Bag-packing event - Volunteers needed!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the long weekend and the glimpse of sun we saw today. With the clocks going forward this weekend I really hope that is the end of the winter weather and we can celebrate spring!

 

I have had a great week off work, attending a friend's wedding down-south and catching up with old friends and family members. I have also given myself a wee break from fundraising and been focusing on training with workouts at the gym and a bike ride down the Water of Leith. Today though I thought I had get back to it and follow up some letters to local businesses and encourage more sponsorship on my JustGiving page. Unfortunately I have had quite a lot of negative responses recently due to commitments of businesses to other organisations but there has been one positive response.....

 

A local supermarket has agreed to let me and a team of volunteers bag-pack for their customers on Saturday 4th May in exchange for a donation to charity. Three of my friends have already agreed to help me out but ideally I would like another 3 or 4 people in my team. Can any of you help? Afterwards all volunteers are invited back to mine for a home-cooked meal and wine. You will also get to keep your T-shirt from the day and bask in good karma for being such a good sport! Leave a comment below or send me a text or email if you would like to help! Many thanks in advance!

 

Sx

Easter Quiz :-)

My colleagues had until 4pm today to return their quiz forms and then I tallyed the scores. The top ten correct answers all won one of the yummy easter eggs below, courtesy of Tesco. The winners were Aleks, Stephen, Simon, Paul, Craig, Julia, Sandra, Jim and Faye. All entries were put into a hat and my teammate Ryan pulled out the winning name of the "star prize" - the Malteser Egg - and the lucky winner was Scott McDonald ;-) Congratulations to all the winners and sincere thanks to all who participated. I sold 80 quiz forms in total, raising £80 for WaterAid, I am delighted :-)

 

In addition many of my colleagues have been generously sponsoring me to trek to Machu Picchu through my JustGiving page and a paper sponsorship form. My colleague Mei-Mei also generously gave her time to help secure me sponsors by taking charge of my sponsorship form for a few days and approaching people in the business she knows much better than I do. Mei-Mei I truly appreciate all your help and support, many thanks!

 

I have now promised my colleagues a break from my fundraising activities (or they will all be bankrupt!) and after my wee holiday down to London this weekend I will throw myself into my exercise programme and focus on some serious training! For now though I will leave you with the good news that my current fundraising total stands at £1179, 29% of my target sum! Fundraising takes time, patience, and a lot of planning but I am confident I will get there with the support and encouragement of those around me. Thank you one and all!

 

 

Sx

Easter Quiz & support from Tesco!

A few years ago I ran an Easter Quiz at Aviva, where I worked at the time ro raise money for Autism and it proved a success so I thought it would be a good idea to emulate it this time round for WaterAid! As I was thinking about it in bed late last night I suddenely realised I am on holiday from Friday until 1st April and so if I was going to make use of the Easter theme I had better get my skates on! Out came my laptop and I drew up my multiple choice Quiz based on Easter and an advertising email to send round the office.



Fortunately Steven, the store manager at a local Tesco branch was on night shift and able to reply to my late night email and kindly agreed to donate some Easter Eggs as prizes for winning entries. I had spoken to Steven in person the week before and was encouraged by his support, his response last night was equally as enthusiastic and I was delighted Tesco at Picardy Place was in a position to help. This morning I nipped up to Tesco to pick up the chocolate eggs and was elated to not only receive the 10 Eggs I had proposed but a Star-prize of a larger Malteser's egg and 5 packets of Cadbury's Mini-eggs to offer those buying a quiz form! Sincere thanks to Steven and his duty manager Lynda for their generous donation and good wishes. It really meant a lot!

 

Back in the office I set about selling as many quiz forms as I could in between more pressing business matters and was pleased to have a generally positive response from my colleagues. I sold 47 copies today and hope to sell some more tomorrow before the winners are announced just after 4pm! The first 10 correct answers will each win a medium egg and all those who entered will be put into a draw for the star prize, good luck to all those who entered and I'll report back tomorrow on the winners!

The Star-prize!

NB: No Maltesers were hurt in the making of these bunnies! ;-)

Thanks to L'Occitane

 

 

An exciting parcel greeted me when I arrived home from work tonight, ripping into I discovered a gorgeous gift set from L'Occitane. I am not sure exactly which products are inside as I don't want to damage the packaging but everything smells devine and it's beautifully wrapped. Many thanks to Belinda and Catherine in the PR department of L'Occitane for their generous raffle donation and for their good wishes for my fundraising activities. Thank you also to Anne Porter in the Edinburgh store for passing on my letter to the appropriate department, much appreciated!

http://uk.loccitane.com

Sx
www.justgiving.com/trekforwater2013

Making it real!

I received a lovely letter in the post yesterday from WaterAid expressing their gratitude for the proceeds of my Cake sale at work. It was touching to read a positive story of how donations to WaterAid really make a difference and great to learn that Gaura, the Nepalese woman depicted, had high hopes for her future and the future of her grandchildren!

 

Together we can make a difference: www.justgiving.com/trekforwater2013

 
Sx

Further thanks for Raffle prize donations

This week I have received a few other raffle prizes to add to the pot for my Quiz night and Ceilidh! It is always exciting to come home from a day in the office and check my mail to see if I have been lucky! The following companies get a big thumbs up from me: Diageo, Walkers Shortbread and the Scottish Deer Centre!

• Diageo is a British Multinational alcoholic beverages company and the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine. Diageo's brand includes Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys and Guinness - all best selling products. Philip Madden from the customer relations department took kindly to my request and generously sent a BBQ utensils set with good wishes. Thank you Philip and Diageo! (www.diageo.com).

 

• Walkers Shortbread is Scotland's biggest exporter of food, manufacturing a variety of shortbread, biscuits, cookies and crackers. Their signature pure butter shortbread in baked in the village of Aberlour to an original family recipe dating back to 1898! The lovely ladies in the Marketing division, Phyllis and Dawn have very kindly sent me a gorgeous hamper of their products. It is presented well and full of delicious goodies including petticoat tails, rich fruit cake and oatcakes, I think I'll be a teensy bit jealous of the winner! lol (www.walkersshortbread.com). Thank you ladies!

 

 

 

• The Scottish Deer Centre is one of Fife's largest visitor attractions, set over 55 acres.   There collection includes 14 species of Deer from around the world, Fife's only Wolf pack, Otters and other rare Scottish species including the Wildcat. They also host Raptor World Bird of Prey centre! It's a great day out for kids, with plenty of education opportunities and most of all FUN. Ranger tours and Bird of Prey shows feature daily! As a child, this was of my favourite places to go along with my sister! The Head Ranger, Simon Loudon has kindly donated a family pass, worth £23 for 2 adults and 2 children. Thank you Simon!

 

Sx
www.justgiving.com/trekforwater2013

£1000 milestone surpassed :-)

Good morning dear readers!

 

I am delighted to tell you I have raised over £1000 now and in just 10 weeks, I am 26% of the way towards my target! My Karaoke night helped bump up the figures and then yesterday I put out a plea to my Facebook buddies to help me hit £1000. My wonderful friends and colleagues came together and generously donated to make this possible. In addition my lovely Aunt Lesley, generously donated £30 to stay at the best B&B in Edinburgh last night (read my flat ;-)). I would like to thank each and every one of you for your kindness. With the constant squeeze on the cost of living I know we all need to watch the pennies, I realise too that there are a huge number of charities looking for your support and it's impossible to give to all and so it is even more touching that so many of you have supported me and my cause. Contrary to stereotype, the Guardian revealed yesterday that "ordinary Scottish people donate more to charity per head than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK". Not so canny after all :-)  

 

There are so many good causes out there to support and I am sure many of the video clips on Comic Relief tugged on our heart-strings last night but to me clean water and adequate sanitation is so fundamental for human life that WaterAid get my support this time. "Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war", (source) Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhoea, dysentery and other illnesses. 90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are in children under five years old. (source) Many of these diseases are preventable. The WHO reports that over 3.6% of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply, sanitation, and hygiene". (source) These statistics have motivated me to make a difference and hope it will encourage you to do the same. £5 to buy a take-away or £5 to save a life? Give what you can - www.justgiving.com/trekforwater2013

 

 

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

Sx

Karaoke Success

Last night I held my second fundraising event, a Karaoke party at SUPERCUBE - "Scotland's only dedicated private room karaoke venue" located on George Street, here in Edinburgh. Five weeks in the planning, I was anxious as to how many people would actually attend as Karaoke does not appeal to everyone! I fervently advertised my event with posters, texts, emails, Facebook messages and word of mouth and had a lot of interest but, as is so often the case, couldn't get many to commit to buying tickets and coming along. Fortunately I had the support of the usual suspects, my dearest and nearest and I knew that with them, what ever happened, we would have fun! As it turns out 16 turned up to exercise their vocal cords and support a great cause. By all accounts, a great time was had, even by those who were vary of karaoke! The best thing about SUPERCUBE is, that "it's all about you, and your mates, being part of your favourite music in the comfort of your own private party. No embarrassment, no putting up with the howls of strangers, just unpretentious, unadulterated, and affordable fun".

 

Everyone got into the spirit of the occasion, the drinks were flowing and we all tucked into a variety of pizza between songs. We all took turns on the mics, and particularly enjoyed listening to the duets of our seasoned 'karaokers' Laura and Fraser :-) During the evening I also held a raffle, with wine, various chocolate boxes, biscuits and body shop goodies courtesy of Scotmid, Hotel Chocolat, Tunnocks and the Body Shop @ Home. To-date I have received additional raffle prizes as you know but I have decided to keep these for my next event.

 

Although the party was only supposed to go on till 10, there were many requests for encore by my guests and the fantastic staff at Supercube kindly allowed us sing away until our hearts were content. With 25000 songs to choose from this wasn't hard! It was gone midnight when we finally wound down, with the gentle reminder we all had work today! Supercube is an awesome venue and I am extremely grateful to the staff for their encouragement, kindness and support towards this event. From the word go the manager Iain has been extremely helpful and his assistant Alex was fantastic last night arranging everything for us. A top night out, not to be missed. If you haven't been to Supercube before, I urge you to try it.... you'll be hooked I am sure! www.supercube.biz

 

verall it was a great night and most importantly it raised money for WaterAid! After my costs had been deducted and the proceeds from the raffle and collecting tin added to the remainder, I was delighted to have made a profit of £138.70! A huge thank you to each and every one of you who came last night, gave generously and made it the special night that it was. I couldn't have done it with out!

 

Sx

 

P.S. Photos to follow :-)

www.justgiving.com/trekforwater2013

A huge thumbs up to Scotmid!

 

Much of my free-time these days is taken up with writing to companies to sound out interest in either sponsoring me to complete my challenge or to donate a raffle prize or two to fundraising events I am planning. In some respects it is like applying for jobs, no response from some, possibility from others and then bingo, you hit the jack pot! Tonight I did just that! I had spoken to the store manager at my local Scotmid Co-operative last week about the possibility of his store donating a raffle prize for my Karaoke night on Thursday. Roy said he would see what he could do and asked me to pop back in at the beginning of this week. I was delighted when I learnt he had set a few things aside for me and was hoping for a bottle of wine and perhaps even a box of chocolates. To my amazement Roy and his team at Scotmid very generously donated the following: a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck champagne, a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white, 2 boxes of chocolates and a "Eau de parfum" gift set. Scotmid Co-operative seem to go out of their way to help the people of their community and for that I am ever so grateful. Thank you Scotmid Co-operative!

 



 

Before I close for tonight, I also received a lovely letter from my Aunt Hazel, in the post today and she has generously sponsored me £30, bringing my current total to

£789!

Not only that but she wrote that she was enjoying reading my blog and the fact that I do indeed have readers, has inspired me to continue writing! Thank you Hazel!

Sx

World Water Day is approaching

After work tonight I went to the monthly meeting of the Edinburgh WaterAid committee, the chair, Marianne kindly brought me a WaterAid banner and a collecting tin to use at my karaoke event on Thursday, along with some more leaflets. Much appreciated :-)

 

It was brought to my attention that the 22nd March is World Water Day, This International day is held as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Tonight I got home to find a letter from the council advising me that the water in my development will be turned off until 06:30 tomorrow morning for essential work. Although an inconvenience, I was able to fill up the kitchen sink and the kettle in a matter or seconds and be safe in the knowledge that I will have clean, safe water to drink and wash until tomorrow. It did get me thinking however, about how much water the average household usually get through in a day - from showering, to washing our hands, doing the dishes and mopping the floor we use a lot water. In the developed world we take this for granted. Imagine how a mother in an under-developed country would feel when she realises how much water we waste needlessly... the tap running while we brush our teeth, that 20-minute shower because the water is hot. She walks on average 6km to get water, carries a cistern weighing a good 40 pounds when full home, and still risks the water being polluted. Aside from putting a great deal of strain on their bodies, walking such long distances keeps children out of school and women away from other endeavours that can help improve the quality of life in their communities. It doesn't have to be this way, we can make a difference. Just £70 can buy a hand pump and pay for training, to provide safe, clean water to a community whilst ensuring that it is maintained and repaired.

 

 

Every minute of every day people are suffering and lives are lost needlessly because of a lack of safe water. Please help me & WaterAid end this global crisis and transform lives today by sponsoring me at www.justgiving.com/trekforwater2013

 

Sx.

A few more raffle prizes to add to the pot ...

Over the weekend a few more raffle prizes made their way to me...

 



Firstly I would like to say a huge thanks to Margaret and Fergus at Tunnocks for donating their famous Caramel Wafers and yummy Teacakes. My Mum is a huge Caramel Wafer fan and so I was brought up knowing "this national treat" well! Tunnocks have very kindly given me a box of 48 caramel wafers and a box of 36 teacakes and my ever so obliging sister picked up the goodies from the Uddingston factory on her way over from Glasgow on Saturday. Thanks so much Ruth, really appreciate your help!

 

For more info about Tunnock's products and merchandise, please visit: www.tunnock.co.uk

 

 

Then on Sunday I popped into Hotel Chocolat on Frederick street, going into this store is like entering a little piece of heaven. Hotel chocolat are the only company in the UK to grow cocoa on their own plantation and from it they produce every kind of chocolate product imaginable. From their simple giant Chocolate Slabs to their luxurious champagne truffles, Hotel Chocolat has something for everyone. One of my favourites is their hot chocolate, made with 100% cocoa, no shopping trip is complete without one! Hearing of my proposed adventure and fundraising activities Hotel Chocolat kindly donated a box of Easter chocolates (The H-box) to my raffle. Created just for Easter, this cracking collection of filled mini-eggs is waiting for one lucky winner ;-) Thank you to Mark and his team!

The H-box as donated ;-)

 

For more info about Hotel Chocolat's gifts and treats, please visit: www.hotelchocolat.com

 

Sx

www.justgiving.com/trekforwater2013