Music room for the Children of St Catherine’s

Featured

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Matt Betts

Allison our mummy died from brain tumours on the 17th May 2015. During a brave fight against cancer, Allison always loved to give her time to her young children, Ryan 7, Rose 6 and Isaac 3.

It is a tribute to Allison’s bravery and her passion to children’s education that she continued in her role as a governor at St Catherine’s, working with the school to help improve children’s lives. A caring and much loved mother, wife, sister and friend, she will be missed by so many.

We hope to help Allison’s children and all the current and future children of St Catherine’s to love music as Allison did.

You can donate via our new MyDonate page, here.

Sponsored no internet

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Matt Betts

My name is Victoria Gale (Bagpuss to my friends), and I am trying to raise some funds to allow me to go to Lourdes one last time – my 21st year. I have decided to give up the web and internet for the next two months. This will be really hard for me as I am on the internet every night and a lot of the day.

Lourdes is very special to me and I really want to go and help one last time. Please help me to help others.

You can donate to help Vicki, here.

Xavier Project – Library Up and Running

Featured

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Matt Betts

The library that we supported is now up and running. Here Ed Page, Director and Founder tells us a little more:

“We had the opening ceremony a couple of weeks ago and it is now being used round the clock. We have two members of staff running it and a couple of volunteers who have come over from England. The volunteers have broadened the aims of the project by setting up an art class which we hope will run for most of the year. You can see some of the art in one of the pictures!

It is very exciting to have it up and running so thanks again for your contribution. We received some additional support from a school in England called Concord College which means the project is secure for a longer period of time and also that we are able to run more activities there. Later in the year we will run a monitoring exercise to see how many children have been using the library and how they are benefitting from it.”

Thank you – Dail, Johan & Ali

Featured

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Matt Betts

We would like to thank our three retiring trustees: Dail, Johan and Ali who have decided to retire from the role due to other commitments. We have enjoyed working with each of them, and would like to particularly thank Dail and Johan who helped to found our charity five years ago.

We are planning to announce a few new changes to our structure in the next few months, so please watch this space.

Thank you to our donors for all your support, we really appreciate it.

Matthew Betts, Stephen Daly & Sadie Vile – Trustees

Happy Fifth Birthday to us

Featured

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Matt Betts

Happy five years to us! We were founded five years ago with the remit to:

i) To provide respite, relief and assistance for the suffering and distress of children and vulnerable adults who have disabilities, or who are physically or emotionally deprived or neglected, and their families.
ii) The relief of the sick/poor living in the UK either generally or individually through the provision of grants, goods or services.
iii) To advance in life and (relieve needs of) (help) young people.

Thank you for your support over the last five years, we really appreciate it. Thanks to you, we have been able to support so many people and charities.

Millie’s hot tub is a resounding success

Featured

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Matt Betts

We are really pleased to announce that the Living by Giving Trust has been able to facilitate the donation of a hot tub for Millie, and are very grateful to HotSpring World for their donation. Thank you to Terri Betts for organising and coordinating this. The Trust have worked with Millie and her family for a number of years, and are so pleased that the hot tub is already giving Millie such relief from her constant pain. You can still help us support Millie, by reading more here or donating here.

For more on this story, please read the press release below.

Press Release:

HotSpring World delighted Millie’s hot tub is a resounding success

After receiving a letter from the Living by Giving Trust , a Trust designed to enhance the living qualities of the less fortunate, HotSpring World has donated one of their products to a little girl with a big heart.

Millie is nine years old and is from Milton Keynes. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). A genetic condition, MLD is extremely rare. It is thought only one in 40,000 people are afflicted with it. It affects nerves, muscles, organs and even behaviour. The life expectancy of MLD sufferers ranges between 10 and 15 years of age.

Living by Giving’s current project is ‘Young People New Experiences’. In Millie’s case, the charity’s aim was to give her an opportunity to live comfortably, without the constant pain that is a symptom of the condition.

In the months before the appeal to HotSpring World, Millie’s parents took her to a hydrotherapy centre near their home. The results were amazing. Having seemingly lost the ability to smile, once in the water her beautiful grin had returned to her face. The feeling of weightlessness that the hot tub provided gave Millie a welcome respite from the constant discomfort she felt being strapped into a wheelchair. In order to give Millie this enjoyment on a day to day basis, Living by Giving acted and HotSpring World responded.

The story doesn’t end there, either. The hot tub Millie received was initially put up as a prize in a competition they were running with a publication called What Pool & Hot Tub. The winner, a lady named Hayley Turner, was not able to claim her prize. Hayley has a daughter herself that suffers from cerebral palsy, and has seen the wonders hydrotherapy can do. After hearing of the appeal, Hayley was adamant she wanted the hot tub to be donated to Millie. She went on to say ‘I think it’s great that this charity are seeking help for someone that really needs and deserves it’

Millie’s story has touched so many people along the way. The chairman of the Living by Giving Trust, Matt Betts said: ‘We were really pleased to be able to facilitate the donation of a hot tub for Millie, and are very grateful to HotSpring World for their donation. The Trust have worked with Millie and her family for a number of years, and are so pleased that the hot tub is already giving Millie such relief from her constant pain.’

This is a sentiment that was echoed by HotSpring World. Lynda Smart stated ‘we are absolutely delighted to help Millie in her long battle against MLD. Knowing the benefits hydrotherapy has on conditions such as Millie’s, we are proud to have contributed such a worthwhile asset to her life.

‘Hearing the struggles she has to go through on a daily basis, and the efforts her parents and carers go to in order to ensure she is as comfortable as possible, we hope that this hot tub will make all of their lives a little easier.

Supporting the Xavier Project Mobile Library

Featured

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Matt Betts

The Xavier Project mobile library currently visits schools in Kampala, Uganda each weekday morning. They stay at each school for 1-3 hours with a selection of children’s books and read with students in small groups of 5-8 per teacher/tutor for 15 minutes. The mobile library was founded to help young children who are struggling with reading to get individualised attention. In particular refugees who are not used to studying in English very quickly fall behind in their reading and this quickly affects all their other subjects.

With the help of the Living by Giving Trust, the Xavier Project hope to expand this project. Firstly, they intend to hire another library reader to help their team visit the schools and support young children in their reading. Eventually, XP hope to open a physical library which their students can visit after school. This will encourage them to enjoy reading while still receiving support from their tutors. It will also give refugees a safe learning environment where they are free to read in peace away from the chores of their crowded homes.

The Living by Giving Trust have donated a grant of £1000 to start this much needed work. This was raised through our sponsored no TV campaign and other fundraising.

Thank you to everyone who has made it possible for Living by Giving to support this project!

If you would like to support the work of the Xavier Project through the Living by Giving Trust, please send us a donation via our special page here, or contact Matt.