Poverty charity group Water Aid are looking to make 2008 the International Year for Sanitation.

Water Aid’s mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

The End Water Poverty campaign has been targeting the G8 to agree a global action plan for sanitation and water since 2007, but they plan to build even more pressure in the lead-up to the summit in July.
Sanitation and safe water should be seen as basic human rights. Everyone in the world should have access to these services, yet without them thousands of people will continue to die each day.

Please take a few minutes of your time to sign the End Water Poverty Petition. More signatures are needed to make this year’s G8 host -Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda- sit up and takes notice.

This petition has already been signed by nearly 750,000 people, so why not join the growing demand for safer water and sanitation for the entire world.

"Please note, any prices mentioned in the donation4charity blog are correct at the time of posting. Please check the relevant website for the latest pricing information."

Environmental charities WWF and Greenpeace have once again called for greater urgency to the closure of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishing.

The conservation groups have obtained evidence that reveals two Italian spotter planes are illegally being used to give aerial assistance to industrial fleets fishing in the central Mediterranean. Aerial spotting is completely banned by international law, as it gives a huge advantage to fleets who’s catches are far exceeding the capacity recommended by scientists.

This damning evidence of illegal plane activity in the Mediterranean adds to the WWF argument that this stretch of ocean is now out of control and must be closed. Marine reserves must be established to protect these breeding areas of Bluefin Tuna to halt the species steady decline into extinction.

Greenpeace and WWF are once again calling on the European Commission to step in and help in the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna. In April false Bolivian and Libyan flags by were flown by illegal tuna vessels involved in the Bluefin Tuna fishery in the same area of the Mediterranean.

If we want fish for tomorrow, we need to create marine reserves today to avoid any further damage to the Bluefin Tuna stock, which is in a critical situation according to the international scientific community.

> > click here to find out more about the work of the WWF

> > click here to find out more about the work of Greenpeace

"Please note, any prices mentioned in the donation4charity blog are correct at the time of posting. Please check the relevant website for the latest pricing information."

 This is a featured blog for the Birmingham-based health charity Sport 4 Life, who have just launched an innovative scheme to help promote a healthy lifestyle – the smoothie bike!

The bike is being used as a fun educational tool for children and young people about the importance of healthy eating and exercise. Simply power the pedals to make the blender spin, so whilst you’re cycle away you’re also making yourself a delicious, healthy drink.

Along with planned Sport4Life tours throughout the UK schools, the bike is also available to hire for corporate and community events. Ricky Jolley from the Witton Community Fun Day said

“The bike was so much fun at our event, it really got people interested and active, there was a real buzz around it…and the smoothies were delicious”

For more information on the Sport4Life smoothie bike please call James on 0121 233 4793, or email james@sport4life.org.uk

"Please note, any prices mentioned in the donation4charity blog are correct at the time of posting. Please check the relevant website for the latest pricing information."

Co-operative Bank have launched a new charity credit card which will donate money to the homeless charity - Shelter.

The bank will donate £20 to the charity when first issued, and then a further 25p for every £100 spent. This money will then be put towards projects to benefit the homeless and people with housing problems, with Shelter expecting up to 2,000 people to apply for their credit card.

The Co-operative’s Shelter Bank card is the latest addition to the charity credit card family, alongside the WWF, RSPCA and the Bono organised American Express Red. All of these cards offer an initial one-off donation, with a proportion of the cash then spent on the card put back into the charity. It’s an excellent way for both banks and consumers to give something back and help a number of good causes in the process.

Another great way to help raise funds is to buy a plot of land at the virtual Shelter Build a City website. There you can pick your own bespoke vitrual property and advertise your business, or even buy one for a present for someone. This is a great place to advertise your business, whilst making a donation to help out people with homeless people and those with serious housing difficulties.

> > click here to sign up for the Shelter credit card today

> > click here to view some of the other charity credit cards available

"Please note, any prices mentioned in the donation4charity blog are correct at the time of posting. Please check the relevant website for the latest pricing information."