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.

Am I allowed three?

Mummy's Star - a really great charity (also local to me) who are run by some really passionate people who have been personally touched by cancer during pregnancy.

Young Minds - doing some fantastic work for young mental health at a time when CAMHS services are struggling. Often recommended over on the teenage boards.

Women's Aid - just because I read the relationship boards!

I would also like to nominate Woolly Hugs again

Another nomination for Woolly Hugs.

I would like to nominate kids and crew who provide respite care for children with SEN and their families in Bromley.

Can I nominate RAVSCA (Raising Awareness of Victims and Survivors of Child Abuse)

Since the Jimmy Savile Exposure, more and more victims of childhood abuse are coming forward to disclose what happened to them. It isn't always about being molested by a celebrity or a VIP - sometimes it is familial child abuse.

I work with people online encouraging victims to become survivors - but that involves counselling and support: either before, after or never disclosing to the police.

I can't tell you how much comfort survivors and victims are getting from sending in poetry, pictures etc for the exhibition - many anonymously - which is giving them a sense of value and worth and being listened to.

ABOUT RAVSCA

Carl (a child sex abuse survivor) plans to hold a photographic exhibition in which every photograph on display will represent one person that has been subjected to abuse as a child. The exhibition will have a 'wow' and 'shock' factor. When people walk in to the exhibition, he wants to create the atmosphere that will make people draw a sharp intake of breath when they truly appreciate the scale of abuse.

As part of the exhibition, information will also be on display such as the types of abuse, information from the charities associated with this project, survivor stories and how abuse effects people for the rest of their lives.

The exhibition also aims to raise money for several charities that support people that have been abused as children. Carl and his supporters will support one national charity and several local charities. The exhibition itself will be free, but people will be encouraged to support the charities through Just Giving. If the exhibition is successful, there is the possibility of taking it around the country and in which case Carl will also raise money for a local charity in the host city.

You can find RAVSCA on the Just Giving site to check that this is a bona fide charitable cause: www.justgiving.com/Carl-RAVSCA/

Initially, other than setting up the exhibition, the current fund-raising is going to:

NAPAC napac.org.uk/

and

Southmead Project: www.southmeadproject.org.uk/

Thank you for considering my suggestion. I am confident that if this is successful, Carl will ensure that Mumsnet Giving Week is given prominence.

SW x x x

May I nominate three?

Woolly Hugs is just brilliant.

www.riseuk.org.uk/ supports victims of domestic abuse, providing Refuge, Information, Support & Education. I'm very grateful to them for being there when I needed them.

www.thecarerscentre.org provides support & advice to young people and adults who act as carers to family members, partners or friends. I suspect their valuable contribution will be even more needed, following the re-election of this government.

Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice - www.pth.org.uk

They provide a Hospice Care service for adult patients, and their families, across the whole of West Surrey and part of North East Hampshire, both in the Hospice, at the Beacon Centre, in patients’ own homes and in the community.

They have been a wonderful support to my dad, who passed away on Monday due to terminal cancer, and my mum, since his diagnosis two years ago.

I'd like to nominate Heartbeat NI www.childrensheartbeattrust.org

It supports the families of children with congenital heart disease. Surgery for these children is being stopped in Northern Ireland and so they and their families will need to travel to Dublin or even England. The families will need more support than ever at this difficult time.

Thanks for doing this MNHQ, there are a lot of deserving organisations out there.

Can I recommend www.bensden.com

Bens den is a charity in the midlands that provides free holidays at a haven site for children with cancer and leukaemia. The holidays are totally free and designed so that the children and their families can enjoy important time away from hospital appointments. Bens den work closely with clic sargeant who refer families through to them.

The Biscuit Fund looks really creepy.
I think woolly hugs should always be a charity on here for this week.
I would like to nominate smile train and RNLI. However, as mumsnet sought advice from The Samaritans and changed their posts on certain threads accordingly that would be my one vote if restricted.

I'd like to nominate Yorkshire Cancer Research as I live in Yorkshire because as a Yorkshire resident, I'm more likely to get cancer and less likely to survive cancer than those people living almost anywhere else in the UK. And that's plain wrong, in my view.

I nominate the charity Count the Kicks who are trying to reduce the number of still born babies. It's so so sad, but 17 set of parents every day do not get to take their baby home from hospital :'(

Despite being on Surprise Surprise last year and seeing huge growth in awareness, they are still a tiny charity only raising about £30k a year. So many health professionals want their leaflets and awareness raising tools now, so the funds raised through your fundraising week could really help them make make more leaflets and try to stop the tragedy of stillbirth. Their Facebook page is amazing with stories of people now listening to the charity and trusting their instincts when their baby's movements change, meaning babies are being delivered early, but healthy and alive.

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

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

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

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.

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!!

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.

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 :)

'Wonderful'. Have you met them?

Yep! They are wonderfully nuts!

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

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.

I'd like to nominate woolly hugs too please.