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

288 replies

JustineMumsnet · 12/05/2015 17:39

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.

OP posts:
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Mnp2015 · 14/05/2015 11:47

I would like to put forward..

Lewis-Manning Hospice

Julia's House Childrens Hospice

SwanUK for conditions with no diagnostic name

[[http://beta.woollyhugs.com/ WoollyHugs]

MNHQ
RowanMumsnet · 14/05/2015 11:37

@tribpot

cozie, what you're remembering was a limitation of the website some of the charities used for fundraising. If they weren't registered charities they couldn't use JustGiving. And whichever site it was required them to have a specific project in mind.

It was extremely confusing last year trying to understand how the match funding was going to work. Did the charities have to raise a minimum before they qualified for any match funding?

As you say tribpot, think this was to do with the crowdfunding site that was involved last year. We don't think there are restrictions or minimum amounts this year with JustGiving, but we will check.

MNHQ
RowanMumsnet · 14/05/2015 11:35

@cozietoesie

One thing I will always remember about Woolly Hugs last year is the great scad of colour on their 'page'. Like having your own rainbow. Smile I'd have to support them as well.

(I'm using up my votes fast here.)

Vote early, vote often and vote as many times as you like (tho obviously we'll only count one vote per poster for each individual cause, if you see what we mean)

tribpot · 14/05/2015 11:35

cozie, what you're remembering was a limitation of the website some of the charities used for fundraising. If they weren't registered charities they couldn't use JustGiving. And whichever site it was required them to have a specific project in mind.

It was extremely confusing last year trying to understand how the match funding was going to work. Did the charities have to raise a minimum before they qualified for any match funding?

hazeyjane · 14/05/2015 11:19

I would like to add my support for Woolly Hugs

But would also like to nominate

SWAN UK undiagnosed.org.uk/ they are a charity who support the families of disabled children who have undiagnosed genetic conditions.SWAN stands for Syndromes Without A Name

It is a term used to describe disabled children who are thought to have a genetic syndrome or condition that doctors have so far been unable to identify. Many of these children have had lots of tests including blood tests, microarray, lumber punctures, EEG’s, ECG’s and MRI’s but they have all come back negative.

SWAN is not a condition, it is not a diagnosis and it does not refer to one specific syndrome or condition. In fact, the reason that many children remain undiagnosed is because it is highly likely that they have a very rare syndrome or condition.

It is thought that about half (50%) of children with learning disabilites and in approximately 60% of children with multiple congenital problems do not have a definitive diagnosis to explain the cause of their difficulties

It can be very isolating having a child without a definitive diagnosis, and some of these children can be profoundly disabled. It can be more difficult to access support, and make things like statementing, hospital visits and getting DLA more difficult.

SWAN UK provides advice and support, and has a very active facebook forum and meetups for families. Whenever someone on Mumsnet is in those early terrifying days of realising that their child is disabled and the tests and meetings start, I always link them to the SWAN UK website.

Sorry this has been so long, but I would love them to get some support!

Sign in here for Giving Week 2015: nominate your favourite organisation, charity or worthy cause
cozietoesie · 14/05/2015 11:10

One thing I will always remember about Woolly Hugs last year is the great scad of colour on their 'page'. Like having your own rainbow. Smile I'd have to support them as well.

(I'm using up my votes fast here.)

PolterGoose · 14/05/2015 11:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cozietoesie · 14/05/2015 11:01

Strike that last post. I should read before I think! Blush

cozietoesie · 14/05/2015 11:00

As I said, it was only a fleeting memory - and I'm not that bothered about the matter. It would be useful, though, to have an idea about the issue raised by tribpot regarding the status of organisations who benefitted last year?

MNHQ
RowanMumsnet · 14/05/2015 10:46

Hello hello

On last year's winners: we're not pre-judging - if lots of you want to get behind a cause that was on the list last year then that's OK with us.

@cozietoesie

Justine

I have a fleeting memory from a previous Giving Week that the Shortlisting Group would be more likely to select nominations where donations would overtake a specific objective rather than just being thrown into general funding.

Is there any suggestion of that this time round?

We don't quite recognise this, although as ever do give our heads a wobble if you think we've forgotten something.

Thanks all - could we encourage you to vote for causes other posters have nominated as well as the ones you're nominating yourselves (if any take your fancy), otherwise we risk ending up with a list of two or three frontrunners and about 90 causes with one vote each and our spreadsheet will be sad

autumnsmum · 14/05/2015 09:33

Rett UK are a great charity, retts syndrome is a condition which almost exclusively affects women and girls and causes profound, lifelong disabilities

Beeswax2017 · 14/05/2015 08:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cozietoesie · 14/05/2015 08:53

That's a fair point, tribpot. There are certain charities that I would probably want to support even if they had won in a previous year but people have nominated so many wonderful causes - and funds are so tight - that maybe no charity should hope to have more than one go at the MN pot. (After all, MNetters can always give or campaign privately if they wish.)

I don't know for sure - but I suspect that my ambivalence is more to do with the general lack of funds for many worthwhile causes rather than always thinking that one charity is immeasurably better than others. Other posters may have different views.

TheOneWithTheHair · 14/05/2015 08:11

I'd like to nominate woolly hugs too please.

McKayz · 14/05/2015 08:02

Id like to vote for www.musculardystrophyuk.org and Count the kicks.

If Woolly Hugs are eligible then I want to vote for them too.

tribpot · 14/05/2015 07:56

Are last year's winners eligible? I would prefer to see some other charities benefit this year.

Iamaslummymummy · 14/05/2015 07:07

Yep! They are wonderfully nuts!

BIWI · 14/05/2015 06:49

'Wonderful'. Have you met them? Wink Grin

Iamaslummymummy · 14/05/2015 05:27

I nominate woolly hugs.

I know that mumsnetters might feel that it is a big organisation because of the posts on here but there are only two (wonderful) women who coordinate a variety of projects to help both here and in the developing world as well as more focused projects for bereaved or sick mumsnetters :) Star Star

PerspicaciaTick · 14/05/2015 02:46

I'd like to suggest LUPUS UK www.lupusuk.org.uk/
They support people with Lupus, those seeking diagnosis (which can be a long, slow job) as well as funding research. They are fantastically supportive.

Women are the principal suffers of Lupus - often young women of child-bearing age, who may find it hard to have a successful pregnancy as a result of the disease. Shifts in hormones (puberty/pregnancy/menopause) seem to trigger the disease. Which seems to fit well with MN's users.

ChunkyStory · 14/05/2015 02:19

The Flying Seagulls
www.theflyingseagullproject.com/

I met this hilarious, committed and frankly amazing crew last summer at a festival. They were performing in the children's area and my family and I (and so many other families!) missed many of the bands we had intended to see because we were enjoying ourselves so much joining in with and watching The Flying Seagulls. This is from their website:

"Working in association with charities, schools, and care centres across Romania, Ghanaand the UK.

We visit orphanages, hospitals, gypsy communities, the rural poor, care homes, schools, youth clubs, the homeless and the elderly to do arts, music and crafts workshops, music lessons, dance, circus shows and clown doctoring."

I think if you combined Johnny Depp with the funniest comedy you've ever seen and then make it all about bringing joy to some impoverished people, you'd have a tiny window into the brilliance of The Flying Seagulls!!

EthelDurant123 · 13/05/2015 23:50

I'm putting forward Trinity Hospice in Clapham Common, London. They looked after my MIL before she passed on from cancer, and also my colleague Andy (also cancer). They offer fantastic support to patients and their families. Counselling is available to family members after death. They are a much needed and valuable service of palliative care in South London.

Curve · 13/05/2015 23:32

I'd like to nominate Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH). www.mash.org.uk

Jermajesty · 13/05/2015 22:49

I'd like to nominate Khalsa Aid - currently doing wonders in Nepal following the earthquakes. Just one, current, example of the sterling work they do.

m.khalsaaid.org/site/khalsaaid_1/who-we-are?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkhalsaaid.org%2Fwhoarewe.html

x2boys · 13/05/2015 22:48

Small charity In Bolton blessings In disguise they organise funfairs etc for kids with special needs and life limiting conditions also daytrippers another charity in Bolton organising subsidised days out for children with disabilities and their families Smile

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