guessed, this is my story and this is my son. This is why I am asking you to help in any way you can to raise money for research into genetic disorders and maybe one day they will find something to help my child and thousands of others whose everyday life is affected by a little thing called a Gene.

For my part this year I will be sending a donation to Jeans for Genes and this will include ten pence for every read that this opinion gets.

Please help?? Thank you

Sandra

http://www.jeansforgenes.com

[This opinion was donated to the FORCHARITY account by Elvira. To read more about this initiative go to the FORCHARITY homepage where all will be revealed!]

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