Time for wildlife

Liz Nicholls

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Help ensure the survival of beautiful African wild animals by supporting two amazing charities

The last 12 months have been challenging in so many different ways. But to mark World Wildlife Day we’d like to highlight ways you can help the urgent plight of animals in need of your support.

The AfriCat Foundation & Namibian Lion Trust team are working hard to protect the natural habitat has been built up over the last three decades.

But with travel restrictions hampering vital fundraising from safari bookings at Okonjima Lodge, both charities really have gone back into survival mode.The nature reserve is a self-sustaining eco system, unique in Namibia, which has provided so much valuable behavioural and scientific insight. This knowledge, about big cats, grazers, pangolins, hyaenas, rhinos and more, has contributed to considerable understanding of these threatened species.

It might be March but, as the world is only just opening up, why not take up the special offer to buy a beautiful 2021 calendar? These feature 13 amazing images from great photographers including Chris Packham, Rohan Van Wyk, Joe Hubmann, Robin Maeter, Naun Amable, Paul Martens & Wayne Hanssen, of lions, hyenas, pangolins, leopards, cheetahs and zebra.

Check out the AfriCat shop here. Every pound you spend on these gorgeous goodies will help ambitious wildlife projects, in particular building a school in one of the conservancies which borders the western boundary of Etosha National Park. Or take advantage of the Donate Now, Stay Later offer from Okonjima; email [email protected]

Please visit africat.co.uk for further info & sign up to the newsletter. Thank you!

 

For a very different charity – read about England World Cup legend Sir Geoff Hurst’s gin and whisky to support dementia charities here.

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Rock Choir fundraiser

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Rock Choir, the largest contemporary choir in the UK with 32,000 members, is supporting Mental Health Awareness Week (18-25th May) by hosting #RockChoir24.

The 24-hour non-stop fundraising event is running via their Facebook page from 11am on Tuesday, 19th May to 11am the following day.

All day and night, the Rock Choir team will host an energetic schedule of dynamic singing sessions, themed musical events, songs from the decades and social musical events as well as sessions aimed at teenagers and younger children so the whole family can join in the virtual music Rock Choir Festival from the comfort of their own home.

As well as the live and pre-recorded footage, there will be video messages from Key Worker Rock Choir members who will share their stories with us from the front line in response to the pandemic. Also highlighted will be stories of inspirational acts of kindness from across the UK to reinforce the theme of ‘kindness’ which Mental Health Awareness Week has adopted for this year in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Rock Choir has also been receiving video messages from their celebrity friends and fans including Jess Glynne, Michael Ball and Sir Cliff Richard to name a few. Each has sent messages of kindness, encouragement and support for Rock Choir’s fundraising mission and Mental Health Awareness Week. These messages will also be shown throughout the 24 hour period.

Founder, creator and creative director of Rock Choir Caroline Redman Lusher will host the event. She said she was proud they were continuing to sing and help through the crisis, adding: “Rock Choir has been looking after the well-being of the British public for 15 years now and I knew that we would need to ensure that we continued to support not only our Rock Choir Members but also the needs of the public as lockdown continued and anxiety, stress and difficulties developed through this time.

“Our 24-hour Rock Choir National fundraiser on 19th May will not only bring back to back music, singing and entertainment to everyone but will also lift spirits and engage everyone with feel-good and uplifting music.

“Most importantly, it will help raise awareness of and much needed funds for the Mental Health Foundation who host the national annual Mental Health Awareness Week.

“I hope everyone will not only support our 24-hour Rock Choir Fundraiser but also become more aware of how every single person in the country and beyond will be trying to manage their own mental well-being through the pandemic and what they can each do to be kind to themselves and to one another.”

Mark Rowland, CEO of the Mental Health Foundation said he was delighted to have Rock Choir’s support and that he would be joining in.

He said: “By bringing people together and raising funds, The Rock Choir is not only an expression of kindness but one that uses singing which is also great for our mental health. I can’t wait to take part.”

Everyone can get involved in this fun event and donations can be made via the Facebook Donate option on Rock Choir’s Facebook page as well as a TEXT option which can be made by texting SING5 to donate £5 or SING10 to donate £10 to 70500.

Head to their Facebook page

Click here

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Looking on the Bright Side

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Sing along and smile with Farnham group in aid of Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life couldn’t be more apt for the times we are living in with the promise of better days in the not-too-far-distant future.

We all need a bit of cheering up, and Farnham’s Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice has been starved of essential funds since scores of fundraising events were cancelled to comply with social distancing advice.

FAOS Musical Theatre Group has found a way to raise both our spirits and some money for the hospice and they invite you be their guests and take a front row seat at their virtual performance of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Business manager Nigel Morley said: “Most importantly, if you enjoy the performance, please show your appreciation not to us but at our JustGiving page for the Hospice. You can get there by clicking here

Watch FAOS Musical Theatre Group’s entertaining performance below

Don’t forget to sing along!

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2.6 Challenge

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Thousands of you should no doubt have been running in the London Marathon tomorrow, Sunday, 26th April, and aside from the personal disappointment, charities large and small will miss out on the millions the annual event raises.

The Virgin Money London Marathon is the world’s biggest one-day fundraising event, raising more than £66.4 million for thousands of charities in 2019.

Many of these charities have had to reduce or stop services at a time when vulnerable members of society need them most; thousands of staff have been placed on furlough and many charities will not survive the next few months.

The 2.6 Challenge has been set up to help save the UK’s charities and you don’t need to be a runner to take part.

All you need to do is dream up an activity based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 that suits your skills and complete it on Sunday, 26th April – when the 40th London Marathon would have taken place.

The 2.6 Challenge can be any activity you like – from running 2.6 miles to holding an online workout with 26 of your friends.

Whatever your age or ability, you can take part – it’s not just for superheroes but for home heroes.

Choose your #TwoPointSixChallenge, head to the ‘donate or fundraise’ buttons on the website to save your chosen charity, then complete your challenge.

Whether you’re running around the balcony for 2.6 miles, doing 26 press-ups with the dog on your back or bench-pressing 26 kilos with your grandchildren, your help to save the UK’s charities which have all been affected by the impact of the coronavirus.

Do your bit

Help to inspire the nation by sharing pictures or videos of your challenge on social media using the official hashtag #TwoPointSixChallenge to be part of the campaign.

Click here

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Barry the pig

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Barry the pig needs your help – his home is flooded and he can’t swim!

He lives with dogs, cats, sheep, alpacas, ponies, parrots and tortoises at the Berkshire branch of the National Animal Welfare Trust at Trindledown Farm, in Great Shefford, near Hungerford.

The ten-acre site is a rescue and rehoming centre specialising in the care of elderly animals and needs your help to stay open after being hit by flooding.

Barry hates water and the branch has launched a Just Giving campaign called Barry Can’t Swim with the aim of raising £5,000 to build ditches along the boundary to enable the flood water to drain away naturally into the flood alleviation stream further down in the village.

The centre is totally self-funded and receives no help from anywhere except its fundraising activities and relies on being open to the public for events as well as the income from the café and onsite charity shop.

Ellie Humphreys works for the charity and says: “We are flooded and on the verge of having to close the centre to the public until the water subsides.

“The rehoming of animals does not cover the cost of vets bills, accommodation or maintenance of the 20-year-old farm.

“Not only is this impacting on our funds, all of our field animals have been put on higher ground which is not ideal for elderly animals and their joints.”

And it’s far from ideal for Barry in particular. He lives with a sheep called Bjork who has special needs and was rejected by the other sheep, but now their area is becoming inaccessible.

Ellie adds: “The last time we flooded was 2014 where our fields were out of action for three months.

“Unfortunately we are in the Lambourn Valley so we receive the overflow of water from the higher ground which then runs through half our grazing land, our dog exercise areas and our car parking field.”

Not having the fields also means they cannot rotate the field animals to eat the grass so the centre is forced to buy hay and feed adding to the costs.

Help Barry

The Just Giving campaign aims to raise £5,000 to pay for the ditch work, to help click below

Barry's Just Giving page

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Birds Hill Golf charity holes

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Putting themselves firmly on course to raise a few eyebrows tomorrow afternoon (Friday 24th) will be Bird Hills Golf Centre general manager Michael Connelly and food and beverages manager Kemal Sen.

The plucky pair will be swapping the plus fours for something much smaller as they take to the greens wearing only mankinis.

Michael and Kemal will play the 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th holes at the Maidenhead course in just the skimpy outerwear to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK.

As golf is largely played by men of a certain age it is unfortunately a common cancer that can affect many of these golfers, the aim of this is to draw attention that men need to be brave enough to get checked and deal with this head-on!

Everyone is welcome to come down and watch these two tee off at 3pm and then cheer them on as they come back off the 9th hole after about 45 minutess of being out there in the not so warm weather – temperatures are set to be around the 7-8 degree mark.

There will be a raffle in the bar afterwards. Everyone is welcome to swing by and chip in for the cause!

Donations

Follow the link to donate on Facebook

Click here

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Sunday races

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Today is clearly a good day to run with events taking place in both Oxford and Guildford, the half marathon and 10k, respectively.

The fast and flat 13.1mile course through the streets of the university city of Oxford takes in the colleges, museums and parks that mark out the route.

Runners will cross over the River Cherwell, out into the village of Old Marston and then back past the spectacular colleges. Live music, bands and DJs will be helping to keep their spirits up and if you’re not taking part go along and line the route and cheer them on.

Across in Surrey, Guildford’s first closed-road town centre run, the Guildford 10k, takes place.

Starting from the cobbled high street, run 5km or 10km towards Clandon and back before receiving a huge finisher’s medal.

Some 2,000 runners are expected to take part in the Guildford 10k, which raises money for local charity Harrison’s Fund raising money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

The event starts with a warm-up led by Field of Fitness training studio. The Mayor and Town Crier will then officially start the historic town’s first closed-road running race.

Porsche Centre Guildford will lead runners along the gently undulating “out-and-back” routes – which will be lined with local bands, a live DJ and spectators.

An experienced team of race pacers will encourage runners across the finish line where they can then enjoy a post-race massage.

Whether you’re in Oxford or Guildford get out on the streets and support the runners and help some great causes.

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DOGLE 2019

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Photo: Sophie and her puppy, Alan Smith, overlooking the Col De L’Iseran in France in the summer – Alan will be walking the final stage of the challenge with Sophie

Oxfordshire adventurer Sophie Rooney is three days into an incredible 1,000-mile challenge.

On Thursday 26th she began an endurance event, DOGLE, which covers the length of Britain in 30 days, finishing on 26th October, broken down into 10 stages – each stage being completed in a different sporting discipline.

Sophie from Bodicote will be joined by fellow adventurers on each of the stages, many of them incredible athletes in their own right.
And she’s doing it all to raise funds for IAPWA (The International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals) which was founded in 2009 to protect and improve the welfare of animals in need.

Sophie’s incredible challenge involves:

STAGE 1

John O’Groats to Inverness
Gravel biking
150 miles in 3 days

STAGE 2

Inverness to Fort William
Kayaking
60 miles in 2 days

STAGE 3

Fort William to Milngavie
Running
96 miles in 4 days

STAGE 4

Milngavie to Ambleside
Cycling
126 miles in 2 days

STAGE 5

Lake Windermere
Swim
11 miles in 1 day

STAGE 6

River Levern
White water raft
4 miles in 1 day

STAGE 7

Haverthwaite to Prestatyn
Cycling
129 miles in 1 day

STAGE 8

Prestatyn to Chepstow (Offa’s Dyke)
Running
177 miles in 7 days

STAGE 9

Chepstow to St Just
Scooting
239 miles in 8 days

STAGE 10

St Just to Land’s End
Dog walking
8 miles in 1 day

Marianne Beggs, fundraising and communications at IAPWA, said: “We are very grateful that Sophie is attempting this incredible endurance event. Money raised from the event will ensure many animals in need have access to vital treatment and support through our projects.”

Support Sophie

Help Sophie to reach her target by donating to the cause on Just Giving

Click here

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Alzheimer’s memory walk

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Join a memory walk against dementia and raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society

Alzheimer’s Society is calling on family, friends and colleagues to unite against dementia this autumn by joining  one of several memory walks being held across the country.

There are 43 walks taking place this autumn – including five longer marathon style walks, all raising funds to create lasting chances for people affected by the condition.

Dementia devastates lives, but every pound raised through Memory Walk will help Alzheimer’s Society provide vital information and support, improve care and fund research.

This year, Memory Walk will bring together more than 120,000 walkers, with the hope of raising in excess of £9million.

This Sunday, you can join one in Oxford University Parks – registrations close today so you’ll need to be quick if you want to take part in this one.

The shorter 3km walk is a gentle stroll ideal for any age, while the longer 6.5km will loop you around the park. Arrive from 10am, the walk starts at 11am.

If you do miss out how about trying the one in Windsor Great Park on Saturday, 21st September, registration for this one closes on Thursday 19th.

Take the shorter walk of 3.5km for a stroll suitable for all around parkland or try the 8km undulating walk which passes through stunning countryside. Don’t forget your wellies or walking boots!

Arrive from 9.30am for the walk which starts at 11am.

In Surrey, you can take part in Painshill walk on Sunday, 6th October and you can choose to take either the shorter 2km walk or a longer 7km walk. The 2km gentle stroll goes around the lake and is suitable for Memory Walkers of all ages including pushchairs and wheelchairs. The longer 7km walk will take you further around the park, with some muddy patches so don’t forget your wellies and walking boots! All routes and distances are subject to change.

All routes will start and finish at Painshill, by the cafe, where there will be a hive of activity to get everyone ready for Memory Walk.

Take a moment to reflect on who you are walking for by leaving a message on the Memory Tree, and watch it blossom through the day.

Walkers should arrive from 9.30am and the walk starts at 11am.

Registration is £10 and closes on 3rd October.

Someone develops dementia every three minutes

Unite against dementia and register now

More info

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Macmillan coffee morning

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Join thousands holding coffee mornings to raise funds for Macmillan on Friday, 27th September

Last year almost £27million was raised through people drinking coffee and eating cake as part of Macmillan’s Biggest Coffee Morning and this year with your help they want to top that.

The first get together was held in 1990 with the very simple idea that people would gather over a cuppa and donate the cost of their coffee to Macmillan. Such was its success it was decided to do it again the following year but to take it national – since then the coffee mornings have gone on to raise more than £200million.

Whatever you raise it all helps make a difference – just £28 could pay for a Macmillan nurse for an hour, helping those living with cancer and their families receive practical and emotional support; £112 could pay for a Macmillan social care worker for a day and £210 could fund a Macmillan nurse for a day. However much you raise, you’ll be making a difference.

And if you need some ideas for what to treat your family, friends or work colleagues to while drinking their coffee, they can help with that too. How about a piece of cherry and almond tray bake, coffee and walnut cake or try a savoury option of gruyere, bacon and leek scones?

Whatever takes your fancy, get cooking (you can even cheat and buy ready made if you like) but join in and help people have access to cancer support in their communities.

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