Why it’s so hard to choose the cause of the month…..

When we asked easyfundraisers to nominate their cause as our cause of the month for October, we were absolutely inundated with responses. It was so hard to pick a winner as every cause we read about seemed to be so deserving of the £150 prize.

We chose STEPS as the overall winner because of the lovely stories sent to us by people who have been helped by the charity.  However, we decided that each cause nominated needed a shout out so that everyone knows about the great work they do.

We’d love to add photos too so please send them to becky@easyfundraising.org.uk and we’ll include them here.

Act Fund Charity – nominated by Ian

“The Alex Camwell Tribute (A.C.T.) Fund was set up in 2009 by Debbie and Ian who lost their son Alex to a rare genetic disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1. It is also the biggest genetic killer of under 2’s in the UK.
The A.C.T. Fund will provide funding towards the work of Rainbows Young Person and Children’s Hospice and Zoë’s Place baby Hospice, research into the condition Spinal Muscular Atrophy via the SMA Trust, and support the work done by the Ally Cadence Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.”

7th Culcheth Guides – nominated by Sarah Isles

“We are a busy Unit of 36 Guides and are working hard to keep all our girls busy. We are currently fundraising to help two of our Guides who have been selected to take part in International Events in 2011. One is attending the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden whilst the other is venturing to Siberia with seven other Guides to help develop Brownies and Guides in the Country as well as teach English. easyfundraising plays a big part in our money raising.”

Cystic Fibrosis Trust – nominated by Lorraine Barnes

“As mother of 2 boys with Cystic Fibrosis, I am a passionate and dedicated fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.  We need to raise more awareness for the life-threatening condition robbing us of our young adults.”

Village Water – nominated by Jane, Tigi and David Dixon

Village Water works in western Zambia with poor rural communities bringing sanitation and hygiene education and clean water to the villagers. It works in a sustainable way. The difference between a village where VW has worked and one where it hasn’t is good health, cleanliness and pride contrasted with lots of flies, children coughing, sore eyes, dirty clothes.”

Ruby’s Fund – nominated by Alison Millinton and Claire Smallman

Ruby’s Fund was started in response to lack of sensory and soft play facilities for children with additional needs in our local area and are fundraising to open a multi-sensory studio in our town.”

Ancaster Preschool – nominated by Angela Lawson

“We are a small charity run preschool. We do lots of fundraising in order to get outdoor equipment and indoor resources. The staff that work with our children our amazing, patient, kind, loving and everyday give a lot of their time for free in order to meet the very demanding guidelines.”

Neonettes – nominated by Bev

“We are a morris dancing troupe in a deprived area. We take are dancers across the north west competing in competitions then at the end of the year we go to the championships which is a weekend away – if it wasn’t for this, most of our dancers wouldnt be able to afford a holiday. If we don’t start getting any funding for somewhere, we may have to fold after going for 4years.”

6th Tamworth Scout Group – nominated by Joanne Jones

“We have around 100 members from Beavers to Scouts. Our group is very active and we have managed to raise funds for a minibus so that we can take more children to camp recently. We are based at a school and only have the use of a shed to store all our equipment, the school have kindly said that we can have the space to put a container on their grounds, but we need to raise funds again for this.”

Deva Cheerleading Academy – nominated by Emma

“Our aim is to give our cheerleaders amazing opportunities whilst promoting team work, self confidence and personal fitness. We’re currently raising money to take them to compete in America next year. The girls have been fundraising hard so far, but we still have a long way to go. We need to fundraise as much as possible to open this opportunity for all our cheerleaders, as not all will be able to afford it on their own.”

The Isle of Wight branch of the National Autistic Society – nominated by Louise Foley

“The branch is completely run by parent volunteers to help and support many families affected by an autism spectrum condition.”

Lionaid – nominated by Chris McSween

“We are a small charity, committed to halt and indeed reverse the catastrophic decline in the African Lion. We depend on donations to help us fund the awareness campaign and currently we are trying to bring about a ban on the importation of lion trophies into the UK.”

Hartland 326 ATC – nominated by Heather Metherell

“We are a self funded organisation for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. We do a lot of fundraising ourselves to ensure these kids do all the fun things they want. Not only is it a place for these kids to go two nights a week, they also achieve Btec diplomas and can do their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. All of these childern achieve academic results though the ATC and all of our instructors give up their time voluntarily and willingly to these kids. Lets support these kinds of organisations and keep children off the streets.”

The Fun Hut Strathblane – nominated by Karen McCrory

“A group for parents/carers and under 5’s. We rely totally on fundraising to keep the facility running and employ playleaders to encourage the children with arts, crafts and singing. It is an invaluable facility in our village.”

Landgate school PTA – nominated by  Liz Blackburn

“We are a small registered charity, trying to raise money for a much needed minibus for 49 autistic children to use.”

Dobermann Welfare Association – nominated by Jude

“The aim of the Association is to re-home Dobermanns who have come to us because their owners are no longer able to keep them or they have been abandoned. Kennelling and veterinary costs are ever increasing and the situation with the number of dogs being abandoned is becoming ever more dire with the recession. Often the dogs are with the DWA for quite some time until the right home can be found, and many owners abandon their dogs when they become old or have medical issues.”

Shine Relief – nominated by Amy Simpson

“Shine Relief are doing incredible work with some of the world’s poorest people in Malawi. They are a relatively new charity and are already feeding a meal to 200 orphaned children five days a week.”

Kent Search and Rescue – nominated by Jane Haselden

“We are a charity with 50 volunteers who are called regularly to search for missing and vulnerable people in Kent. Over 1800 people go missing in Kent each year and we are called to approx. 40 of those cases a year. We are available 365 days a year and are dedicated to searching day or night, whatever the weather. I’m proud to be part of such a great organisation that ultimately saves lives.”

RSDR – Nominated by Anita Parsons

“I would like to see RSDR (Rudozem Street Dog Rescue) as the cause of the month. This english family are rescuing street dogs in Bulgaria and trying to find them loving homes. Bulgaria has many street dogs who are often subjected to the most horrendous cruelty. The family work from their own family home and have taken in over 120 dogs, and had over 92 dogs adopted since they were registered in 2009. They are now trying to raise enough money for a dog shelter, so they can save many more dogs from a life of misery. RSDR UK has now been established in the UK, as an extra support for fundraising to help us to try and raise money for a dog shelter.”

Please send us your photos so we can add them to this page to let everyone know what you do. Or if your cause isn’t mentioned here yet, tell us all about yourself in the comments section below and we’ll add you to the page.

By the way, we look at each cause every single month when we’re deciding who to award the title of cause of the month to so it could be you next month….