I’ve been struggling with deciding on what to do this Lent. Having gone to a Catholic school (even though I wouldn’t claim that I follow any faith these days) Lent has been indoctrinated into me as something to follow.
Every year I give up a growing number of bad foods such as chocolate, crisps, cake etc. which although good for my waistline, it doesn’t actually benefit anyone but myself.
The whole point of Lent is as a time to reflect, by denying yourself your pleasures and giving to those less fortunate than yourself, and the latter is the area I’m focusing on for Lent 2017.
Over the next 6 weeks, I’m going to donate £10 to a different charity each Sunday. The giving side of Lent is something I’ve usually forgotten about and I feel like now is the time to give something back.
So here are the 6 charities I will be giving money to throughout Lent and the reasons why:
- Crohns and Colitis UK – A brilliant charity raising awareness and supporting the thousands of people in the UK with these conditions which can range from managable to delibitating. Myself and my mum have both suffered with these conditions for 16 and 26 years respectively and for that reason this charity will always have an important part to play for me.
- Sheffield Children’s Hospital – When I was diagnosed with my illness aged 11, I was very ill and consequently spent a lot of time at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to think of ways to give something back to the place that put me back on the mend. A tenner is nowhere near enough to repay the fantastic staff here but its a start.
- St Luke’s Hospice – Whenever my grandparents donated money, old clothes, books etc, they would always take it to St Luke’s. As a result, it is a charity that means a lot to me because even though they never used their services in any other way, it reminds me of them.
- Weston Park Cancer Charity – This place and charity means a lot to me, working tirelessly to help those with cancer and their families and raising awareness of symptoms and causes too. My grandma was here on her last days and the care she received was second to none. With cancer such a common and brutal thing supporting cancer charities to find a cure is important for us all.
- Whirlow Hall Farm Trust – I went to the farm a couple of days ago with work as we had sponsored a local school to visit the farm as part of their 480 scheme. It’s a great scheme that I fully support and I hope more businesses in Sheffield get involved to send more schools with children who may never have this experience ever again to the farm. The work they do in this wonderful place is inspiring helping so many and providing a great space for volunteers young and old. It’s not enough to place another school on the 480 scheme but I hope my money goes some way to helping this great place.
- Sheffield Mind – Mental health is hugely important, at a time when budgets are being slashed and more and more people are being diagnosed with mental health conditions due to stress and the like, it is important to support charities such as Mind. Another close subject to my heart, I respect the work this charity does on the front line of one of the most difficult conditions to get to grips with and manage.
I’ll be posting proof of my donations on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at the weekends so you can keep up with them and keep a check on me to make sure I’m sticking to my promise.
At the end of Lent, I’ll be putting a little round up post on here so you can see where the money has gone. I’ve linked to all the charities above so you can find out more about them for yourself and if I’ve inspired you to donate some money to one of these charities, or another one, i urge you to go do it now and let me know in the comments!
Mixtape Couture 