High FIVE!

In FIVE weeks’ time I will be retiring from my employment as Funding Development Manager for Children in Distress. Today I was given the sad news that CID is in crisis; not quite the note on which I wished to retire L

Children in Distress is in its twenty fifth year (FIVE x FIVE) and, in that time, has given support to thousands, yes literally thousands, of children in Romania and the Balkans – the forgotten children of Eastern Europe.  During the time that I have supported Children in Distress (the last eight years as a paid employee) I have grown to love the children in our care, grown to love the country, the people I have met and who I now count many as my friends.  After retirement I will continue to support this wonderful small charity until my dying day; I have seen at firsthand what a difference FIVE pounds or FIVE RON (Romanian lei) can make to a child who literally has nothing.

Now I know that as you are reading this (thank you for reading!) you will probably be thinking “Oh here we go again; someone else wanting my money”.  I have no shame where these kids are involved – yes I AM asking you for money, BUT I am asking for FIVE pounds that’s all (of course you can give more if you wish to!! J ) and humbly ask that for the next FIVE weeks that I have left as an employee you give as many FIVE pounds/euros/dollars/RON as you can, to enable CID to be able to continue to help these lovely children who so desperately need someone to show that they care what happens to them.  If you are able to donate, on a monthly basis, FIVE pounds that would be simply wonderful.  FIVE pounds to most of us is not a huge amount of money; a jar of coffee, a takeaway, tea and a cream cake, a couple of balls of knitting wool, packet of toilet rolls etc. But FIVE pounds to CID can mean so much more; giving FIVE children their only hot meal of the day, a flu or MMR inoculation for a child at risk, two school books; the list is endless.  Could you forego a takeaway meal and feed FIVE children instead?                    

Without your immediate help, CID is in real danger of having to close down some or all of its projects and it is for this reason that I am appealing to you now from the bottom of my heart; we simply cannot let this happen, not for the sake of a FIVE pound note! If you are able to help, please go to our website www.childrenindistress.org and press the ‘Donate’ button NOW! Thank you J

In return I will give you a ‘High FIVE’.  The definition of a High FIVE is a follows:

High FIVE

‘Symbol of celebration when something good is said/done. The causes for the call of "HIGH FIVE" can vary from anything as small as finding something cool on the floor to something as big as saving the world from almost certain destruction’

 

 

 

Jane x

Treasure your Mum

If, like me, you are fortunate enough to have your Mum in your life you are indeed a lucky, lucky child.

My Mum is almost 97 years young and has been an inspiration to me all of my life.  She is a strong, fiercely independent woman. A woman who went through WWII with her husband in the army who enlisted on Valentine’s Day and was injured on Christmas Eve 1942 making it necessary for her to travel to Oxford from our small market town on the edge of the North York Moors.  This journey would be difficult enough these days on Christmas Eve…………………………can you begin to imagine what it was like in wartime over 70 years ago?  Only a strong person could make that journey.

She brought my two brothers and I up to know the difference between right and wrong, to care for others less fortunate than ourselves and most of all to TRY; try with our school work, to try with everything we undertook.  If we tried, it wasn’t important if we then failed at least we had tried.

Most things in our house were handmade.  Mum made the clothes we wore, the rugs under our feet, the lampshades above us, the curtains covering the windows; if it was possible to be handmade then it was.  The love she felt for her family was there for all to see.

Many of the children in the care of Children in Distress have been abandoned by their Mothers. BUT in many cases it wasn’t because their Mothers didn’t love them, it was because their Mothers DID love them that they abandoned them.  The medication costs for a disabled or poorly child in Romania are beyond the reach of many families so rather than let that child remain untreated and ultimately die, their Mothers abandoned them into our care so they could receive the treatment they needed.

If your Mum is in heaven and you are unable to send her flowers on this Mothering Sunday, perhaps you would consider making a donation to Children in Distress in honour of your Mum and therefore give hope to other Mums who have entrusted us with the care of their children.  Please go to our website www.childrenindistress.org and press the donate button in honour of your Mum.  Thank you!

Treasure your Mum; she will love you like no other person.

Why Volunteer?

Why indeed?!  Do you want to feel good about yourself? Do something for someone less fortunate? Don’t have much money to donate but you do have some spare time?

Whatever the reason, WE NEED YOU!

1.    Do you live near one of our shops? Kirkbymoorside, Guisborough or Shildon?  Do you have at least one hour per week to spare?  Our shop managers would love to hear from you!  There is always something to do in one of our busy shops – sorting donations, ironing, dusting the shelves, keeping the floor clean, manning the till and much more.  You would get to meet some of our lovely customers, have a bit of chat and even help them to choose an item.

2.    Are you a nurse, teacher, social worker or similar? Perhaps you would like to use your skills in Romania at one of our hospices or other projects? Contact our Head Office in Glasgow for details of opportunities.

3.    Do you like organising events?  We are always looking for supporters to hold events to raise much needed funds. Coffee morning, stall at a car boot sale, craft event, tombola, car wash, wine & cheese evening, sponsored walk/run – the possibilities are endless!

4.    Are you a ‘crafty’ person? Perhaps you like knitting, crochet or sewing? Thanks to our Handcrafters’ Guild members and other supporters, we now send in excess of 20,000 items of clothing, blankets and knitted toys to Romania for the children we support. Items are also made for sale in the UK to raise funds.  If you would like to volunteer your skills in this way, contact me at janerussell@childrenindistress.org.uk to have a chat.

5.    If you work in an office, factory or similar environment where there are a number of workers, why not start a collection of used postage stamps (£10 a kilo for unsorted stamps!), old postcards, ink cartridges or mobile phones? All of these items will earn money for CID and won’t cost you anything, only your time in collecting them.

These are just a few ideas on how you can volunteer to help us raise funds to care for the children we support.  I’m sure you can come up with even more J

Please don’t leave the  volunteering to someone else………………they might be leaving it up to you.

 

 

 

Jane x

Off with the Old and on with the New

Well it’s that time again, the end of one year and the start of another. Just where does the time go??!!

What did you do this last year? And what do you plan to do different in 2015? We always start the New Year with such gusto and nine times out of ten our new found plans go awry within the first week of the year!

Me? Well this last year I worked really hard trying to raise the profile of CID, raise more funds etc, so hard that I nearly lost my way. So in 2015 I plan to not work harder but to work smarter. Working smarter should give me more time to do the things I want to do, like spending quality time with my beautiful grandchildren, spend more time in my garden, read more, create things; all the things that seem to fall by the wayside when you make yourself too busy simply “doing”!

The New Year is also a time for reflection. I look back on the years I’ve been involved with CID; so many happy memories mixed with some very sad ones. This year we said goodbye to our beloved Mr Popa, driver and unofficial ‘Grandad’ to the children at St Margaret’s for many years; arriving at Henri Coanda airport in Bucharest simply isn’t the same any more when he isn’t there to greet you! I hope he has a very long and happy retirement. 

Mr Popa's last Supporters' Tour
 

Then there are the happy memories; Marian from St Margaret’s being adopted – every child deserves a loving family and this gorgeous little boy has now got one.

Marian with his new parents

 

The joy on a child’s face when he receives his ‘Love in a Box’ and finds a toothbrush in it!!  Never mind the toy cars, crayons etc, he just LOVES receiving a toothbrush that is just for him. J

The joy of a new toothbrush!

The happy memories far outweigh the sad ones; I would need to write a book to detail them all! YOU have been instrumental in making these happy moments and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart and pray that you will continue to support our work through 2015 and beyond.  HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANK YOU!

 

Jane x

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want Something Doing? Ask A Busy Person!

Almost eight years ago, I worked for a pharmaceutical consultancy as a PA, loved my job and was well paid but at the same time was heavily involved with Children in Distress.  Then an opportunity arose for me to work for the charity part time (I’m contracted to work 21 hours per week) and, as I was nearing retirement age (I was almost 56 at the time) I thought it would be the perfect end to my working life to work from home “part time” and raise money to help look after the kids I had come to love so dearly.

Eight years on I am convinced I must have had a very “senior moment” to have thought it would be ideal to work from home – my house now resembles some kind of refugee warehouse, I get phone calls just as I’ve settled down to try and watch my favourite programme on TV (these supporters wouldn’t ring the office at this time of night because no-one would be there but they know that I will be!), I work much, much more than my allotted 21 hours per week, I haven’t had time to take any holiday leave for over two years, my “retired” husband has now become an unpaid “gopher” for the charity and we both LOVE IT!!  There, you thought I was having a huge moan didn’t you??!!  I guess I probably was in a way because here we are, two weeks before Christmas and this is what my lounge and kitchen looks like at present………………………………….

 

My "kitchen"

My "lounge"

 

but all these bags and boxes are full of beautifully knit blankets, jumpers, cardigans, hats, scarves, gloves and toys for the children in Romania so it is all worth it.  However, I now have all these to pack so that I can regain my home in time for Christmas………………….oh and I haven’t finished my Christmas shopping, haven’t done the baking and when I finally get round to buying the rest of the presents, they will need wrapping and as useful as my husband Pete is, he is lousy at wrapping presents so I’m on my own for that one!!  So if you want something done, ask a busy person (and I can guarantee that it WILL get done – might be last minute but it will be done!).

 

These are what makes it all worthwhile…………….

Some of our children at St Margaret's in Bucharest enjoying a visit from supporters

Maria, Nicoleta, Cristina and Rafi - four of our beautiful children from St Margaret's in Bucharest

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year, thank you for reading this and for all of your support throughout 2014.

 

Jane x

Live Like Someone Left the Gate Open

You know how it is……………..it’s almost time to turn in for the night and you think “I’ll just check Facebook and see what’s happening before I go to bed”.  Well, that’s exactly what I did tonight and saw this on a friend’s timeline (thanks Kath!)

 

and it got me to thinking that that is exactly what some of the children in our care do on a daily basis; the likes of Rafi, Darius, Maria to mention but three of our lovely children.  All three children have a myriad of illnesses and all three are happy smiling children.  Rafi, as anyone who knows him will know, chases around like he is on fire yet he is, in fact, a poorly little boy. But he does indeed ‘Live like someone left the gate open’.  Darius, now confined to a wheelchair because of his illness, smiles constantly, is interested in all that goes on around him, can speak a few words of English (he is only 4!) and in fact when I last saw him, I wanted to take a photo of him and he cheekily smiled at me and said ‘Cheese’! ..................his sense of humour certainly hasn’t left him even though the use of his legs has, indeed, left him.  Maria, who came to us as a very poorly little baby and is now becoming a very confident little lady who attends school along with Rafi and older “brother” Florin. 

These children are a lesson on how to ‘live like someone left the gate open’.

We all have times in our lives when things don’t happen just how we want them to happen or we don’t feel as well as we would like to feel and then we begin to feel sorry for ourselves.  It is at these times that we should learn from the children and pick ourselves up and truly learn to ‘live like someone left the gate open’.  Life is, sadly, too short to do otherwise.

You could start to change your life by sponsoring one of our children and keep up to date with how they are doing.  Contact me at janerussell@childrenindistress.org.uk if you are interested in learning more about our children……………………..trust me, you will be making a huge step, not only in your own life but in the children’s as well.  Once you ‘meet’ the children your life will take on a whole new meaning; that I can assure you from my own experience.

Jane x

 

 

Love in a Box

What does a shoebox mean to you? Literally a box to keep your shoes in?  A box that comes with your new pair of shoes and then you discard it?

To an impoverished Romanian child receiving a shoebox at Christmas can mean everything! 

Each year, Children in Distress run their ‘Shoebox Appeal’ or, as it is commonly known, ‘Love in a Box Appeal’.  The charity asks its supporters to wrap a shoebox in bright, colourful Christmas paper and fill it with a variety of items which can include small gifts, sweets (but not milk chocolate), soap/flannel, toothbrush/paste, brush/comb, toiletries, gloves/scarf/hat, socks/tights, hair slides, small toys, small teddy bear, notebook, pens/pencils, felt pens, colouring book/crayons, puzzle/ball/yoyo/toy cars, balloons and a Christmas card.  We also ask that £2 accompanies each box to help transport the boxes to Romania.

If, like me, you are fortunate to have children and grandchildren, you are no doubt aghast at the amount of presents bestowed on children at Christmastime.  To a child in the Balkans, the gaily wrapped shoebox with its contents is more than likely the only present that child will receive for Christmas.  It is not that the parents don’t want to give their children lovely presents, it is, quite simply, that they cannot afford to do so and put food on the table so the food (quite naturally!) wins every time.  Last year some 7,000 Christmas shoeboxes were taken to Romania by Children in Distress and personally handed out by our very own Mos Craicun (Father Christmas) in churches, community centres, hospitals and schools.

Our ‘Love in a Box Appeal’ is now in full swing and, with your help, we look forward to sharing our Christmas joy with babies, children and OAPs once more in December.  If you would like to make up a Christmas shoebox for our appeal, please contact me either by email or phone to join in the fun – email janerussell@childrenindistress.org.uk or phone 01751 432089 / 07775 695611 for more details. J

 

The above photos show recipients of last year's appeal and also the lorry being loaded with the boxes

Jane x