charity – Page 82 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Get knitting – hats the way to do it!

An innocent pastime – get knitting!

Knitters in Edinburgh are invited to help older people by knitting wee woolly hats to adorn innocent smoothie bottles. The be-hatted smoothies will be available in stores from November, and for each sold innocent drinks will give 25p to Age Scotland.

The Charity will use funds raised to develop services including theAge Scotland Helpline and local support for older people’s clubs and groups.

To register for the Big Knit and to get free basic and creative knitting patterns call 0845 833 9315 or visit www.agescotland.org.uk.

Hats can be sent to Age Scotland, 160 Causewayside, Edinburgh, EH9 1PR, up until 27 September.

Age Scotland fundraiser Alison Payne says: “This year in celebration of 10 years of the Big Knit challenge we’re offering a £50 book token prize for the most creative hat. We’re thrilled that one of Scotland’s most exciting new playwrights, Sylvia Dow, has agreed to judge our entries.”

Sylvia Dow, who wrote her first play at the age of 73, says: “’ I’m delighted to lend my support to the continued success of the Big Knit, which is a great way of raising funds to help older people while flexing your creative muscles.”

James Peach, innocent drinks, said: “It’s a fantastic way to get creative, knit a little hat to adorn a smoothie bottle and raise money for Age Scotland to help older people. We’re massively grateful to everyone who joins in and helps make this year’s campaign a huge success.”

Health and Fitness Festival heading to Victoria Park

The words ‘health’ and ‘fitness’ are not part of my usual festival vocabulary, but a festival with a difference is coming to Victoria Park soon …

Zombies, space hoppers, hula hoops and health& fitness practitioners are among some of the activities, demonstrations and information stalls included in the official programme for the Leith Health & Fitness Festival taking place at Victoria Park, Leith on 10 August 2013 from 10am to 5pm.

Organised by local Edinburgh charity, Looking After Our Elderly, this new Festival is free to enter and aims to bring all generations of the local community together with the aim of getting active, healthy and having fun.

The programme contains a wide range of family friendly events and activities including:

5k charity run, adult space hopper race and fitness demos for the wider community from hula hooping and fencing to bodycombat and bootcamps
Range of health, fitness and nutritional information stalls including
Therapists offering taster treatment sessions
Entertainment marquee hosting a ceilidh band, comedian, dancers and afternoon tea
Complimentary bowling on the green
Range of local business and community information stalls

Kirsty Smith, Charity Director, said: “The countdown is now well and truly on to our first ever health & fitness festival and I’m excited about the programme that we’re launching today.

“The festival is all about bringing people together and reigniting community spirit.Whether you’re looking to find out more about getting active and healthy or just want to simply enjoy a day out with friends and family, there is something for everyone. We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone along. ”

Kirsty set up Looking After our Elderly in November 2012 as a Christmas Gift Giving Campaign to ensure older people who were house-bound, in care, on their own or in need, did not feel alone at Christmas.

The Festival will help to raise proceeds for the Charity and for the 2013 Christmas Gift Giving Campaign.Entry to the festival is free for everyone to come along.There will be a small joining fee to participate in the 5k run.

Kirsty added: “We’re still on the lookout for people to get involved and support the festival in other ways, by racing, volunteering, hosting an event or demonstration or setting up a business or information stall.”

For more information on how to get involved, the latest programme updates and application forms for the race, stalls and volunteering visit:

www.lookingafterourelderly.co.uk.

Sold! Celebs to help Shelter raise funds in online auction

TOP celebrities – including Olly Murs, Alan Carr, Chrissie Hynde and Plan B – have raided their wardrobes to donate some of their fashion favourites for an online pop-up shop in aid of charity Shelter Scotland.

Fans of music, fashion and comedy will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bid on signature items including an Olly Murs signed trilby hat and Chrissie Hynde’s Stella McCartney boots.

Other items include an Alexander McQueen jacket worn by comedian Alan Carr, fashionista Louise Roe’s 2013 Emmy’s red carpet dress, and a dress worn by former EastEnders actress Jo Joyner in her role as Tanya Branning.

Pop star and TV presenter, Olly Murs, said: “I’ve donated one of my trilby hats to Shelter Scotland this summer. It’s a great charity so get bidding guys!”

EastEnders actress, Jo Joyner, said: “Taking a bag of pre-loved clothes to a Shelter Scotland shop is a fantastic way to help a great cause. Shelter Scotland has never needed your support more, so I’m proud to donate my dress. Let the bidding commence!”

The online auction will open on Shelter Scotland’s website from 9.00pm on Tuesday 23 July and bidding will end at 9pm on Sunday 28 July.

Shelter Scotland is urging members of the public to take inspiration from its celebrity supporters and donate their own pre-loved clothes, home wares or books to their nearest Shelter Scotland shop, where every penny raised goes towards helping families and individuals facing homelessness and bad housing.

Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, said: “We’re so grateful to our celebrity friends for their outpouring of support and hope the public will get behind us too and donate any old or unwanted items to their nearest Shelter Scotland shop.

“It costs just £10 for one of our experienced housing advisors to help a family in need through our free national helpline. We can raise that money by selling an unwanted dress, jumper or pair of shoes. No donation is too small and every penny will go towards helping people in housing need.”

Shelter Scotland helps over half a million people a year in Scotland struggling with bad housing and homelessness. The charity’s free national helpline receives over 60 calls per day from desperate families and individuals. Shelter Scotland says this represents a 43% increase over three years, up from 42 calls per day in 2008/09.

Graeme Brown added: “We have never needed the public’s support more, and are relying on their kindness and generosity to ensure that we can continue to offer vital services to people who desperately need our help.

“Unlike our famous friends, your donations don’t have to include a designer label. Whether they’re as good as new or have seen better days – all donations are welcome. There’s no easier way to help people across Scotland who are facing homelessness or living in bad housing.”

Everyone who donates to a Shelter Scotland shop between Monday 15th and Saturday 27th July can enter a free prize draw to win one of five Fujitsu tablet PCs. The charity has also recently launched a new donation loyalty card. Each donation of stock will be rewarded with a stamp, with those collecting five stamps being rewarded with a £5 discount to spend in store.

Shelter Scotland has over 40 shops across Scotland, selling a range of good quality new and second-hand clothes, books, home wares and specialist items.

The online auction can be accessed via www.shelter.org.uk/sheltershops and will be open for bids from 9pm on Tuesday 23 July – 9pm on Sunday 28 July.

SSPCA seek owner of Sweary Sam!

Who’s a ****** pretty boy, then?

Swearing parrot seeks owner!

The Scottish SPCA is seeking the owner of a potty-mouthed parrot found straying in West Lothian. Scotland’s animal welfare charity was called to rescue the cheeky bird on Saturday (6 July) from a garden in Netherwood Park, Livingston.

The Timneh African grey parrot is now entertaining staff at the Scottish SPCA’s Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre, where he has been nicknamed Sam.

Assistant manager Kenny Sharpe said, “Sam is a real character. Not only does he know a vast array of swear words, he also dances and whistles if he feels he’s not getting enough attention.
He’s a very friendly boy who will jump on your shoulder or hand so it seems someone has spent quite a bit of time taming him.

“Sam doesn’t have an identity ring so unfortunately we’ve not been able to trace his owner. Hopefully someone will recognise him and come forward so we can return this rather mischievous bird home soon.”

Anyone who recognises Sam can call the Scottish SPCA Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999.

Nominate your First Aid hero

Scotland’s leading First Aid Charity, St Andrew’s First Aid, is calling for nominations for the Scottish First Aid Awards 2013. The charity is appealing for people to recognise their First Aid Hero and come forward with their real-life stories of how a First Aider has helped them and/or how it has made a difference to their lives.

The Scottish First Aid Awards have been created to champion First Aid in Scotland and recognise those individuals and businesses that are leading the way in its provision. The charity is encouraging entries from as many people as possible and the awards are open to all, regardless of whether or not training has been provided with St Andrew’s First Aid or another provider. Nominations are welcomed from individuals, businesses, public sector organisations, shops, schools and many more. Entry to any of the award categories is free and nominations will remain open until Friday 30 August 2013.

Commenting on the Scottish First Aid Awards, previous winner Emma Nicholson who won Youth First Aider of the Year 2012 (pictured below) said: “The awards are an incredibly important event in St Andrew’s First Aid’s calendar and part of Scottish First Aid Week. They are a fantastic way to reward people for delivering excellent First Aid and also provide encouragement to all First Aiders. I can’t stress enough the difference that First Aid delivered with confidence can make in an emergency and believe that by highlighting examples of this we can stress the importance of learning vital First Aid skills.”

St Andrew’s First Aid, which teaches life-saving techniques to over 20,000 people each year and aids the public at thousands of events across the country, wants to hear how First Aid can save lives and make the difference in an emergency situation. This is the opportunity to nominate a Scottish First Aid Hero; anyone who, in your opinion, has delivered excellent First Aid in Scotland.

Get set for Leith Health and Fitness Festival

Looking after our elderly:

In the winter of 2012 a new Charity campaign emerged in Leith called Give a Gift this Christmas. This was an opportunity for organisations and members of the public to donate gifts which were distributed to elderly people across Leith and North East Edinburgh. This was a tremendous success and has led to the development of a Health and Fitness Festival, which will not only raise funds to help the Charity, but will also provide the opportunity for sharing information about keeping fit and healthy whatever your age.

To raise the profile of the Festival there will be a number of key events happening across Leith and wider. Subsequently there will be a range of raffles and smaller events to ensure that the word is out and that people are excited about the festival.

Leith Health & Fitness Festival – Saturday 10 August, Victoria Park, Leith

Our inspiration is to help bring back community spirit! Working together will offer a way to pull all generations together, to mend the cracks and try to give support and care to our local elderly residents.

There will be a range of stalls and events designed specifically for the older community, this will include a marquee set aside for entertainment, amusement and a free raffle, bowling on the green and lots of complimentary events / treatments on the day.

For the wider community there will be:

Stall spaces for therapists and personal trainers (small fee)
Stall spaces for local businesses (Small fee)
Advice on optimum & sports nutrition
Career advice
Youth and Community information
5k fun run (application form below)
Hula Honeys
Fitness demos
Activities for all the family.

If you feel you could support this exciting venture by having a stall, promoting your services, donating prizes for our competitions or raffle, (we have two raffles, a main raffle for everyone and another one for our elderly people). Or volunteering on the day then we would love to hear from you.

Please email me if you are interested in being part of our first Festival.

Email: lookingafterourelderly@virginmedia.com

All proceeds will go the Looking After Our Elderly and our second Give a Gift This Christmas campaign.

Thank you!

Kirsty Smith

Charity Director

5k run app

festival stall email application form

Call for North Edinburgh to nominate ‘older people’s champions’

North Edinburgh residents are invited to nominate their local champions for older people for the Age Scotland Awards 2013. The Charity is looking for individuals, groups, partnerships and services that are inspirational in making a difference to older people.

The Awards will be presented at the Scottish Parliament on 1 October, the UN International Day of Older Persons – with 30 August the closing date for nominations.

Nominations are invited in five categories: campaigning and influencing, partnership working, services for older people, volunteer of the year and Age Scotland member group of the year. These are sponsored respectively by McCarthy and Stone, Raeside and Chisholm, Specsavers at Home, David Urquhart Travel and Solicitors for Older People Scotland. Details on how to nominate are available online atwww.agescotland.org.uk/awards or by calling 0845 833 9334 to request a postal entry form.

Brian Sloan, Age Scotland Chief Executive, said: “Through the Awards we aim tochallenge popular myths about later life and our ageing population, demonstrate the vibrancy of older people’s voluntary action, and inspire others to follow the example of Scotland’s best services for, and by, older people. So if you know of, or are, an individual, group or service in north Edinburgh worthy of wider recognition, whether in the public, private or voluntary sector, a nomination from you will be warmly welcomed.”

Dream big, dream fierce

Spartans volunteers head out to Tanzania

A team of Spartans Community Football Academy volunteers head out to Africa on the journey of a lifetime next week. Three staff and a senior volunteer will join nine young people to spend two weeks working with a support project in Tanzania.

“Our patron Gordon Strachan hosted a very successful charity dinner last year (pictured above), which raised an incredible amount of money. That has enabled us to do a lot of things here at the Academy, including our extension, but it has also given us the opportunity to send a small group from Spartans to help in a project in Tanzania”, explained Kenny Cameron, who is Community Programme Manager at Spartans Community Football Academy.

“We have links with a very successful Edinburgh-based charity called YES (Youth Empowerment through Sport) Tanzania. Their aims and objectives are very similar to our own, and in the past we have sent footballs, strips and boots over there. But now, thanks to the support of some very generous supporters – and the brilliant fundraising efforts of the Spartan Army volunteers themselves – we can take a small group over there to help out.

“The guys will have a very full programme over the two weeks – delivering Young Leader training and a coaching education programme, visiting schools and an orphanage. They will also spend some time in a shanty town and will see first hand the grinding poverty of daily life in what is one of the poorest nations on earth. As you can imagine the facilities are not great in Arusha, where the pilot project is based, so in time we also hope to build a football pitch and fund their development worker post for a year – we can make a real difference.”

Although the Spartans team have a very busy schedule they won’t be working non-stop and they have a real treat to look forward to.

“We have built in an overnight safari as part of the trip. It’s our way of saying thanks to these young people – who all live locally – who have given up a lot of hours of their own time over two and three years to volunteer here with us. It will be an amazing experience, the adventure of a lifetime”, Kenny went on.

“Our motto this year is ‘Dream Big, Dream Fierce’ and the Tanzanian experience kind of sums that up – who would have thought that a wee group of young folk from North Edinburgh could travel halfway across the world and make a difference to peoples’ lives there? The message we are trying to convey to everyone who comes into contact with the Community Football Academy is: Believe – anything can be achieved.

“Tanzania will be an experience our volunteers will never forget, and the hope is that they will pass on what they learned there and share their experiences when they get back to North Edinburgh, inspiring the next generation of Spartan Army volunteers”.

If you’d like to support the Spartans Tanzania initiative visit

https://www.justgiving.com/SpartansTanzania-Appeal

Arise, Sir Baldrick!

At last, a ‘cunning plan’ has come together – and in British honours system hierarchy Baldrick now outranks his master Blackadder! Blackadder actor Tony Robinson has been knighted while his co-star Rowan Atkinson receives a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Among the other well-known names to receive honours are Adele, Rob Brydon, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, Clare Balding, golfer Paul Lawrie and former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell, but the majority of recipients are unsung heroes – of the 1,180 people who appear on the Birthday Honours list, almost three-quarters are people who are actively engaged in charitable or voluntary work within their local communities.

BirthdayHonoursList2013

MoonWalk’s Psychedelic Extravaganza this Saturday

The streets of Edinburgh will be transported back to the Swinging Sixties this Saturday night! After months of training, thousands of women and men wearing brightly decorated psychedelic bras will Power Walk through the streets of the capital at midnight …

Organised by grant-making breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, The MoonWalk has raised in excess of £15.5 million since 2006, with most of the money being granted in Scotland, to help improve the lives of people with cancer.

This year’s theme is “Psychedelic Extravaganza”, where anything groovy goes, as long as it’s bright and bold – a Magical Mystery Tour from the Swinging Sixties, full of Flower Power!

The walkers will start their amazing challenges from Walk the Walk’s huge Pink Tent at its new venue of Leith Links. Uniting against breast cancer, many iconic buildings across the city will be lit pink on the night, giving the walkers a huge collective hug. Amongst others, Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Yacht Britannia and Lloyds on The Mound will all be basking in a pink glow!

The charity’s fantastic walkers will be taking on two new Power Walking challenges this year. Anyone aged ten and over can do the quarter marathon New Moon (6.55 miles). For those seeking an extreme challenge, Walk the Walk has introduced the double marathon Over the Moon (52.4 miles). The famous Half Moon (13.1 miles) and Full Moon (26.2 miles) challenges are both still available.

STV Entertainment correspondent Laura Boyd will be taking on the Full Moon – Laura was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009 and uses Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow, which is funded by Walk the Walk. Also walking are singer/songwriter Carrie Mac, as well as the editor of Good Housekeeping Magazine Lindsay Nicholson, on the second leg of her 3 Land Challenge, which also includes MoonWalks in London and Iceland.

Five MSP’s have signed up for The New Moon – Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton), Sarah Boyack (Lothian), Siobhan McMahon (Central Scotland), Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) and Drew Smith (Glasgow).

Entries for all the walking challenges are now closed, but Walk the Walk still wants more volunteers to sign up – a thousand are needed to help the event run smoothly.

There’s a variety of roles available, including route marshall, cycle marshall, water crew, clean and recycle team, and directional team (helping direct walkers, and other jobs on The MoonWalk City site).

To sign up as a volunteer for The MoonWalk Edinburgh Scotland please click here