Saturday 5 December 2015

Support CentrePoint with The Big Facebook Treasure Hunt 13/12/15


A horizontal bolt of lightening against a dark skyIt's particularly difficult to imagine homeless young people at Christmas. As the nights draw in and the weather turns, too many people, many of them barely more than children, are trying to keep warm and dry. As I write this, the wind is howling outside and I wonder how on earth anyone could cope without somewhere warm to go. How do you survive without being able to sleep? How terrifying must it be to live without a front door between you and the outside world every night? Like many of you, I am a mum, first and foremost. My children are my world, it doesn't matter how old they are, I will still want to protect them and I will still worry about them.
Those young people out there, tonight, should be worrying about why the Sky box always plays up when it rains, or what on earth Simon Cowell was talking about on The X Factor. They should be moaning because they have to put their washing away, not pleading with strangers for enough money for a hot drink.

Rain drops falling onto a road surface.


It actually really winds me up that homlessness is still such a huge issue in this country. My son is reading a book at school called Street Child, all about the harsh conditions in Victorian England. It is a sad fact that. for some people, life hasn't changed all that much. There are a lot of reasons why a person can suddenly find themselves without a home. It can be as straightforward as a family relationship breakdown or even a job redundancy. So easy, and suddenly you have no fixed abode. Life gets harder then, because that term; 'No Fixed Abode' makes it harder to get a job and access services that the rest of us take for granted. All of that is hard enough to deal with, but how much worse must it be when the Christmas season starts? All around you crowds of people are hauling huge bags, brimming with treats and gifts for the festive season and the Christmas markets fill the streets with delicious smells. Everyone is happy and celebrating and all you want is to not be cold. To not be scared. To not be hungry. And, probably, most of all, to not be demoralised, humiliated and ignored every single day. 

Santa's Grotto at The Galleries, BristolSo, that's all horribly depressing. But it's Christmas, so I think we need to try and turn it around a bit. If only for a few days, I want to try to make life a bit better for our fellow human beings. With your help, we can give as many homeless people as possible a little bit of Christmas, by raising money for Centrepoint's Christmas Initiative, which provides vital support in London, Oxford and Sunderland, particularly for young people, and Bristol's Caring at Christmas campaign which  looks after the homeless of Bristol. Both these charities provide shelter, food and warmth for displaced individuals  and give them a little comfort and self esteem in the process. I'm organising a Charity Treasure Hunt on Facebook, to raise money for both these charities and have some fun in the process. The event will take place on the 13th of December and you can join the Event Page here. Everyone who joins the event will be given a series of questions which they will have to visit various websites to find the answers to. The websites you visit will be sponsoring the event, and that's where our fundraising will come from. I should probably point out that the reason I've done it this way, is because you are not allowed to charge people to enter a competition, unless you have a gambling licence. So this is a good way to raise money, whilst not charging competitors and getting into bother. If you know a blog or company that might like to donate, in return for lots of visitors to their website, they can get in touch with me via the contact page at the top of the blog. I very much hope as many people as possible will join us on the night, to help make this event a big success and raise as much money as we can. 
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31 comments

  1. I think I remember you doing this last year? It is such a great charity to support good luck.

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  2. This is a really good idea - and fantastic for raising money for such a good cause (I couldn't get the link to open though - it says page is unavailable)

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    1. Thanks for letting me know, I've fixed it now!

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  3. What a truly fabulous idea and you have humbled me with the way you have worded this post. It's all so very true. I will take part. Liska xx Oh and I recognise that photo.

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    1. Thank you, Liska, I really appreciate it! x

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  4. What a brilliant idea! I'll support you all the way and will tell everyone (including the various business) I know about it too. x

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    1. Thank you so much for your support, it's greatly appreciated! x

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  5. I feel the same about homelessness, especially in this day and age, more so when it is young people for ex-forces.

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    1. Yes, it seems so unfair and it seems to happen so easily too!

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  6. In Sheffield the Cathedral runs the Archer Project for homeless people that we support regularly. They allow post to be delivered there and have access to many services including doctors and dentists.

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    1. That's great, it's so important for homeless people to have an address for correspondence!

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  7. What a clever idea - i've registered my interest on the FB page.

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  8. What a great cause, it saddens me so much to know there are so many people homeless n this country :(

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    1. Yes, it is still such a big problem, it's heartbreaking to see.

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  9. I see far too many young people on the streets and really wish there was more I could do.

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    1. It is horrible to see and not easy to fix, sadly.

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  10. What a fabulous idea, I wonder if there is anything local to me?

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    1. I hope so! It would be nice to think that there was something going on in other areas too, it is such a lonely time for people.

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  11. I absolutely love this charity!
    I think I've seen the book Street Child it sounds so familiar - But I'm not sure if Ive read it (memory is so poor) I know what you mean though. What that thing I saw recently 'Enough money to go to war but no money for homeless British people" So so sad :(

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    1. It's a really sad story! I wish there was more being done, so that it didn't seem quite so familiar in the 21st century.

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  12. I will be there! Fabulous idea Lucy, I remember being involved last year.

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    1. You were, you are always supportive of my mad ideas! Thank you for helping out again this year. :-)

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  13. This is such a great idea...it really is shocking that this is an issue that hasn't been left in Victorian times.

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    1. Exactly, you would think there would be more that could be done these days.

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  14. I have left a message on Facebook, I think this a brilliant idea and would love to get involved.xx

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    1. Thanks, Oana, I really appreciate your support. x

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  15. I'm glad to have found out about this just in time to join in - it sounds like a fun way to support a very good cause xx

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    1. Thank you, will be lovely to have you involved! x

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  16. This is such a great initiative Lucy and I'm sorry I've arrived too late! We were talking about homelessness the other day and how people can be outdoors especially now it's colder. I hope the event went well

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  17. This is such a great idea - I hate the thought of people being homeless :( I am going to see if there is anywhere nearby to me that I can help. Great post. Kaz x

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