These good causes are supported by friends or myself. Some are well known and some are smaller and specialist and less well known charities.
All are worth supporting and learning about. Do have a quick read about their work .
There is brief information about the work of each organisation plus a way to contact the charity if you would like to give a donation.
Accompanying them are photos I have taken with my trusty companion , (my 5.0 MP Tecknika camera from Tesco) of snow scenes taken in Holland Park , West London December 2010 .
Click for The Upper RoomThe Upper Room provides a broad range of services for the homeless, vulnerable, and socially disadvantaged of West London including serving over 20,000 meals a year. Our charity has helped people in need for over 18 years
Aims of organisation:
The Upper Room is a registered charity dedicated to the relief of poverty, suffering and social disadvantage working with the vulnerable, marginal and homeless of West London. All its services are free and the common theme is "feeding communities in need".
The Upper Room is particularly interested in working with guests to curb addictions, sustain housing and maintain healthy relationships. Another increasingly large group that needs our help is migrant workers. The Upper Room charity receives little government funding and relies on grants, donations from individuals, churches, schools and community groups who are generous with fundraising events, especially at Harvest and Christmas time, to continue providing its services.
There are three Upper Room projects at the moment: UR4Meals, UR4Jobs & UR4Driving .
These services are focused on supporting and enabling people to regain their confidence and health, improve their employability and life skills, as well as tackling loneliness and social isolation. Each project has a primary function and several secondary functions including being an incubator for new projects.
The Upper Room relies on donations to provide:
• Hot food 5 days a week;
• Clothes, shoes, socks and underwear;
• Toiletries;
• Blankets, bedding, and sleeping bags when available, for rough sleepers.
www.pepper.org.uk - run a paediatric nursing service for terminally ill children so that they can continue to live at home
The Pepper Foundation Registered Charity Number 1056823
Click for Pepper FoundationGood health is something we take for granted in our youth and any loving parents wish is that their children enjoy a happy and carefree childhood, without worry or pain. Sadly, some children are not so fortunate and can suffer from traumatic life-limiting and in some cases, terminal illnesses.
The suffering endured by these children and the stress and strain it brings to families can be unbearable.
The Pepper Foundation is a registered charity, which provides funds for The Pepper Children’s Nurses managed by The Iain Rennie Hospice at Home Service (IRHH).
Our nurses provide much needed professional and loving home care on a 24 hour, 365 days of the year – on-call basis, for seriously ill children throughout the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire area.
Click for Norwood• Norwood supports people with learning disabilities and children and families in need. We provide vital, personalised services to the Jewish community and to people in the wider community, in London and the South East.
• We believe people should live the life they choose and we work with individuals to achieve their goals. Each year we enable thousands of people to change their lives, one by one.
The Cara Trust
Click for The Cara Trusthttp://www.caralife.com/index.php?item=91104
We are the UK's leading charity focusing on the spiritual and pastoral support needs of people living with or affected by HIV. 2010 marks our 22nd year of providing essential social welfare and spiritual support services for people living with HIV across London and beyond.
We were founded by Fr. David Randall in 1988 as a community of friendship of people living with HIV. The word Cara is derived from the Gaelic word for friend. We believe that our focus on community and friendship still holds true today. These are key aspects that continue to make Cara unique as an HIV charity.
During the past year we've increased the number of people supported by Cara by 11% to 356, we've also increased the hours of service delivery to people in need by 8% to 15,963 hours. Thanks to all our supporters for helping make this possible.
http://www.crusaid.org.uk/
Click for CrusaidRegistered charity no: 1011718.
Crusaid is a grant making and fundraising charity that exists to support people living with HIV and AIDS. Crusaid has a national and international reach and works with those communities most at risk and affected by HIV and AIDS in their countries.
In the UK we focus our efforts through the
Crusaid Hardship Fund. The Fund provides support for people living with HIV and AIDS in poverty in the UK. We work with a network of approximately 400 other organisations to help our beneficiaries to lift themselves out of poverty in the long term, get over a difficult patch or return to work to improve the quality of their lives. We provide funding for everything from the purchase of household goods, payment of utility bills, respite care and education.
Abroad we work at community level to develop grassroots projects that can act as the catalyst for long term solutions for those communities affected by HIV and AIDS. We call this programme,
Points of Light as each project brings help and hope to communities most in need of our help. We will equip communities with the knowledge and tools to tackle the AIDS epidemic on their door step in a sustainable way. We identify and work with local organisations, capacity building them to take on the Point of Light programme in a way that meets their needs.
http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/
The Children's SocietyThe Children's Society is a leading national charity that makes childhood better for all children in the UK
The Children’s Society 2010.
Reg Charity No. 221124
Our network of community-based projects provide targeted, immediate and lasting help for children who feel excluded, isolated or abandoned; children who live in a vicious circle of fear and harm, and who are faced with a lifetime of danger and disadvantage in their daily lives.
Our schools work, children's centres and mentoring schemes help many more children avoid crisis by developing the skills and confidence they need to challenge and overcome difficult situations.
Our research and campaigning creates real change by influencing the thinking of everyone - from the general public to politicians and decision makers - about how to make childhood better.
The charity was established in 1881 when Sunday school teacher Edward Rudolf found two of his pupils begging for food on London's streets. Like The Children's Society today, Rudolf was a pioneer and wanted to do things differently.
He didn't like the large, institutional children's homes of the day and so set up a model children's home, offering vulnerable children a smaller, more caring alternative.
In recent times, the nature of our work has kept pace with the changing needs of children in an evolving society.
Our priorities for a good childhood are driven by what children tell us they need the most - to live in a world where they can experience loving, caring relationships in families and communities that respect and support them.
What is a Maggie's Centre?
A Maggie’s Centre is a place to turn to for help with any of the problems, small or large, associated with cancer.
Under one roof you can access help with information, benefits advice, psychological support both individually and in groups, courses and stress reducing strategies. You don’t have to make an appointment, or be referred and everything we offer is free of charge.
It is there for anybody who feels the need for help, which includes those who love and look after someone with cancer, who often feel as frightened and vulnerable as those who actually have the disease.
Click for Maggie's Centresregistered charity number SC024414
What is a Maggie's Centre?
A Maggie’s Centre is a place to turn to for help with any of the problems, small or large, associated with cancer.
Under one roof you can access help with information, benefits advice, psychological support both individually and in groups, courses and stress reducing strategies. You don’t have to make an appointment, or be referred and everything we offer is free of charge.
It is there for anybody who feels the need for help, which includes those who love and look after someone with cancer, who often feel as frightened and vulnerable as those who actually have the disease.
A Maggie’s Centre will be many things to many people. It is there for anybody to use in the way they want to. There isn’t a one size fits all recipe for how you live with cancer. Everybody needs to find their own way.
The job of the professionals at Maggie’s is to listen to you, to help you find out what you want and give you the tools to help yourself.
http://www.rnli.org.uk/
Nominated charity for the mayoral year 2010-2011 for Hammersmith and Fulham
The Mayor has chosen the RNLI –
Royal National Lifeboat Institution - as her charity for 2010–2011. All money raised during the mayoral year will go to them
All cheques to be made payable to the Mayor’s Appeal Fund and sent to the Mayor’s Office, Room 201, Town Hall, King Street, London W6 9JU.
If you would like more information on the activities of RNLI please visit: www.rnli.org.uk .
Click for RNLIhttp://www.rnli.org.uk/how_to_support_us
charity registered in England and Wales (209603)
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. We provide a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the coasts of the UK and RoI, as well as a seasonal lifeguard service on many of the busiest beaches in England and Wales.
The RNLI also works to promote sea and beach safety.
A bellwether is any entity in a given market that serves to create or influence trends or to foretell future happenings. Bellwethers help in the challenges of Sales Forecasting.
The department store John Lewis in Oxford Street, London has a slogan “never knowingly undersold” which was adopted in 1925. The West End store is considered a bellwether for the UK retail sector. 
....The heavenly Babe you there shall find
