The Bub in the Belly

Just a short post today to congratulate two of the Christmas charity initiatives that I love.

First - the Boys' Brigade Share-a-Gift 2010 project. I read an article in TODAYonline which reported that they achieved their donation target within the timeframe set and for the second year running.  According to the article, "some 3,500 Boys' Brigade officers and boys collected enough food, household items and gifts for the 28,439 beneficiaries of its Share-A-Gift project that began Nov 25" and "the volunteers are working to distribute some 20,000 food hampers and more than 8,000 gifts by the end of the year".

Next is Toys for Tots 2010. Every year since 1947, the US Marine Corps has carried out this project. Marine Security Guards all around the world collect donated toys and distribute them to underprivileged children. According to this report on the US embassy (in Singapore) website, this year they have raised enough toys to donate to the children at their adopted children's home - Jamiyah Children's Home - plus they have collected enough to donate to other children in neighbouring countries including Burma, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Well done boys! And to those of you who participated in these two charity projects - great job!

To those of you who have passed us your items to donate, Richard and I will be making our final Christmas drop offs today and tomorrow. This season, apart from donations to individual people in need, we have sent our bulk donations to The Star Shelter at Waterloo Street. The shelter aims to provide safe temporary refuge for women and their children who are victims of family violence regardless of race, language, creed or religion. The nice thing is that it's just next to where Ryan's nanny lives, so it's been pretty convenient for us.