Spring seems to be arriving early. I think this a great time for giving birth to new ideas and dusting the cobwebs from our minds to explore possibilities for making a difference.
One of my fellow Poker Face contestants has launched a campaign to help 65 people in her community think possibilities about the differences they could make with £65, so I look forward to receiving their requests in due course.
Come on, let's have a spring clean and spring into action to Go MAD with £65.
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21 comments:
Hi People,
What a nice surprise to see me and my challenge mentioned on the site. I have been working hard at this because I love to see those cogs turning and people putting their ideas together. Lots of poeple are still mulling their ideas over. We are having to share our email address as many people don't have internet access. The biggest surprise has been the response from my daughters nursery. Bless the 2, 3 and 4 year olds, thinking up their ideas. I did a dance class yesterday afternoon and put the challenge to 30 children at a school in the deprived area of Castle Vale, Birmingham. I was called a celebrity and the pupils were more interested in Andy than Ant and Dec! One lad immediately asked for 65.00 for some special cream for his acute excema condition but I told him the request had to be to help others so he went away to think about it. His support assistant asked if she could request the money for him as he is not allowed out in the sunshine as it irritates his skin and so cannot go out to play or on trips with the rest of his class. I told her to speak with his mother and put in a request, if successful it would be a lovely surprise for him. There are lots of great ideas bubbling up out there. Watch this space.
I have heard about your offer of £65 from Myrah. My idea to help others using £65 is to set up a weekend workshop on a Saturday to help year seven pupils with their English. I am fourteen and currently in a literacy club mentoring year sevens. Many of them have not been coming to the club and have quit due to lack of interest. When I heard about this giveaway I thought that I could use the money to buy some books, games and prizes to not only create more interesting and stimulating activities but to improve their English skills.
Davina
Hi Davina,
Your idea of helping the literacy club is great. Please also consider what else you could possibly do to increase the level of interest of those who have lost their motivation.
email me your contact details and I will send you £65.
Andy
Dear Andy,
What a wonderful thing you are doing. People like you are hard to find these days. I am a speech and language therapist working at a Birmingham Hospital with ever decreasing funding. Myrah's mum tells me I could possibly get 65.00to buy 3 talking photo albums for patients who have had a laryngectomy. (That is an operation to remove the voice box due to cancer of the larynx.) I think they would be a brilliant way for them to communicate. Please contact me, my email address is morag.inglis@uhb.nhs.uk Thanks.
Hi Morag,
I will send you £65 for 3 talking photo frames. I agree this could really make a difference.
Andy
Dear Andy,
I would like to request 65.00 for a knitting project for the 25 families that regularly meet at the local Tiddlywinks and Toddlers group at the center where I work. I am 63 and I want to teach these modern girls how clothes can be made. The children would benefit by watching their little jumpers being made and their mothers would learn a new skill and feel a sense of achievement when they make a jumper with their own hands for their child. Thanks Alison
Hiya Andy,
I would like the 65.00 to go to the homes of 5 new mothers and teach them how to massage and soothe their new born babies. I am qualified and work as a pregnancy outreach worker. I would like to include the massage and leave the mothers a small goody bag of oils and information leaflets of how to comfort baby. This is a very scary time for new mums and I want to help. I think it will make a difference for mum and stop baby getting stressed.
Big thanks.
From Maria
Hello Andy,
My sister works in a hospital and has told me that some of the patients never have any visitors at all. I would like to visit them and I would use the money to buy them anything they might need, like toiletries or something to read. I want to help these people in the community as I think they are often forgotten. This makes me very sad and I want to make a difference to help them.
Thank you for your kindness.
Sadia
Yo Andy,
I'm a youth worker in one of the deprived areas of Birmingham. This area is currently being redeveloped and the young people I work with and I, think it would be an idea to use the money to buy some disposable cameras and take pics of us in our favourite haunts before they are lost forever. The youths should have a voice in all of the city developments and at least this way they can keep a memory store of the places that meant something to them.
Hola back,
Steve
Dear Andy,
What a lovely thing you are doing offering your money to help others. I run a luncheon club for the elderly and in the spring and summer we keep an allotment. This money could help us buy more tools and seeds and we would be able to have more members join in. The group are trying to keep fit and healthy so we eat the things we grow and we enjoy staying active and socializing. Keep up the good work. I hope we can be a part of this great idea.
Many thanks,
Tina S.
Dear Andy,
My name is Ken and I would like to request 65.00 for a gazebo = 30.00, some plants = 15.00 and a mini golf course = 15.00 to make better use of the grounds outside the day center where I attended.
The day centre has 12 elderly people in the group and when the weather improves we want to be able to get out in the fresh air. We are all 90 or approaching 90 years old and we want to make every sunny day count.
Cheers Andy,
From Ken
Hi Andy,
Sorry about the mix up before. We would like to request the 65.00 to hold a Caribbean event for the children at our community nursery located in the deprived area of Handsworth, Birmingham. We want it to buy the food eg caribbean fruits and vegetables and maybe even some jerk chicken and fried dumplings. We will teach the children games and songs we used to entertain ourselves with when we were young and the children can dress up in head wraps, bangles and bright coloured clothes. We thought it would be a good way to shake off the winter blues and their parents can come and join in as well.
Thank you from us all at
ANKA Day Nursery
Norma G.
Dear Andy,
I am a childminder and would like to request the sixty five pounds to buy a Buggy Hitch-hiker which clips onto a single buggy so that an older child can ride behind. This is much lighter than a double buggy and I would be able to get the children out and about with greater ease. The rest of the money could buy 2 children's cycle helmets so they can ride their bikes safely to the park.
As the weather gets better I think they need to be out of the house as much as possible. Both children are asthmatic and would benefit from being out in the fresh air.
Thanks Gwen
For J.J.
Hello Andy,
I am writing regarding the money you are sharing out. I am a T.A. in a primary school in Castle Vale, Birmingham. I am a carer for a child who suffers with severe eczema. He used to miss a lot of school as he has to shower and be creamed all over after he has been outside. Unfortunately, when the class goes swimming each week, he can't go and he can't come on class trips with us either. I thought it would be nice for him to have a share of the money to allow his mom to take him out for the day when we go on our next trip. He has gone through alot and has missed out on many school activities because of his condition. I thought this would be a nice surprise for him.
Many thanks for your time and I hope I may be considered a worthwhile cause.
Nominated by Jayne Smith
(Teaching Assistant)
Dear Andy,
I work with a group of women who have suffered with the effects of domestic violence. We have decided we find it very relaxing and theraputic doing cross-stitch and would like to form a group to work at it together. The money would be for more patterns, threads and needles for a small group. Being a victim of DV is very stressful and it's helpful finding a group where you feel you belong and feel safe and supported. We will donate the pieces we make to our local hospice to cheer up their patients. We want to help ourselves and help others. We think this will make a difference.
Kind regards,
Val Isaac
Hi Andy,
I would like to request the money for a dance kit to support my dance coach who is going into 32schools across Birmingham and is surprised at the poor ability of most of the children.
We think it would be a good idea to put a dance kit together of various DVDs and videos for stimulus, idea cards and resources e.g. ribbons and feathers which the teachers can use to continue the good work the coach introduces to the school.
She would use the 65 to put the kit together and spend an hour with the teachers of each school showing them how to use it. The school would then have to get their own kits together. Maybe they'll be asking you for the money...
Tony Di Ponio
Hi Andy
I wanted to update you on the money you sent last year. £65 went directly towards sorting out the cellar in the Inspire shop so that it would be more usable and we could open it up.
The other £65 was sent to me to make a difference and I decided to give it to the members of Inspire (all adults with learning disabilities) and ask them to give it away. They stood outside the shop and asked people to stop and talk to them – and many people wouldn’t. So the first thing they said to people was that they wanted to reward openness and positivity and that they had £5 to give them and what would they do with it. Two students donated £5 back and said they would go and buy coffee for themselves and friends who were waitng for them, one homeless man went into the charity shop to buy some new trousers and another said he was going to get a good meal etc etc. It was very rewarding and our members were very pleased to have been in the position of giving as they are more frequently in the position of receiving. They found it a very enlightening and empowering experience and I think that your £65 was very well spent, so thank you from us all
Regards
Gerri Bright
Inspire Nottingham
Dear Andy,
I am a learning support assistant at a school in London. My SEN and EAL children find it very hard to concentrate and take anything in when they are in a large story group in class. Story sacks would enable me to take them out in small groups where they could have hands on opportunities to try and tell the stories themselves using props. 2 story sacks would cost 28.95 each, which would leave 7.10. I would use this to buy something sensory like snow powder. This would make a difference to these children as they would be able to get more involved in their own learning rather than having to struggle all the time.
Thank you for listening.
Marcia L.S.A.
Hiya Andy,
Well this so great I want to be part of it if possible. My idea is to do face painting at my local community centre. Some people are in need of a smile on their faces and if I have to go in and paint it on them... I will! I would spend the money on more face paints, a new brush and a book of ideas for people to choose their new faces. Maybe we could turn it into a sponsored event and donate the money to a local charity. What do you think?
Cheers Claire
Hi Andy,
I wondered if you be able to help my son Lenny, aged 4. I have recently been told that he is partially sighted and he has to wear a patch over his eye. Lenny loved books and learning to read and I have noticed that now he can't see them so well he isn't wanting to read any more. I heard about your offer and I would like to use the money to buy him some talking books so that he can listen to the stories, music and activities. I don't want him to loose his passion for reading as his sight problems may already have created behavioural problems for him at school. I read to him as much as possible but talking books would be much more entertaining for both of us to share. I hope you can help.
Many thanks,
Tracey
Well it has been a busy week with lots of requests and I am pleased to be able to give £65 to Alison, Maria, Sadia, Tina S, Ken, Norma G, Jayne Smith, Val Isaac, Marcia, Claire, and Tracey. Lot's of good specific ideas. Please e-mail me your contact details and I will get the money to you.
Some I have declined, mainly because I think there are other ways of achieving the goal by involving others.
Steve, someone you know must have a digital camera you can borrow. Do a bit more possibility thinking. Likewise, Toni I am sure with a bit of involving others you can find the resources you want.
Andy G.
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