Sign in here for Giving Week 2015: nominate your favourite organisation, charity or worthy cause

[JustineMumsnet]

Hello, hello

As (hopefully) lots of you will remember, last year we ran the inaugural Mumsnet Giving Week, raising nearly £23k (with MNHQ match-funding) for five MNer-nominated causes.

The idea is that you lovely lot use this thread to put forward the charities, organisations and good causes that you’d like to benefit - and we at MNHQ will pick five to be the focus of a week-long Mumsnet-wide fundraising drive in June. As last year, we will match-fund the amount raised by the end of the week (up to £25k, just in case any donors turn out to be Bill Gates).

A few principles: ideally the organisations chosen won’t be huge, national charities that already get a lot of coverage and fund-raising welly; they don’t have to be registered charities (our partners at JustGiving will do a bit of due diligence to make sure any that are chosen are legit organisations); and we’re on the lookout for a spread of organisations that reflect MNers’ concerns and interests. Last year the chosen organisations were the PDA Society (providing support for people with a little-known behavioural condition); the MNer-driven Woolly Hugs; Women’s Aid; Free Cakes for Kids; and Haven House Children’s Hospice.

And because we also want to make sure that the causes are ones that existing Mumsnetters have settled on, we’re only going to shortlist projects suggested by Mumsnetters who are registered as of now. (Apologies to newbies who join after this point, but there’s always next year.)

We’ll be partnering up with JustGiving, which will be organising the fundraising element and will also be making a donation to the chosen causes.

You’ve got until May 22 to nominate good causes, using this thread. So get cracking, and as ever do put any queries or comments here as well.

[cozietoesie]

I'm going to go for Women's Aid again. I don't know how some of our MNers would manage without them.

Well done to all those nominated anyway.

[CrystalGlitz]

Naomi House & Jacksplace hospices for young people - their Caterpillar Appeal is funding a £4m redevelopment to transform their outdated facilities to provide respite and end of life care. It's an amazing place that supports families in the most difficult times.

Naomi House and Jacksplace Caterpillar Appeal

Thanks MNHQ for giving us the opportunity to raise the profile of these charities.

[GloGirl]

Mummy's Star. A charity local to me but they support women all over the UK who are pregnant with cancer.

Obviously quite a horrible thing to go through but affects more women than you'd expect

They offer support and grants for things like nursery care and family holidays.

www.mummysstar.org

[MrsTerryPratchett]

www.freedomfromfistula.org.uk/ All the donations go directly to the work because the admin costs are met already. Read the case studies for the reason it's important. It is life-changing work, for women who are in need because they are mothers.

It's not a 'sexy' cause so I think it's a great one for the MN campaign.

[MissMI5]

Hi, I'd like to nominate Whittington Babies, they support children and parents in the neonatal intensive care unit at Whittington Hospital in North London. My son was premature and the doctors and nurses there saved his life. They help thousands of babies every year and they would welcome donations towards a refurbishment of the unit.
Thank you

[MegBusset]

www.leewaysupport.org

I nominated them last year and will again. They are a Norwich domestic violence/abuse support service and close to my heart as MIL and DH lived in one of their refuges when he was a child.

[TheoGB]

Given the uneasy political climate right now, I can't think of many more important causes to support than the Fawcett Society: www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/

While there have been small gains in women's participation in Parliament, there's still a long way to go, especially as the austerity agenda has generally hit women much harder than men. Fawcett's a really effective - and, crucially, non-partisan - campaigner on these issues working on a shoestring budget. Given it's also approaching its 150th birthday, now would be a great time for mumsnet support!

Great initiative MNHQ!

[LollipopViolet]

I'd like to nominate Ruby's Fund because I think there need to be more spaces where children with SN and their families can feel safe and comfortable.

[thingymibob]

Special Kids in the UK - //www.specialkidsintheuk.org

Small national charity who help support parents who have a child with additional needs through a forum and meet ups.

Their latest project is to fund and run a fully adapted static caravan, to give families an affordable holiday

[MTWTFSS]

www.add-vance.org/

ADD-vance is a registered charity set up in Hertfordshire in 1996 to support and empower adults, children and families with Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related conditions in Hertfordshire.

[showgirl]

The west of England ms therapy centre. An amazing local charity that makes life easier for people suffering with MS.

[DrCoconut]

Winston's Wish. It is national but lacks the high profile that many charities have. I lost my dad when I was little and it would have been great to have an organisation like that around. They do great work with children bereaved through suicide, armed forces deaths etc too.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Women's Aid
TSC Mwanza - a Tanzanian charity that helps street children through football
Hope4Kidz - a fantastic NE England based charity that gives gifts and experiences to poorly children

[Ruralretreating]

I'd like to nominate Count the Kicks www.countthekicks.org.uk. A small charity dedicated to educating mums on the importance of a baby’s movements and helping them work with healthcare professionals to bring home a healthy baby. The UK has the second worst stillbirth rate in the developed world so this charity is invaluable. Individual orders of its brilliant "kick counter" wristbands are packed by the founder's pensioner parents at home! Please help this charity to help pregnant mums and their babies.

[x2boys]

Can I nominate unique its the rare chromosome disorder support/group charity its been massively supportive to my family this past year after my sob was diagnosed with a rare chromosome disorder.

[x2boys]

Son*

[AndHarry]

I'm nominating the Luton & Dunstable hospital's NICU appeal. They're fundraising to build overnight accommodation for parents with children in the NICU unit, who often come from a long distance away to receive the care they need to survive and thrive.

[PlentyOfPubeGardens]

I'd like to nominate CoolTan Arts - a tiny South London charity that achieves great things on a shoestring. Run by and for people with mental distress. Among other things they offer:

• creative workshops which help keep people well and out of hospital
  
• the innovative and award-winning self-advocacy project which equips participants to find their way through the mental health system and the benefits system
  
• free, inclusive, user-led walk projects including the famous and much loved Largactyl Shuffle
  
• a fully accessible community kitchen where participants can learn to cook healthy things on a tight budget and can get decently fed several days of the week
  

CoolTan are really struggling at the moment and have lost funding for several core projects including self-advocacy and the main cooking workshops. With the pledged 12bn in welfare cuts, small, user-led charities like CoolTan are going to be needed more than ever and can make a real difference - if they can survive.

[BIWI]

Really glad to see you're doing this again, Justine! I think you're very brave after last time

Can we nominate the same charity again or do they have to be different from last time? 'Cos I'd like to nominate Woolly Hugs again if possible.

[Kajamite]

I'd like to nominate Comas

They're a tiny community development charity whose main focus is on people in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions.

They have quite a few projects, one for lonely and isolated people in the east of Edinburgh, one for women who are in recovery from trauma, abuse and addictions (including mothers in recovery) and another for people living in poverty in Dumbiedykes.

The work they do is fantastic. Through the work they've done with me I''ve managed to grow from barely being able to leave the house to moving in with my partner, making my own decisions about my life (and sticking to them!) and getting myself a job. They really do make a difference to so many of the most stigmatised people in society

[cozietoesie]

Cooltan sound really good - I used to live in their neck of the woods so I know the area well.

[magimedi]

I would also like to nominate Woolyhugs

A very small charity but with such a great idea.

And look where it started.

[niddy]

I would like to nominate CLAPA cleft lip and palate association. A low key, but essential charity vital to those affected by this condition, which can have such varied and complex ongoing impact on those affected and their families.

[LollipopViolet]

Oh, I completely forgot, but if I'm allowed I'd also like to nominate Art and Soul a mental wellbeing charity that I've personally used. They promote mental wellbeing through mutual support, arts and crafts and unlike a lot of support in my area you don't need a diagnosis to access. They nearly had to close last year and are still fighting to survive.

The support they offer is invaluable as a lot of members live in quite rural areas so there's not a lot of mental health provision for them. They also support young people from age 10 and over with a dedicated young person's group once a week, to give young people a safe place to go after school/college.