Nice one! Thanks so much for visiting Big Matt’s Big Birthday Fundraiser.
And now that you’ve made the effort to click through, I’d better tell you what this is all about..
As you know, I’m about to raise the bat on my half century. And birthdays normally mean presents. But I’ve led a pretty charmed existence thus far, so pressies seem a bit pointless really.
But before you think you’re off the hook, I’ve come up with a cunning plan to help relieve you of some of your hard-earned cash…
Yep, instead of going to all the bother of buying the old curmudgeon a pair of slippers, I’d love you to consider donating to a couple of charities that are special to me – Shakti Shalini and Tara Homes for Children.
Who they?
Shakti Shalini is a Delhi-based NGO that supports women victims of gender violence as well as carrying out interventions to prevent further violence from taking place. Victims of violence are provided with a shelter for boarding, legal, medical and economic support, and counselling at their Crisis Intervention and Counselling Centre.
Tara Homes for Children is also based in Delhi. They offer a residential service with an emphasis on education for children who have been abandoned or removed from their families. Their homes are not institutions! They host no more than 20 children, to ensure a violence-free, family-like environment.
Why these charities?
Well, India was the first country I travelled to properly. I have loved it ever since and it has enriched my life in many ways. I’d love to acknowledge my debt to this special place through support for these charities.
Second, I have chosen grassroots charities that don’t have massive brands and sophisticated fundraising operations. Donations to these charities really will make a tangible difference, enabling them to deliver much-needed support to vulnerable, hard to reach individuals.
Both are partners of the US-based not-for-profit, Go Philanthropic. Its vision is “to create a network of partnerships fostering a shared responsibility in solving global issues.” Go Philanthropic works with partner charities in Asia, Africa and Central America. But all donations made via this fundraising page will be split equally between Shakti Shalini and Tara Homes for Children.
So, please do click on the links above to the charities to find out more. And if you like what you see, please give what you can. It takes just one or two minutes and there’s none of the effort of having to go out and buy those bloody slippers!
**One last thing. I'm using this US platform because Go Philanthropic is US-based.**
You can still donate easily if you are in the UK.
In fact, it must be easy coz I just did it.....
And you wouldn't want to be the person who failed where I succeeded technologically, right? Thought not.
The only tricky thing is where it asks for card validity date - that means expiry in Blighty speak...Zip code means postal code, but you know that stuff....
To give you an idea on what you're donating:
$US 10 is £7.70
$US 20 is £15.40
But you're all clever so and so's, so apologies for teaching granny to suck eggs!
Thank you, and see you on 8 December.
Matt
