Tag: Facebook

Ric sings his heart out to raise money for Heart Research UK

A long term supporter of national charity Heart Research UK is hosting a live Facebook concert to raise funds for the charity and help to raise the spirits of the nation.

Ric Cipriani, from Cheltenham, will be grabbing his guitar and singing his heart out from 7 – 8pm tomorrow (Wednesday 8 April), live on Facebook.

Ric first became involved with Heart Research UK six years ago, after his grandfather sadly passed away due to heart disease.

Since then, he has raised over £15,000 for the charity, running marathons, dressing us as Santa, and playing charity gigs. Ric will also be taking part in this year’s London marathon alongside his son, Daniele.

Ric had initially planned to do a number of physical gigs in the UK as well as the United states to raise funds, but this was postponed due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

So, he is taking his skills to the web and asking participants to make a donation to Heart Research UK instead.

“I love singing, and this is a great way for me to try and raise some much-needed funds for a charity that is very close to me, and also try to make some people smile in these difficult times,” said Ric.

“I have friends all over the world who will be tuning in, especially my family over in Italy who I hope will all be singing along with me.

“After my grandfather passed away, I knew I wanted to help his memory live on. I’ve also recently lost a dear friend to a heart attack, so it’s really important to me to be able to raise funds for such a vital cause.

“Because I’ve been involved with Heart Research UK for such a long time now it’s always fun to try and think of new ways to support them!”

Music fans can expect an eclectic mix of tunes, ranging from Eric Clapton and U2 to Radiohead, Fleetwood Mac and Oasis.

All the money raised will support Heart Research UK’s pioneering medical research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease, the nation’s single biggest killer.

You can sign up to watch the event here – https://www.facebook.com/events/151990389473700/

Martin Lewis, Citizens Advice and Facebook launch major initiatives to fight scam ads

Two major initiatives launch today to combat online scam adverts as a direct result of a campaigning defamation lawsuit by Martin Lewis.  

On 23 January 2019, he agreed to settle his case out of court, in return for Facebook making a binding commitment to donate £3m to set up a new anti-scams initiative, and create a scam ads reporting tool, unique to Facebook in the UK.  Continue reading Martin Lewis, Citizens Advice and Facebook launch major initiatives to fight scam ads

Facebook drive for foster carers

City council to use social media to reach potential foster carers 

edinburgh (8)The City of Edinburgh Council will conduct a Question and Answer session on Facebook tonight in a drive to recruit more foster carers. This will be the first time the Council has used the social media tool in a bid to attract more people to become carers.

The session will take place tonight (Monday 1 June) between 6pm and 7pm as the city council marks the start of Foster Care fortnight. The Council currently has 350 carers but is always trying to recruit more.

Councillor Cathy Fullerton, Children, Education and Families Vice Convener, said: “Using social media is a great way of interacting with the public so why not use it to try and recruit potential foster carers?

“We have a real shortage of foster carers across Edinburgh and by using Facebook we’re hoping to encourage more people to consider becoming carers for children and young people. I’m sure the event will prove to be a real success.

“Fostering is a hugely rewarding and really important job as it benefits some of the most vulnerable children in our society, helping them build a bright and confident future.”

Elaine McGill has been a foster carer with the City of Edinburgh Council for seven years. She will be taking part in the Facebook event along with other experts and carers in the field, including one carer who has recently transferred to the Council from another agency.

She said: “I’m really excited about tonight’s Q and A as it will give people a chance to ask us what fostering is really like and how it has changed our lives.”

If you are interested in taking part in the Facebook Question and Answer event please visit the Foster Edinburgh Facebook page between 6pm and 7pm tonight.

The Council is also holding a double drop in session for anyone interested in being a foster carer on Thursday (4 June) at Waverley Court between 12pm and 2pm and then at 5pm to 7pm.

For more details about becoming a foster carer go to the Foster Edinburgh website or call 0800 174 833 or 0131 529 2773.

OMG! STV to host Facebook referendum debate!

Social media’s the latest referendum battleground 

308024-humza-yousef-and-douglas-alexander-clash-in-scotland-decides-the-facebook-debate

STV will host the first and only official Facebook independence referendum debate between the Yes Scotland and Better Together campaigns tonight.

Scotland Decides: The Facebook Debate will see the SNP’s Humza Yousaf MSP and Labour’s Douglas Alexander MP putting their arguments to Scotland’s voters – as many as 10% of whom may still be undecided.

The debate, which will air on STV Glasgow and be available on Facebook at 9pm and then repeated at 11.40pm on STV.

Facebook users will be invited to pose questions to the two politicians in advance of the debate on the STV News Facebook page and on Facebook’s Democracy UK page.

Questions will then be posed to Mr Yousaf and Mr Alexander on Friday throughout the course of the 30-minute session. As the debate unfolds on TV, people will be able to see the action in real-time on Facebook whilst continuing to share their thoughts and engage after the event.

Elizabeth Linder, Facebook’s politics & government specialist for the Europe, Middle East & Africa region said: “Millions of people from all walks of life in Scotland have joined the referendum debate on Facebook. Whether it’s candidates making their pitch, voters discussing the issues they care about, or friends persuading each other to go and vote – it’s all taking place on Facebook.

“As we enter the final week of the campaign and the polls start to narrow, referendum discussion on Facebook is really heating up. People in Scotland are turning to Facebook to get their questions answered before making their decision on September 18. We hope that the live Facebook debate on Friday will answer some of these questions to help undecided voters reach a decision.”

Bobby Hain, director of channels at STV, said: “STV has played its role at the heart of the referendum debate on air and online and this partnership with Facebook serves as a further great opportunity to engage and inform our viewers on multiple platforms.”

The live debate, which will be moderated by Rona Dougall, presenter of STV’s current affairs programme Scotland Tonight, will be filmed at STV Glasgow’s studio and promises to offer a different dynamic to previous debates, with a format which will see both representatives have more of a fast paced and to the point question and answer session

The debate follows a Facebook campaign, launched last month in partnership with the Electoral Commission, to encourage people to register to vote. People over the age of 16 using Facebook in Scotland can add a “Registered to Vote” Facebook “Life Event” to their Timeline, to announce that they have registered and plan to vote in the Scottish Referendum next week. In the run-up to the close of registration, people in Scotland were also shown posts in their Newsfeed raising awareness of an interactive Referendum guide, launched by the Commission to inform voters on how and where to vote.

STV Glasgow is available in Glasgow and the west on Freeview #23, Sky #117 and Virgin #159 and streamed live online on the STV Player

 Like?

apps

Referendum questions? Ask Danny!

Danny Alexander will answer your Referendum questions during a live Facebook chat on Thursday (21 August) from 6pm.

The referendum on 18 September 2014 is the most important decision to face Scottish people in 300 years. You have a right to know what it will mean for you.

To help you get the information you need to make a decision, Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will be on hand to answer your questions in a live Facebook chat on Thursday 21 August at 6pm.

Thursday’s ‘chat’ with Danny Alexander will be hosted on the YouDecide Facebook page and will last for thirty minutes.

Try the UK Government’s online tool – explore how Scottish independence could affect your home, work and family.

flags-001

Join the conversation on Facebook

Follow @youdecide2014 on twitter

GO ON, ASK DANNY!

You couldn’t make it up: No makeup selfies raise £8m for Cancer Research!

Salmond selfie

It’s been a social media phenomenon that’s swept the country – even the Scottish government has joined in the fun. The ‘no makeup selfie’ is one of those daft ideas that just takes off – and it’s raised over £8m for a cancer charity in just six days!

Cancer Research UK did not start the campaign – but they’re sure glad someone did!

Last Tuesday, after people began tweeting their #nomakeupselfie pictures and asking how they could use them to make a difference to Cancer Research UK’s work, the charity posted a message on its Facebook and Twitter pages with information about how to support its work to beat cancer sooner.

Since then, Cancer Research UK has received an unprecedented increase in the volume of donations and visits to the website.

The money raised will enable Cancer Research UK to carry out more research sooner, including ten clinical trials which last Tuesday it did not have money to fully fund!

Cancer Research UK supports over 200 clinical trials looking for better and kinder treatments for all types of cancer, and Chief Executive Dr Harpal Kumar said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the support people have been showing us through the #nomakeupselfie trend.

“We don’t receive any government funding for our research and so it’s phenomenal to think that the generosity of the public is enabling us to fund critical research that we didn’t have the money for six days ago. Being able to fund more trials will bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

“It’s been an exciting week, and we’d just like to thank everyone again for their support. If people would like to support our work to beat cancer sooner, they can visit www.cruk.org.”

harpal_2_web_version