Archive for July, 2009

The Compassion in World Farming ‘Good Egg Awards’  have been handed out this year, with 95 European companies receiving awards for ditching the battery cage egg in favour of eggs from organic, free-range or barn kept hens. The celebrations, held at the Eiffel Tower and Houses of Parliament, also saw 22 local councils win awards for committing to use only free-range eggs in their schools and care homes.

The Good Egg Awards are now in their third year, celebrating the 20 million hens who will now live cage free every year as a direct result of the organisation’s policies. Recognised British actress Penelope Keith, patron for Compassion in World Farming, presented the awards to the staff catering at the BBC and Channel 4, alongside Debenhams and John Lewis shopper cafes, as well as Little Chef and Fox’s Biscuits.

Penelope said -

I congratulate all the companies that are going cage-free on their eggs and hope consumers will, too.  A cage-free egg costs just a couple of pennies more and it saves hens a life of misery.

More than 75% of the 300 million egg laying hens in the EU are confined to the battery cage system, where they will spend their lives crammed in a small wire cage with several other hens. Due to these extreme conditions, a battery hen cannot carry out even the simplest of natural behaviours, causing physical and psychological stress.

A ban on this cruel practice is due to be brought into force within the EU by January 2012, yet some countries still want to delay this by up to ten years as they believe it will be economically damaging. Many EU countries, including the UK, have already demonstrated their willingness to pay more for free-range eggs, while the majority of European Union citizens understand the welfare of farmed animals should be protected.

The Compassion in World Farming’s ‘Good Egg Awards’ is a yearly event that highlights the companies that lead the way into a brighter future for farm animals all over the world. Hopefully other businesses will take notice and join the ‘Good Egg’ revolution.

> > Click here to make a donation to Compassion in World Farming

UNICEF UK Ambassador, Jemima Khan, has launched UNICEF UK’s Manifesto for Children at the House of Parliament. Jemima is urging politicians to keep their promises when signing up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Manifesto calls on all political parties to implement UN Committee recommendations and to promote policies that support the rights of children.

UNICEF UK Youth Champion Imogen Schon highlighted the advances made and some that had yet to be made of the UNCRC, and reminded the House that every child and young person has the right to express his or her views. Alongside her was the team of young people who represented the UK at the UNICEF Junior 8 summit from Haling Manor High School in Croydon answered questions about their recent trip, giving an insight into some of the issues that were discussed at the summit.

Jemima Khan then called for assurances to ensure that all children’s rights are fulfilled, paricularly in conflict areas. Speaking about recent experiences visiting the refugee camp in the Swat valley, north-west Pakistan, she told of the children’s experiences during the recent conflict and the horrific violence many of them had witnessed.

Jemima said -

The manifesto outlines what politicians could do to help realise children’s rights both in the UK and internationally,  I urge you to take away a copy of the manifesto, read it and take action for children.

> > Click here to download a copy of the Manifesto

Help Support UNICEF UK with a Charity Gift

You can help raise funds with UNICEF Inspired Gifts. Presents start at just £8, and for a little as £16 you could buy a virtual charity gift like five footballs for children in refugee camps. There are so many to choose from, and these thoughtful gifts would make an ideal present for a loved one…

it’s the present that keeps on giving.

> > click here to purchase a UNICEF UK Inspired Gift

View top charity gifts

Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra and Federico Macheda took time out of the club’s pre season tour of Asia to help the UNICEF UK champion the rights of marginalised children in Malaysia. ‘Positive Living’ is a UNICEF supported program in Kuala Lumpur, where the players spent time with street children and those whose families have been affected by the HIV virus.

Though Malaysia has shown greater measures for children in health and education, many as still living under the dark cloud of HIV. Many of these childrens parents are sex workers, drug users, migrants and refugees, and are in the highest risk category for HIV infection. The players sat with some of these children who discussed their harrowing experiences at length with the superstars, so they can hear first hand their plight.

UNICEF Ambassador, Ryan Giggs said -

It’s tragic to hear how marginalised children and those affected by HIV suffer as result of stigma. But by joining these children here today and showing our support we hope to send out a powerful message; that all children, no matter their background, where they live or their HIV status should be treated equally.

The main aim of the players visit was to highlight the facts about HIV, and to help break down the prejudice faced by marginalised children. UNICEF is working with the government to help challenge discrimination, protect children, and raise awareness of these issues including HIV prevention. UNICEF and Manchester United have now been in partnership for a decade, raising over £2 million benefiting over 1.5 million children worldwide.

Patrice Evra added -

Fighting against stigma is a vital step in protecting marginalised children. To do this we must all learn the facts about HIV/AIDS – you cannot get HIV by playing with children who are HIV positive. All children have the right to be treated fairly, and we support UNICEF’s work to ensure this.

Help Support UNICEF UK with a Charity Gift

You can help raise funds with UNICEF Inspired Gifts. Presents start at just £8, and for a little as £16 you could buy a virtual charity gift like five footballs for children in refugee camps. There are so many to choose from, and these thoughtful gifts would make an ideal present for a loved one…

it’s the present that keeps on giving.

> > click here to purchase a UNICEF UK Inspired Gift

View top charity gifts

UNICEF UK hand picked a team of young people who have represented Great Britain at the J8 summit, a mirror image of the G8 summit held by world leaders to discuss major economic and political issues affecting their own countries and the international community as a whole. The team discussed with young groups from other countries how to change our world for the better, and then wrote a declaration to world leaders to ensure they take into account young people’s views when making their decisions.

The G8 is a group of eight countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S, who meet every year to try and agree on what each country can do to help achieve international goals. The J8 young people’s conference featured teams from all G8 countries, but also a ninth group who will represent other countries.

The British delegations was chosen on Thursday 30 April, from 10 groups of 4 members from all over the UK at the UNICEF offices. The ten teams had five minutes each to tell the judges and the other shortlisted teams why they are passionate about global issues, and then took part in a group activity to show team dynamics and individual decision making skills. The winners were Harry Phinda, Birzi Saleh, Melika Myers and Sara Saleh from Croydon, who went on to represent young people from the UK  at the J8 Summit in Italy in on July 9th 2009.

This years J8 Summit focused on four areas -

• Children’s rights in the context of the global financial crisis
• Climate change
• Poverty and development in Africa
• Education

The 14 young people at the G8 meeting were part of a larger group of 54 that spent the week in Rome, with participants representing Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Help Support UNICEF UK with a Charity Gift

You can help raise funds with UNICEF Inspired Gifts. Presents start at just £8, and for a little as £16 you could buy a virtual charity gift like five footballs for children in refugee camps. There are so many to choose from, and these thoughtful gifts would make an ideal present for a loved one…

it’s the present that keeps on giving.

> > click here to purchase a UNICEF UK Inspired Gift

View top charity gifts

Hip hop superstar Kanye West has set up his own childrens charity – Students Helping Our World (S.H.O.W.). The Foundation has been set up to work with schools and community organisations to provide unlimited youth access to music production equipment, alongside academic support programs. The Foundation’s main aim is to combat the severe dropout problem in schools by offering programs to unleash their creativity and reach their full potential.

Kanye West said -

I thought back to when I was in high school: I was very much into music, but the equipment was really expensive and hard to get a hold of. The basketball court at school was free; it was also free to play a violin or a drum set, but the way music on the radio is made, there was nothing in high school that helped with that.

The Foundations premier course is ‘Loop Dreams’, a music production program designed to motivate students to stay in school and graduate. The vision of the foundation is to eliminate high school dropouts across America and create an environment where success and stability are the goals of high school students.

Kanye will be hosting a ‘Stay in School’ Benefit Concert in Chicago this Saturday which will be show on the Fuse TV Music Network in America, which will reach over 60 million homes. The Kanye West Foundation S.H.O.W. (Students Helping Our World) is leveraging Kanye’s star power and desire for community outreach, and is taking a stand against America’s exceptionally large high school dropout rate amongst underprivileged teens.

> > Click here for more information about The Kanye West Foundation

Rock band The Killers have teamed up with UNICEF UK and MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) in an exclusive collaboration to produce a music video that dramatically highlights the dangers of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, particularly for young women. The video is the second in a series of music videos after last years award-winning film produced by MTV EXIT for the Radiohead single All I Need.

The Killers said -

We are deeply shocked and appalled that women and children are forced into such exploitative situations. We hope that through MTV’s efforts and this powerful video millions of people across the world learn about this tragic form of modern day slavery.

Directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy), the track used is Goodnight, Travel Well taken from the album Day & Age. The video was premiered on MTV across 168 countries on Monday July 13 2009, reaching more than 500 million households worldwide.

UNICEF’s Head of Child Protection, Susan Bissell, said -

There is almost no country in the world now that isn’t affected by human trafficking in some way. The statistics are staggering. More than 1.2 million children are being trafficked each year and nearly 80 per cent of all trafficking is for sexual exploitation, and the most at risk are girls.  We see this music video as a powerful way to reach out and raise awareness among young people, across borders and across language barriers.

Help Support UNICEF UK with a Charity Gift

You can help raise funds with UNICEF Inspired Gifts. Presents start at just £8, and for a little as £16 you could buy a virtual charity gift like five footballs for children in refugee camps. There are so many to choose from, and these thoughtful gifts would make an ideal present for a loved one…

it’s the present that keeps on giving.

> > click here to purchase a UNICEF UK Inspired Gift

View top charity gifts

Christian Aid UK are promoting a new campaign – ‘Poverty Over’, to make people aware that if we all pull together we can help end poverty in our lifetime. Throughout the annals of history, social changes can be galvanised during times of crises, as has been proven by how quickly governments shored up their economies in the financial crisis.

This video shows how Christian Aid are spreading the word and their work to the commuters of London that now is the time for ‘Poverty Over’.

Man has constantly overcome challenges and changed the way the world is today. A global movement for change must challenge the undemocratic structures alongside greater transparency in business and banking. If we can work together to abolish slavery and apartheid whilst putting a man on the moon, surely we can make ‘Poverty Over’?

Help Christian Aid with a Present Aid Charity Gift

Present Aid gifts represent a donation to Christian Aid’s life changing work in areas of poverty and crisis. So not only will you put a smile on a loved ones face, but you will also be making a big difference to families who need your help.

A charity gift can start from as little as £8 with a huge range of gifts to choose from, including -

• Brood of Chicks
• Teacher’s Salary
• Can of Worms
• Computer Training

Each Present Aid gift comes with a beautiful card illustrating how their choice of present will work in the real world and help transform the lives of poor people worldwide.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving…

> > Click here to order a gift with Present Aid

View other top charity gifts

World Vision UK plans to crown the city of Liverpool as the UK’s ‘Capital of Generosity’, with plans to sign up 500 sponsors in 500 hours. World Vision is challenging Scousers to earn the title by sponsoring a child in Banja, an impoverished area in the North-West of Ethiopia. The people of Liverpool will then be able to support long-term development and a lasting difference to children, their families and communities in the area.

The campaign kicks is supported by regional press, and radio will be featured heavily on local stations Radio City and City Talk. The on-air campaign will also be heavily supported online at Radio City’s website, which will feature articles and a count down on how many sponsors have been signed up. Liverpudlians are renowned for their friendly, warm-hearted nature and genorosity, and World Vision plan to put this to the test.

World Vision’s Matt Wenham, said -

Liverpool is a city that is well-known and highly respected all around the world. Once at the helm of Britain’s maritime superpower, it was Liverpool that reached out to link Britain to countries around the world.Now we’re asking for the people of Liverpool to reach out again, this time to children and families in Ethiopia.

Help World Vision by sponsoring a child

The World Vision Sponsor a Child programme is a great way to give a needy child a real chance of escaping poverty. As part of a long-term program, your continued support enables World Vision to use your donations to build sustainable communities in partnership with the people who live there.

You can provide a child with a better future for just 60p a day – giving them a real chance of escaping poverty. You get to see and feel the difference your support makes directly, through the eyes of your sponsored child and their regular letters and photographs.

> > Click here to sponsor a child with World Vision UK

The Payment Network is a German company that have recently launched their payment method in the UK. The exciting element for charities is that they offer zero transaction fees to charities when they are accepting contributions online. This means charities could save literally tens of thousands of pounds to mean that even more of you charity donation goes to those who need it most.

We spoke to James Rigby of Payment Network to find out more.

What is the benefit of DIRECTebanking.com for charities?
DIRECTebanking.com offers FREE  online payments to charities. We do not charge any fees, like for example the credit card providers, which can potentially charge up to 3.5%. Because of our commitment to keep our service free, the charity will receive 100% of the donated money. We offer a secure and easy to use payment method, including full service, at no cost to charities.

Why are you doing this?
Instead of choosing the conventional way and having an advertisement agency put together an advertisement campaign for us we were thinking about a different approach. Why not grab attention and do something good at the same time? That way, not only will DIRECTebanking.com benefit from this, but also the charities and the donors.

Who are you?
We are an internationally growing company offering a new online payment method to our customers.

DIRECTebanking.com was first launched in Germany, where e-payment methods are widely accepted. German speaking countries such as Switzerland and Austria followed shortly afterwards. Due to the incredible success of DIRECTebanking.com as well as a current growth rate of 20% per month it was just a matter of time before we were going to continue to spread out on the European market. So we established our service in the Netherlands and felt very much attracted to the British market where we have recently opened our new office in Windsor.

Moreover we are delighted to have many of the world’s leading e commerce companies as our customers.

How does it work?
Our integration team will be happy to assist and support the charities when implementing DIRECTebanking.com.

For the donors it is even easier, all they need to do is to select their country and bank, enter their bank account number and confirm the donation by entering their online banking information in the secure payment form. Within seconds a payment confirmation is sent to the charity. There is no need to create an additional account, other passwords to remember and personal data required to register.

What does it cost?

DIRECTebanking.com is absolutely free to charities with no hidden charges.

So 100% for free for both the charities and the donors.

Where can I find more information on DIRECTebanking.com?
Just go online at www.DIRECTebanking.com, to register visit www.DIRCETebanking.com/register and a demo version can be tested on www.DIRECTebanking.com/demo.

You can also reach us by phone:  call us at 01753 752 446, or write an e-mail to jr@payment-network.com.

Cancer Research UK‘s new advert was screened across the country on ITV1 at 8.30pm on Sunday 12th July. The advert explores the stories of how cancer survivors and patients heard the news of their illness and the difficulty they faced in telling their loved ones.

Cancer is still responsible for one in four of all deaths in the UK, and our progress has been faster against some cancer types than others. Over 80% of people with testicular cancer, melanoma or Hodgkin’s disease can expect to live for at least ten years. But fewer than 5% of those suffering from pancreatic or lung cancer will survive for this long. This advertisment highlights the impact the fantastic work Cancer Research UK is having on increasing survival rates, which is only made possible through your continual support and donations…

together we will beat cancer.

> > Click here to make a donation to Cancer Research UK