Justgiving's blog

Congratulations to Emily!

Just a quick shout out to one of our favorite fundraisers, Emily Thackray. You might remember Emily as the courageous lass who took part in the women's Hydro Active 5k on oxygen and became one of our 'fundraisers of the month' back in 2006. And you might also remember that she got a new set of lungs earlier this year.

Emily has put those new lungs to work: she's been busy campainging for organ donation and on Saturday she got married!!! Here she is in all her bride-ly glory.

Heartfelt congratulations to Emily and Adam from all of us here at JG....Yay!

P.S. if you haven't signed up as an organ donor yet you can do it online here.

Fundraiser of the Month, May 2007

There could only really be one Fundraiser of the Month after this year’s Flora London Marathon, and it has to be David Rogers, who died aged 22 after completing his first ever marathon run.

David was a fitness coach at the David Lloyd gym in Milton Keynes. He became ill after crossing the finish line on April 22 and was later taken to hospital, where he died.

He was raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, in memory of his Grandad and a friend Mark Williams. You can see David’s page here.

After his death dozens of fellow marathon runners showed their respect for David by donating on his Justgiving page. The page has now raised over £12,500 - almost £12,000 of which was donated after his untimely death.

We send our condolences to David’s family and friends

Claire's Tips

Right, back to Claire's winning tips since everyone's aching to know.

2. The simplest way to cook Bird's Eye Potato Waffles

(Instructions on packet) Grill both sides = Put in toaster, use highest setting and put in twice!! No need to dig out grill pan, stand watching waiting to turn or setting off the smoke detector (as my grill frequently does).

3. Scooby Doo is in fact a Great Dane

I'm sure many people know this already, but it really did come as a revelation to me, even though I watched the HannaBarbera cartoons all the time as a child, he was just a big brown dog. When someone told me this news last year I was surprised I hadn't picked it up! At least one person you tell this to will not have twigged either!

Yoinks. Thanks Claire. Good luck on your trek!

And Our Winner Says...

Following on from yesterday's winning fifty words, here's the first of Claire's answers:

How to fold a fitted sheet (besides bundling it up and shoving it in the top of the airing cupboard)

Folding a fitted sheet is much like folding a flat sheet: corner to corner and half to half.

Steps

1. Find a bed, table or sofa on which to work. Fold the sheet in half with the top meeting the bottom (foot) of the sheet.
2. Tuck the top corner into the bottom corresponding corner (left top corner to left bottom corner and right top corner to bottom right corner.) Top corners will be turned inside out.
3. Fold the sheet in half again so all corners meet. Again tuck the corners into each other. This will again force one set of corners to be turned inside out.
4. This last step leaves you with a bunched up corner area. To smooth it down, fold in the longest side so the corner can lie flat (it will be at a slight angle.). The short side can also be folded in.
5. Fold the sheet again in half the long way. This should then cover the folded area from step 4.
6. You should now have a long "strip" that can be folded in 1/4's or 1/3's depending on how small you want the folded product to end up.

Inspiring.

Coming later: waffles.

We have a Winner!

The competition was fiercely fought but there could only be one winner.

February's fundraiser of the month is Claire Tizzard who deftly answered our '£50 for 50 words' challenge with the following gem:

"I will share with you the 3 key things I've learnt this year..including 'how to fold a fitted sheet'  (there is an option besides shoving it in the airing cupboard), 'the best way to cook Birds Eye potato waffles' (surprising) and a key fact about 'Scooby Doo' which I only realised this year."

That was enough for us. Claire's answer and full story is coming tomorrow but the £50 donation has helped her get past the £1k mark for her Great Wall of China Trek in aid of Pilgrim's Hospices in East Kent.

Fundraiser of the month, January 2007

Our fundraiser of the month for January 2007 is James Morrison .

James has been growing his hair for five years. It’s long and knotty and his friends are about to decide whether he should cut it all off. All the money he raises will go to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Read his story here. Visit his page and sponsor him here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Fundraiser of the month, December 2006

Our fundraisers of the month for December 2006 are the guys in the moust-ashes team .

What started of as a bet in the pub as England began its struggle to defend the Ashes cricket trophy in Australia, has led to four men growing wild moustaches and raising serious money for the Prostate Cancer Charity at the same time.

Read their story here. Visit their page and sponsor them here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

P.S. we're going to try an entirely new way of finding Fundraisers of the Month in 2007 - with an added incentive for both nominators and nominatees-- so watch out for it!

Fundraiser of the month, November 2006

Our fundraiser of the month for November 2006 is Adil Latif.

Adil is nearly blind. In January 2007 he plans to be taken up in a helicopter and dropped on the peak of a snow-covered mountain, from where he will snowboard down a glacier to the bottom. He hopes to raise enough money to build 14 schools for children affected by the October 2005 Asian earthquake.

Read his amazing story here. Visit his page and sponsor him here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Fundraiser of the Month, October 2006

Our fundraiser of the month for October 2006 is Findlay Young.

Findlay Young who has twice survived thyroid cancer has just completed an incredible 24 half marathons in 24 days to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Read his amazing story here. Visit his page and sponsor him here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

She did it!

Just a quick shout-out to send massive congratulations to August's Fundraiser of the Month, Emily Thackray, who undertook the Hydro-Active Challenge on Sunday, by wheelchair, foot, and angel wings. Emily, who has end stage Cystic Fibrosis, and is waiting for a lung transplant, was able to walk the last 500 metres of the race despite spending most of the last month in hospital.

Justgiving HQ recieved some great photos of Emily and her 70 friendly 'angels' completing the walk and just thought I'd share this one of Emily crossing the finish line. What an accomplishment!

Click here to read Emily's account of the day.

 

Fundraiser of the month, September 2006

Our fundraiser of the month for September 2006 is the Centrepoint Derwentside team.

Claire, James and Carl have all been homeless. Carl is also totally blind. None of them have run before but they will be competing in the Great North Run to raise money for Centrepoint, which has helped turn all their lives around.

Read their story here. Visit their page and sponsor them here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Nominate your Fundraiser of the Month

We need your help!

We want you to nominate the person who you think should be Justgiving's "Fundraiser of the Month" for September.

Every month we choose one Justgiving fundraiser to highlight as our "Fundraiser of the Month". With thousands of you doing such a huge array of amazing challenges and events to raise funds for the causes you care about, it's always incredibly tough to pick just one person to feature.

So we want to hear from you. Comment on this post and tell us in no more than 50 words why the person you're nominating deserves to be Fundraiser of the Month. Include their Justgiving page URL and our Editor Caroline will choose one person to feature at the end of the week.

We're not just looking for the person who has raised the most money, but rather the person who has most inspired you with their passion and dedication to raising funds for their chosen charity.

If you'd rather nominate someone privately, simply send an email to caroline@justgiving.com.

Check out this month's fundraiser of the month here.

Fundraiser of the Month, August 2006

Our Fundraiser of the Month for June is Emily Thackray.

Not many people complete sponsored runs with 50 or more ‘angels’ helping them along, but 22-year-old Emily Thackray will be doing just that on September 3^rd, despite living with CF and waiting for a double lung transplant.

Read her story here. Visit her page and sponsor her here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

All the best Emily!

Fundraiser of the month, July 2006

Our Fundraiser of the Month for June is James Bate.

James and 18 friends scaled Britain’s highest three peaks to raise money to fund a dedicated researcher for brain tumour treatment. The trek was inspired by James’ wife Samantha, who died three months before the climb.

Read his story here. Visit his page and sponsor him here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck James!

Fundraiser of the month, June 2006

Our Fundraiser of the Month for June is John Reeve.

Like thousands of other football fans, John will be in Frankfurt in time for England’s opening World Cup match on June 10th. But he will undoubtedly be the only fan who has walked all the way there from the UK. His walk is to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund in memory of his son Tim.

Read his story here. Visit his page and sponsor him here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck John, from all of us at Justgiving!

Fundraisers of the month, May 2006

Our Fundraisers of the Month for May are Calumn Twaddle and Duncan Stickle.

Calumn Twaddle was three when his mother died of breast cancer. Now he’s 11 and he and his friend Duncan Stickle are dragging their dads on a 200-mile cycle ride through the north of  Scotland to raise money for Cancer Research UK

Read their story here. Visit their page and sponsor them here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck lads, from everyone here at JG Towers!

Fundraiser of the month, April 2006

Our Fundraiser of the Month for April is Alison Mitchell.

For 10 days she'll join a group of people walking the ancient Inca trail in Peru, climbing to an altitude of 4,400 metres.

It will be a physical and mental challenge but she has decided to use the experience to raise money for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), a charity that works to raise awareness of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, in memory of her fiancé Adam.

Read her story here. Visit her page and sponsor her here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck Alison, from all of us at Justgiving!

Fundraiser of the month, March 2006

Our Fundraiser of the Month for March is Lynn Ashton.

Despite having not been able to breathe on her own for five years, Lynn will take part in one of sport's toughest challenges when she competes in the Flora London Marathon on April 23rd, while on oxygen. She will be walking the course for five days accompanied by a nurse.

Read her story here. Visit her page and sponsor her here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck Lynn, from everyone here at JG Towers!

February's Fundraiser of the Month

Our Fundraiser of the Month for February is Michelle Thomas.

In a desire to get fit and totally change her lifestyle, Michelle is going to run the Flora London Marathon on April 23. What's more, she's going to be part of a BBC documentary following 16 marathon runners as they go from never having run to hopefully completing the famous 26.2 mile route.

Read her story here. Visit her page and sponsor her here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck Michelle, from everyone here at JG Towers!

January's Fundraisers of the Month

Our Fundraisers of the Month for January are James Cracknell and Ben Fogle.

Olympic Gold medallist James Cracknell and TV reporter Ben Fogle are a few days away from reaching land in Antigua after rowing across he Atlantic from the Canary Islands — a trip that has taken two months and has been a true test of grit and determination.

Read their story here. Visit their page and sponsor them here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop us an email at community@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck lads, from everyone here at JG Towers!

December's Fundraiser of the Month

Our Fundraiser of the Month for December is Matt Roles. Not only is Matt shaving off his beard for charity, he's persuaded a whole bunch of his friends to grow beards so they can shave theirs off too!

Check out Matt's page for a rogues gallery of the stubbly chins getting ready for the fund-razor (boom, tish). They're aiming to raise £1,200 for Oxfam and they're very nearly there!

If you've got a suggestion for the next Fundraiser of the Month, please let us know by leaving a comment here.

- James G

DJ Darren is November's Fundraiser of the Month

Our Fundraiser of the Month for November is DJ Darren Hartland.

Darren aims to raise £10,000 to send sick and disabled children on the holiday of a lifetime by DJ-ing for 96 hours non-stop, and breaking the World Record in the process.

Read Darren's story here. Visit his page and sponsor him here.

If you want to nominate someone as a future Fundraiser of the Month, please drop me an email at james@justgiving.com or post details in our forum.

Good luck Darren, from everyone here at JG Towers!

- James G