Introducing March's Charities

Friday 7^th March saw Link for Growth launch a campaign to remove the ‘cloak of invisibility’ from charities in the SW Herts region. Led by myself and Chris Ogle, 5 charities will be picked on a first come, first served basis with the idea of creating them a Google+ page and introducing them to the benefits that Google+ can offer. Chris will be running the technical side and will be using his skill set to rip the cloak away. My role will be to use the existing tools to help promote the charities and get their voice heard to a wider audience through all the available platforms Link for Growth uses. So, in no particular order, here are the five charities we will be helping this month.

Watford Women’s Centre

The Watford Women’s Centre is one of only two women’s centre in Hertfordshire and covers all of the SW Herts region plus an extended area to the north of the county. It aims to provide a space for women to be in and take part in a wide range of activities. From IT classes to a job club, the centre offers a place for women who are in a crisis or a centre for those who want help achieving their dreams. Running for over 20 years, it is a real honour that they have asked for your help and I look forward to helping them achieve their aims.

The Michael Green Foundation

The Michael Green Foundation was set up in memory of Michael Green who died of a heart attack brought on by Type 2 Diabetes.  Its aim is to make more people aware of Type 2 Diabetes and raise money for a Diabetes Centre in Watford General Hospital. With the disease becoming more and more prevalent in the UK, the Foundation does vital work in spreading awareness and making the symptoms of the disease known. With a solid basis, the Foundation will really benefit from the increased awareness and it won’t be long before more waves are made in the fight against Type 2 Diabetes.  

Home Start Watford and Three Rivers

A Charity with an unclear name but a clear philosophy, Home Start aims to train volunteers who visit families needing help looking after their children. Established in 1993, Home Start has over 100 volunteers who help over 120 families a year. All of the volunteers have experience of being parents and help mums/dads or carers who are responsible for a child under 5 for whatever reason. Parenting is one of the hardest jobs these days and Home Start do great work in helping families and I can’t wait to start raising their profile.

Watford Mencap

Watford Mencap has a simple belief, to allow people with a learning disability the right to enjoy equal opportunities and be valued as members of society, enabling them to lead the life they want for themselves. Beginning over 60 years ago, Watford Mencap are affiliated with Mencap nationally but have to raise all the funds themselves meaning they suffer from a lack of exposure. Working with children and adults and running a wide range of activities, they have over 140 volunteers and need £475,000 each year to fund their projects. This is the type of charity that needs the help of the local community and just like the others, I’m sure it won’t be long before they see the benefits of the charity initiative.

Along with these four charities, Chris and I will be helping a lady named Susan Adlington with her plans to create a new charity. In response to the disaster in the Philippines in 2013, Susan collected 200kgs worth of vital products and flew to the Philippines to hand them out. I look forward to helping her in any possible way and developing her idea for the charity.

Each week, I hope to have a more in-depth article about each of these charities and provide more details about how they help our community and how the community can help them. I have created a twitter List which contains all the accounts of these charities and will contain all the charities in the SW Herts region. I hope this brief blog has opened your eyes to local charities and encourages you to get more involved in helping those charities who work in the areas you all live in. The link to the list is here: https://twitter.com/alex_murray21/lists/l4g-sw-herts-charities

Until next time....