Do your bit this year! (Children In Need)

Member Name: PinkLadyMel

Product:	Children In Need
Date:	15/09/08 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You are donating to a charity that needs your help and is a worth cause

Disadvantages: none!

This is a review taken from my original account "Jackstiger" that I have transferred to this account because I like it :)

Some of the dates will now be wrong but I feel the review as a whole is still important and valid:


**HISTORY**

BBC Children in Need will be gracing our screens this year for 28 years. Whilst this may seem like a long time, the charity itself has actually been around since the 1920's. For a charity that started as a five minute radio appeal on Christmas day 1927, which raised £1,143 (about £27,150 in today's money)you have to admit, it's not done too bad! Hosted by Terry Wogan, Esther Rantzen and Sue Cook, Children In Need really captured the nations hearts, and for the first time the amount raised reached over a whopping £1 million.

Ever since that day back in the 1980's, there's been a star-studded telethon appeal every year on the BBC. Thanks to the massive success the public have helped to raise over £293 million for children in need. This money is appreciated by hundreds of projects in the UK and helps to make millions of childrens lives better every year, an achievement to certainly be proud of.

**WHO BENEFITS?**

I have always had my suspicions when it comes to charity's and often wondered just how much of a cut they were taking for the fat cats. However, Children In Need reassure us that EVERY penny we donate goes to worthy causes and any costs are taken from the interest made on donations. This makes me want to rush and donate right now because after all, if every single penny counts then surely it's worth it? But first let's find out exactly who DOES benefit from my money.
It's hard to be young and for most children the biggest stress they will cope with is not having enough money for the latest fashion. However, there are the exceptional few that have had to deal with the harsh realities of life that even an adult finds hard to face, and sometimes a little help for them and their parents goes a long way. Imagine if you have had any of the following happen to you and how the help from Children In Need would change your life:

* Finding out that you have
a serious illness (Each year thousands of children are diagnosed with terrible illnesses such as cancer. Although most are curable it is still a great worry in such an important part of a humans life)

HELP - Each year Children in year help thousands of children combat emotional and physical illnesses.

* Facing violence and abuse at home from people who are supposed to offer you unconditional love. Leaving home to live on the streets, not realising the further danger they have placed themselves in.

HELP - BBC Children in Need helps organisations that support victims of abuse, young homeless people and runaways.

* Bereavement is hard for anyone and for most of us, we lose a loved one for the first time during childhood. Imagine if you lost a brother to a tragic accident or a sister to a disease? Who could you talk to in a house that might now seem so quiet and empty?

HELP - BBC Children in Need supports organisations that give counselling to bereaved children and those who are suffering from psychological problems.

HELP STATISTICS: Last year you raised £4.1 million to help children with mental or physical disabilities; £5.5 million for children with behavioural and psychological disorders; £10.1 million went to children suffering illness, abuse, distress or neglect.

**SO WHAT CAN I DO? **

If you are reading this now then there's a fair chance you have access to the internet. Get yourself down to:
www.bbc.co.uk/cin
This website is jam-packed with information and tips on how to raise money. If you're sutck for idea's or have a great one but want to know if it's legal then check this out, there's a whole section dedicated to wacky ideas.
Alternatively ring the following number and ask for an information pack:
0845 607 3333
Remember, every penny counts. 2 years ago i decided upon the idea of "every penny counts" w here at the till at my college if you had any change or "chicken feed" you could donate it. After a few whip rounds in the staff room people thought we was mad. After all, only accepting penny's couldn't amount to much could it? Well we raised £101.1p :) not much you may think but considering that was the effort of one person, which to be honest, didnt take much effort at all! It's a really good feeling to know you made that difference so go on - get your colleagues, mates and family fundraising. With christmas so near i think about the children who are waiting for their last day or preparing to sit by the tree with dad missing. They money I raised could provide a shoulder to cry on.
SO come on let's help. The big day for everyone is
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH 2001
The day when you phone and donate some cash or proudly hold up a huge novelty cheque from your company to Terry Wogan :) Come on, Let's all do your bit this year. Pudsy is waiting!

Mel xx

WAYS TO HELP:
1. Phone your local radio station and get yourself down there taking calls from people who are phoning to donate.
2. Organise a mufty day at work/school and make everyone pay a pound to wear there own clothes for a day. Also gives you a chance to show off that new top you got the other day..
SOME FROM THE WEBSITE:
3. Fun for school - Mad hair or mad make-up day. Dress as twins day - wear identical clothes as someone else for a day. Fancy dress football match. Talk in silly voice day.
4. Fun for work - Fine people each time they say the name of your rival company. Hold a tasteless tie day. Charge people for every time their mobile phone rings. Auction a date with the office heart-throb. Sell on-site parking spaces for the day. (If you've raised money at work you might be able to convince your company to match the total...).
5. Chuck-a-buck - Ask people to pay a pound to enter a special kind of
draw. Each entrant must write their name on a piece of paper and tape it (face down) to the back of the pound coin. All coins will be put in a bucket, and later on one pound will be drawn out of the bucket. The lucky winner who has their name on the coin will receive a prize or proportion of the money raised

Well there you go and off you go.. raising money... go on... !

Summary: Donate some money and give yourself some feelgood this year