How many friends do you have on Facebook that you haven't actually met?  How many that you haven't seen for a very long time? For me it's quite a lot - I live on the other side of the world to where I grew up and I travel a fair bit so my Facebook friends are scattered to the four corners of the earth!  

How often do we actually take the time to connect with these people, rather than just reading their posts on our news feed?

I came across this wonderful post on my Facebook news feed the other day - and well I suppose it is a little different to a Random Act of Kindness as the other person knows about it - but what a wonderful way of paying it forward to someone you might not have normally have contact with every day!  This was the post:

So armed with my list of five people... Some friends I've not seen in over a decade, some I've never met, and some from the opposite side of the world, I'm ready to start thinking of little random kindnesses I can do throughout the year to make them smile :)

Happy Paying-It-Forward!

It doesn't always have to cost you money to do your little random act of kindness for the day - sometimes it only takes 10 seconds!

Every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of hunger and 3/4 of the 24,000 deaths each and every single day are children!

But you can help and it wont cost you a penny!

The Hunger Site works on a very simple idea - click on the button on the site and a cup of foodstuff is bought for someone who is hungry.

But how can this work you ask? Just by clicking on a button and the food is paid for at no cost to me? Simple - when you go to the site amid a pile of banners you'll see an orange button in the middle of the site's front page saying "Click here -it's free!".  The logic is brilliant - it's a win-win-win situation for the starving, the internet user and the sponsors.  The companies who sponsor the website get cost-effective and feel good public relations!

The organisation behind the site is CharityUSA.com, and although it is not a charity itself, much of the profit is distributed to charity and crucially all the charity "click" money goes to the declared charitable causes and the charities confirm they get the cash from the clicks. And although its a USA based organisation - clicks from anywhere count! The UK is the worlds second biggest clicker!

Last year, visitor clicks funded 52.8 million cups of food and the goof news is you can click again every day - you can even set up an email reminder if you wish!  Funds are split between the sites charitable organisation partners and go to the aid of hungry people in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.

So why not pop over to The Hunger Site and do your little bit to help feed the hungry today :)



Image Credit: CSIRO

It's that time of year! The carols are playing and the tree is decorated! Christmas markets and shopping galore! Friends and family and good cheer!

Billy down the road can't wait for Santa to come this year! He's so excited to see what's going to be left under the tree. It's been a hard year for his family. Mum has been sick and Dad got caught in the company cut backs so he's not working either. But Billy has been so good. He just knows there's going to be something waiting under that tree Christmas morning!

But Billy's Mum and Dad are struggling to make ends meet to even get by let alone afford the holiday season! How do they tell little Billy that Santa is broke?

So as you're out buying presents for your loved ones, maybe stop for a second and grab an extra present for a local present drive to gift to someone who might be so lucky as to have anything under the tree to open on Christmas Day.

I've sponsored a 14 year old girl through a wonderful organisation helping under privileged children local to me called Once Upon A Smile but there are organisations world wide running present collections too. Can you sponsor someone's Christmas and help put a smile on a Child's face?

I feel the cold terribly. A cold day and I'm wrapped up in winter woollies so I'm as wide as I am tall. So you can imagine I wasn't impressed when the zipper on my long winter coat broke. Walking back after leaving my coat alterations shop for repairs, with the wind whipping around my knees, I was already missing my lovely warm jacket when it hit me.

I'm lucky I have a warm coat! I'm lucky I have a roof over my head and a warm fire to curl up in front of. So many people aren't! Homeless people in cities around the world are facing the reality of the long cold nights ahead. Autumn and winter can be particularly life threatening and depressing for anyone who has to sleep rough on the streets!

So if you've just bought a new coat in the pre - Christmas sales or have a few jackets tucked away in the back of your wardrobe that you don't wear or no longer fit, I encourage you to please dig them out and donate them to your local "Coat Drive" or homeless charity.

I'll be donating mine to the Urban Harvest Appeal at

Barnabus Manchester

Wishing a warm and Merry Christmas to all :)

As the cold weather draws in and people are struggling more than ever, our rescues and sanctuaries are full to overflowing with four legged friends who could use a little random act of kindness.A lot of these sanctuaries rely on the kindness of strangers to help them continue their work giving these animals a brighter future. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to become friends with one such person - her life dedicated to saving horses, donkeys, dogs etc. I have followed her plight ever since saving horses from kill shelters etc and giving these horses the life they deserve. Recently they have been plagued by bad weather and today I saw her plea for turnout sheets to help keep the horses dry. As I sat there looking out the window at the rain, and sponsored a turnout sheet for one of the horses, I thought about how lucky I was sitting in my warm office with heating etc and thought about all the  animals out there braving the elements. So many of them facing uncertain futures without the likes of my friend out there fighting their cause. So I ask you, can you help make a difference to these animals lives? Can you buy some cat / dog food with this week's grocery shop and drop it off at your local rescue? Can you donate old blankets or towels to your local sanctuary? Cleaning products are always in great demand. Every little helps no matter how small and it is through your help that these places can continue their good work :)

On the 21st of July 2013 myself and 5 of my work colleagues are hitting the streets running and donning the trainers for the Color Run in aid of Stand Up to Cancer!  None of us are the running type so believe me this may be a funny sight to see! 

Today, one in three people will develop cancer.  We have the know how to make rapid advances in the treatment and prevention of cancer; we just need more funds to turn breakthroughs in the lab into breakthroughs in the our hospitals, bringing cures faster and saving more lives.

We are currently at 10% of our £500 target.  If you are in the UK and would like to help, you can donate by texting unique code GMWD66 and an amount of £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070 or via the Just Giving website  and the money is sent directly to the charity! 

Today I registered to become a Chemo Angel.  Chemo Angels is a program dedicated to supporting people with cancer. In addition to providing helpful information and cancer related resources, Chemo Angels match patients who are going through the difficult time of chemotherapy with "Angels". The function of these Angels is - through little notes, cards and occasional small gifts - to bring a bit of cheer and encouragement to an assigned patient on a regular basis. This is not a pen pal program and your patient is not required to reply to you, however they can if they want to and you can get regular updates.

This is an organisation that I have seen the rewards from.  A friend of mine has a son who has a chemo angel of his own through his battle with cancer and I know how much a small note of encouragement can bring a smile to their faces.

Although predominantly focused in the USA, this is an international organisation and can match you with someone in your own country.  For more information see the Chemo Angels website.

A close friend and work colleague was having a particularly rough time with things in her life not going to plan.  A random bunch of flowers left on her desk at work to add some brightness and a smile to her day and remind her that someone was thinking of her

I've discovered this wonderful organisation called Post Pals! Post Pals is a small charity run solely by volunteers who are dedicated to making seriously ill children and their siblings smile by the sending of cards, letters, little gifts, support and friendship.  It was set up back in 2002 by teenagers who were ill themselves after finding that receiving cards and post was the only thing that made them smile when they are bed bound.

The website features a list of children on their website with a forwarding address, their interests and stories for people to log in and send cheerful post.  A quick trip to a cheap book store and armed with a handful of paint by numbers and puzzle books, I had a great time writing words of encouragement and support to some of the children on this website.  It's truly inspirational how much these kids face in life and still keep on fighting!  

If you would like to find out more please visit Post Pals here