The Art of Giving

www.eroscard.co.uk/charity

PARTICIPATING CHARITIES...

NATIONAL DEAF CHILDREN'S SOCIETY (NDCS)

The NDCS was founded by a group of parents more than 60 years ago. Its mission is to maximise the potential of deaf children around the world.

Andre Ferguson's daughter Azara was a healthy baby until she suddenly went deaf aged just 18 months. At first, the 28-year-old father found it "almost impossible" to deal with his daughter's disability. Doctors were baffled as to her sudden hearing loss and Andre faced a four-year waiting list for an NHS hearing aid.
But eventually he paid for Azara, now two, to have private care and bought her a hearing aid himself. Trawling the internet, Andre, from Peckham, also chanced upon the National Deaf Children's Society website. He says: "It was my knight in shining armour. The society offered me support, helped me find a school for Azara and answered my hundreds of questions. Azara is now having speech therapy and learning to repeat the sounds she can hear. I don't know where we would be without the NDCS".

www.ndcs.org.uk

NSPCC

Its key goal is to end cruelty to children and ensure they are loved, valued and able to succeed in life. The charity also runs ChildLine, the UK's free 24-hour helpline for children in distress or danger.

Life for teenager Danielle Houliston meant arguments with her mother and being bullied at school. At the age of just 11, she ran away.
Homeless and penniless, Danielle was living on the streets until she found ChildLine's freecall number in a phone box. It was to be the start of a life-changing five-year relationship with the charity. It first found her a night refuge and provided support when she became a teen mum and developed depression. Now in her twenties, Danielle has a career in fundraising, two cherished children and she has mended the relationship with her mother. Her aim is to become a counsellor herself when her children have grown up. "If it wasn't for Childline, I don't know if I'd still be here today. All those times when I didn't have anyone to turn to I might have given up on myself but I had a listening ear to help keep my spirits up when so much was uncertain."

ChildLine — 0800 1111

www.nspcc.org.uk

SENSE

Its staff provide specialist services to deaf-blind people, their families, carers and professionals who work with them. This includes support through day centres and family network events.

Jenny and her twin sister were born severely premature at just 20 weeks. Her sibling survived the trauma unscathed but Jenny suffered a brain haemorrhage. At the age of three, she also lost her sight and hearing after doctors misdiagnosed her. The experience was too much for her birth parents who put their daughter up for adoption. But even her new parents found her disability a challenge. Her mother, Peggy, says: "I hadn't a clue, nor did the social workers, about deafblindness. I didn't know how to communicate with Jenny but meeting Sense was the turning point. We all learned so much."
Wheelchair user Jenny, now 25, attends Sense's Anne Wall Centre in Barnet, north London, which is dedicated to enabling deafblind adults achieve greater independence. Her achievements include making cushions, which have been sold to raise money for the charity.

www.sense.org.uk/

MENCAP

Mencap gives a voice to people with learning disabilities and their families and carers. It aims to challenge prejudice and enable those with a disability to enjoy full lives.

Nurse Eurate Roseman was overjoyed at becoming a first-time mother at the age of 48. But her son, Everton, had serious health problems from birth.
Friends and relatives blamed the single mother for his disruptive behaviour until doctors eventually discovered a massive brain tumour.
This explained his sudden fits, autism and hyperactivity from which Everton, 17, still suffers. Now he visits an after-school club called Expressions which allows him to develop his talents for singing, dancing and drawing.
Eurate, 65, says: "I lost friends and relatives because they blamed me that Everton was disruptive and I wasn't disciplining him. Once you have a disability no one is interested in you. Without Mencap, I would have ended up in a psychiatric hospital. It gives children quality of life and tries to train them to enter the workplace. They're giving them opportunities."

www.mencap.co.uk/

DIABETES UK

This is one of the largest patient organisations in Europe and finances better treatments and potential cures. The charity funds more than £7 million a year on research.

Sophie Thomas, who works as a nurse, knows what her diabetic patients are going through — she herself has the condition and so does her seven-year-old son, Sam. This means daily injections of insulin to keep their blood sugar levels as normal as possible. Sophie, 37, was only 11 when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the body is unable to produce insulin.
Her fears were confirmed when Sam showed the first signs at four. Sophie, from Fulham, says: "I was constantly checking him but it comes on very suddenly. It was half term and he was desperately thirsty. At first, it was hard because I had to hold him down to inject him. But now his teacher injects him and he enjoys being a celebrity' at his school. Diabetes UK does a fantastic job and I feel really strongly that nothing should be forbidden and you should live life to the best."

www.diabetes.org.uk/

MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT

Macmillan improves the lives of those affected by cancer by providing medical, emotional and financial support. Its staff also help cancer sufferers and their relatives to feel less isolated.

Doctors first diagnosed Liz Waite with cancer more than eight years ago. Since then, the mother of two, from Hounslow, has endured numerous operations and gruelling chemotherapy at Hammersmith Hospital.But Macmillan nurse Karen Summerville has been a constant source of support to Waite since 2000. The nurse visited her at home and helped her with practical jobs which can become an extra worry, such as arranging specialist holiday insurance. She even gives her reflexology. Waite, 56, says: "Karen was more like a friend, really— I could call her any time. You get information from the hospital consultants but I felt I could ask Karen questions on a different level and be more open with her. She was there at all my check-ups and after my operations and would pop in for a chat when I was having chemo."

www.macmillan.org.uk

THE PROSTATE CANCER CHARITY

Prostate cancer has been a largely neglected health issue. But this charity's goal is to give the disease, which affects men, the same public profile as breast cancer.

Bill Elliott discovered he had prostate cancer on the same day his wife Val was diagnosed with a breast tumour. There was more bad news to come — health chiefs turned down Mr Elliott for life-saving treatment on cost grounds. The sports journalist eventually won his battle to get the drugs he needed.But his case highlights the postcode lottery over NHS funding. It was the Prostate Cancer Charity which backed him in his fight for life-saving drugs. The golf expert, 63, says the charity was also hugely helpful in providing him with the right advice about treatment. "They have very knowledgeable people who you can ring up. This is considered to be a disease for old guys, which is true, but men in their thirties and forties can get prostate cancer too. Men need to take more responsibility for their own health so that they can spot the signs before it's too late."

www.prostate-cancer.org.uk

PLAN INTERNATIONAL

Plan supports more than 1.5 million children and families in 49 developing countries worldwide. Its mission is to achieve lasting improvements for children in poverty.

Helen and Andy Edwards had always wanted to help a child in Zambia, the country where they first fell in love. So they decided to sponsor Nanson through Plan and visit the 11-year-old on their honeymoon. It turned out to be an invaluable experience for the couple, who met when Helen was working as a volunteer in an orphanage. Helen, 28, says: "The spirit was so uplifting in his community despite the fact there's not much out there for them. Nanson was really grinning and his brothers and sisters came to see us as well. We were also given a chicken, which is one of the most valuable things they can give. What's great is that you're not just helping one child but the whole of their community."
The couple from Buckinghamshire now have a child of their own but still hope to go back and visit Nanson in the future.

www.plan-international.org/

KIDS COMPANY

Kids Company is a charity that was founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh to provide practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children.

Tom Ngoye, 25, grew up on a tough estate in Brixton and was excluded from school numerous times. As a teenager, he started hanging out on the streets and getting involved in petty crime. He says: "If you grow up in an area where you don't have the right role models, you end up going in the wrong direction. There's also a lot of peer pressure and all that's on offer is the street option. I was lost."
Kids Company gave him that direction by showing him how to draw up a business plan for starting a record company. Music is still his passion but he is now using his skills at Kids Company to turn the lives of other "lost" teenagers around.
Tom says: "I used to want to do music for the sake of music but I've realised there are many more options. Working with the community is very valuable: I know what it's like growing up thinking it's just you against the world. Kids Company taught me I wasn't the only one out there."

kidsco.org.uk/

MAGGIE'S

Maggie's centres are the legacy of Maggie Keswick Jenks, who recognised the need for a haven for cancer patients. They offer support to people diagnosed with or living with cancer and their relatives.

Maggie's new London centre at Charing Cross Hospital is like a second home for Michael.
The cancer survivor, 77, first visited a week after the centre opened and will never forget the hug he received from centre head Bernie. Twice a week he attends classes including art therapy and also often pops in for a cup of tea and a chat.
The former school governor nearly walked away on his first day because he had trouble opening the door. "My therapist said she would take me there but being macho I thought I could go on my own. But I couldn't work out the door and turned back. Then Bernie came and pulled me back in."
Now the grandfather of five says he could not imagine life without the centre.
He says: "It was so friendly and welcoming. Mentally I was at the bottom of the pile but now I'm back on track. The people who work here really are saintly."

www.maggiescentres.org

DEMELZA HOSPICE CARE FOR CHILDREN

Demelza provides life-changing respite care for more than 300 sick children at its eight-bedroom house in Sittingbourne. It is the only children's residential hospice for Kent, East Sussex and south London.

Shahira Mohamed and sister Nasreen wear oxygen masks to keep them alive while they sleep.
Both were born with the congenital disease myasthenia gravis, meaning they need to take muscle-strengthening medication. This rare condition affects the nerves that supply the muscles around the body. Its precise cause is unknown but it affects one in every 10,000 people. Shahira, from Woolwich, had never enjoyed a holiday until, aged 11, she visited Demelza House. She had grown up only knowing the noisy streets around her home in London. Wheelchair-user Shahira, now 19, saw rabbits and squirrels for the first time and now visits the hospice with Nasreen, nine, every two months. Shahira describes the hospice garden as "like a fairytale". The teenager and her sister have also made firm friends with other children there.
"The garden goes on for ever and is full of butterflies, it really takes you away from reality. When me and my sister stay there my mum gets a break — last year my mum visited her family in Dubai for the first time in years. It also gives her a chance to look after my brother. I don't see it as a hospice, it's more of a holiday. The staff really help you do whatever you want, like going to a beauty salon."

www.demelza.org.uk