April 2015 - Missing People

The chosen donate a day charity for April 2015 is Missing People.

A client of mine, Ross, who has a lovely cat called Tinx, works for this charity and was being sponsored for their "Miles for Missing People 2015" run in May - an ideal opportunity for my donate a day charity in April.

Missing People is an independent charity, funded by donations, who search for missing people on behalf of the people they leave behind - offering help and support for all parties.

From their website https://www.missingpeople.org.uk:
Missing People is the only charity in the UK which specialises in, and is dedicated to, bringing missing children and adults back together with their families. Some missing people you will have heard of, but many more you won’t. For their families, life without them can be a desperate and unbearable struggle. We are there for them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, at the end of a phone, text or email, ready to use every means possible to search for and find their missing loved ones and to provide vital on-going support to families where the agonising wait turns into years, not just days.

March 2015 - Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance

The chosen Donate A Day charity for March 2015 is the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance.

The charity exists to relieve sick and injured people in South East England and surrounding areas by providing a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and Air Ambulance Service for the benefit of the community.

A friend of mine used to work for their local Air Ambulance service and suggested them as a worthy cause to receive a donation. Although I am lucky enough to never have to use their services, and I don't know anyone who has, we all know what a valuable service they provide. What I didn't know is that they are a registered charity and rely solely on donations - they are not funded by the government.

I'm fortunate enough to have managed to drive many miles, and ride a motorbike for many years, without having a serious accident. If I ever did have a bad accident on the road, I would be glad to have such a service available if I, or anyone else, needed it.

February 2015 - Foal Farm Animal Rescue Centre

The chosen charity for February 2015 is Foal Farm.

This is a local rescue centre to me. I don't know very much about it other than the fact that I often pass their van when it is parked outside the vets in Westerham, but it looks a well run place with a great heart. I like the fact that their website looks nice and most importantly is kept up to date!

http://www.foalfarm.org.uk/

After my donation, I did get a nice 'thank you' email which had a bit more info on the place, reproduced here for anyone looking to find out more:

The animals here are kept on a 26 acre farm where they are neutered, micro chipped, vaccinated and given any other medical assistance necessary.  Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and other small animals are then placed in secure and loving vetted homes.

                                                    

Horses, donkeys, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and geese spend their natural lives at Foal Farm and no healthy animal is ever destroyed.  If no home can be found the animal becomes a resident for the rest of its life.

 

Foal Farm relies entirely on voluntary contributions, legacies and money made from fundraising

January 2015–The Farm Animal Sanctuary

The Donate a Day charity for January 2015 is The Farm Animal Sanctuary.

I think this passage from their website says it all really:

Why we are here..

Farm animals are global. They are not endangered, exotic or wild. They are animals who are born and raised for their meat and milk, and throughout the world very often do this with a minimum of care.
Care costs time and money, and they’re not considered to be worth either. They are just another product, although unlike other food products such as grains, fruits and vegetables, they bleed when they are injured. They die from fear and stress. They suffer distress when their young are taken away from them. They can be kept until they are too old to stand as long as they can still produce milk or offspring. They can then be travelled hundreds of miles, enduring awful conditions, to be slaughtered without pre-stunning.
There are very few places throughout the world where farm animals can find sanctuary to be able to live out their lives in peace, to be treated with kindness and respect. We watch these animals become comfortable and confident. We see their characters develop. We admire their intelligence and the way they embrace their peaceful surroundings. We watch them begin to play and finally become content.
They form close companionships and soon recognise the people who care for them and look after them. They ask for very little. For us it’s a pleasure and a privilege to be part of their daily lives.
This is why we are here.

http://www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk/index.php

December 2014 – Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

The chosen charity for December is Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

One of my very first jobs when I started up Chocolate Tortoise was, coincidentally, to help out with a tortoise called Tom. Who happened to be female. She was at least 50 years old, and had become quite heavy and her owner, Lilian, needed some help in putting her outside each day to have a wander and a graze, and bringing her back in again in the evening. I’ve been helping to look after Tom for almost 4 years.

Unfortunately Lilian passed away last month and this month’s Donate a Day charity has been chosen in her memory – she was a very generous person and gave to many different charities and Hearing Dogs was one of her favourites.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a national charity and centre of excellence in training dogs to alert deaf people to important sounds and danger signals in the home, work place and public buildings.

Find out more from their website here: http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/

November 2014–The Woodhouse Centre

The chosen charity for November 2014 is The Woodhouse Centre in Oxted

The local charity that supports local people

The Woodhouse Centre is a cheerful and busy 'workshop' for retired and disabled people living in Oxted and surrounding areas.

Most people come for companionship and to share the spirit of a cheerful, busy environment. There are about equal numbers of men and women and the age range is literally 20 to 90. Most of the workers are collected from their homes by a dedicated team of volunteer drivers.

A list of our most common activities:

• Upholstery
• Caning
• Seagrassing of chairs and stools
• Needle work
• Assembling poppies

http://www.thewoodhousecentre.co.nr/

October 2014 – Cinnamon Trust

The chosen charity for October 2014 is The Cinnamon Trust

The Cinnamon Trust are a national charity which helps the elderly and people with a terminal illness with their pets, enabling them to stay together if possible, helping to rehome the pets if not, and generally providing comfort, advice and help.

Emma’s parents made use of the Cinnamon Trust when they could no longer walk their dog. The trust found a couple of volunteers who were happy to walk Nugget every week, giving everyone peace of mind, and ensuring Nugget got some good exercise!

From their website: http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/home.php

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The Cinnamon Trust

The only specialist national charity for people in their last years and their much loved, much needed companion animals.

A network of 15,000 volunteers “hold hands” with owners to provide vital loving care for their pets. We keep them together - for example, we’ll walk a dog every day for a housebound owner, we’ll foster pets when owners need hospital care, we’ll fetch the cat food, or even clean out the bird cage, etc.

When staying at home is no longer an option, our Pet Friendly Care Home Register lists care homes and retirement housing happy to accept residents with pets, and providing previous arrangements have been made with us we will take on life time care of a bereaved pet.

The Cinnamon Trust - Peace of mind for owners, love, care and safety for beloved pets. But helping 32,142 people a year with 41,342 animals and running two home from home sanctuaries costs - We need your help to make sure we’re always there.