It's all for charidee....

I get lots of them. I try to give to all of them. I'm talking of the ever-increasing Just Giving requests I receive from my friends and family. I just can't afford to do them all. So I decided last year to give my time and dubious talent to the charity of my family's choice instead, Marie Curie Cancer Care.
I started with the Daffodil Campaign last year, standing outside a supermarket for a couple of hours. Dipping my toe into the water as it were.
A little apprehensive...would I collect enough, would people ignore me, are people just too charity-fatigued nowadays for face-to-face collections?
I need not have worried. The people of Essex rose up. The two hours flew by, the collection tin grew heavier, and the smile on my face increased minute-by-minute. I met young and old, cancer sufferers and cancer survivors. People that needed guidance, advice and others who just needed a friendly ear.
As a family, we'd been lucky enough to have a Marie Curie nurse care for our loved ones, but due to the demands on the charity's funds, this isn't an automatic option for some families. It costs £20 to fund one hour of a nurse's care in a patient's home. The charity helped 23,406 patients last year, and provided 1.2million hours of care.
And they want to do even more. But here's their challenge ... Marie Curie need to raise £10,000 every hour of every day to carry on their work.
Seems an awfully high target doesn't it.... but it is achievable. Across the country, there are fundraising groups who need our support. You can find your local one at http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-gb/fundraising-volunteering/volunteer/ways-to-volunteer/volunteer-local-fundraising-groups/
Take a look at the wonderful work these volunteers are doing and see if you could be involved in some way. Since becoming Group Secretary of the Upminster Fundraising Group, I've met some lovely people, been in print (fame at last!), had the local MP open our first event, ate far too many cupcakes and raised vital funds for the charity.
And I've had FUN. Value-creating, rewarding, heartfelt fun.

Happy Monday x