Category Archives: Philanthropy & Society

Dedication for Meditation with Inhere Meditation Pods

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“Meditation is bringing the mind home” – Sagyal Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

City life is not only fast and furious but also taxing on our mind and body’s. It seems like everyday is a rise and grind affair and time we dedicate to ourselves is ever dwindling. Yes, we often give ourselves a break and take time away from work to rest and recuperate and relax away from our homes, but what about those moments in life when we are unable to escape the norm. There has to be some kind of respite that we can achieve in our natural habitat. Major tech companies are starting to focus some attention on how to ensure their staff are functioning at their best by introducing sleep pods, break out rooms etc, but what about everyone else. What do you have at your workplace which allows you to align your thoughts and get back to you? 

Inhere founded by Adiba Osmani and Ghazal Abrishamchi  provides Londoners with meditation studios in Central London. Inhere meaning ‘to exist from within’ became the companies ethos and they wanted to bring a sacred meditation space to utilise within the workplace so they developed their revolutionary Meditation Pod. To debut their pod in an adequate location, they teamed up with luxury co-working space Uncommon and unveiled their creation for customers to use at their leisure. The collaboration was born, as both Inhere and Uncommon are based on the same values. Uncommon’s workplaces are based around health and wellbeing paired with design and technology. The spaces are designed to create an environment which are open and natural using plenty of outdoor light, plants and woods.

The Uncommon spaces showcase the new meditation pod which is a little ‘haven away from London Life’. With a selection of 10, 15, 20 and 30 minute guided meditations, customers can choose from an array of soothing sounds to accompany their relaxation time. The pod is a safe enclosure created from wood and allowing plenty of natural light to flood in to create a bright and airy space. Customers can lounge, sit or lie horizontally on the comfiest meditation chair complete with foot rest and place the headset on to drift into your own relaxation time. Alongside this, Inhere are set to open the most advanced drop-in meditation studio in Central London targeting City workers helping to bust any work related stress. 

To find out more about Inhere visit https://www.inherestudio.com

To book spaces at Uncommon and try out the new meditation pods visit https://www.inherestudio.com 

The Christmas Dinner: Shopping the pain free way!

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The Christmas Dinner 2018

Every year I wait for a message from my friend, Liz Fossu to say ‘ The List is up!’. Those four little words are the signal to go shopping. And I hate shopping!

Shopping as my contribution to The Christmas Dinner is the one exception – instead of misery it brings me joy. Someone else has done all the hard work creating the list and putting it up on Amazon. All I have to do is click. I chose four gifts this time – one on behalf of each of my grandchildren. Gifts range from colouring books for £4.99 to holdalls at £19.99. There are scarves, gloves, earphones and a whole host of other gifts to choose from; and the accumulated effect of choosing these gifts spreads joy and goodwill for a whole lot longer than a cup of expensive coffee that costs about the same price.

I have to admit that this is my favourite part of Christmas and I don’t even have to move from my desk to enjoy it. Who’d have thought it?

The Christmas Dinner 2018 Leeds

A huge amount of work goes into making every Christmas Dinner a success. The project was founded by Lemn Sissay, MBE – a care leaver himself. Each year the project grows as more cities set up their own Christmas List and gather a team of volunteers to make Christmas Special for hundreds of young people leaving the care system. Until Liz began sending me her messages I had no idea. I took for granted my big family Christmases – don’t we all. How often I have longed for five minutes peace after all the wrapping that takes hours and is demolished in seconds. But spare a thought for those young people who leave the care system and would crave a boisterous family Christmas. Many of them live in B and Bs, bedsits, or sofa surf. In the same circumstances would you look forward to Christmas?

All the volunteers have busy lives, frenetic jobs, careers and families; they are teachers, lawyers, photographers, PAs – yet they give up their free time, limited as it is, to plan, organise and deliver a wonderful Christmas Day for young people aged 16-25.

It isn’t just Christmas Day that takes up their time but the hours and hours of planning that making each event a fabulous success. There are venues to be secured, food and drink supplies, decorations, transport, people prepared to cook, people to serve – and wash up – oh yes, and all that wrapping. Can you imagine! I live too far away to join in with the Leeds wrapping (sighs with relief) but I’m sure if I didn’t I would enjoy the camaraderie and infectious enthusiasm that is generated when people come together with good will and generous spirit. Because that’s what Christmas is all about after all, isn’t it?

Why not pop over and discover the Christmas List on Amazon. It’s my kind of stress free giving.

And if you want to see what a great time everyone had last year you can watch this great video below.

JANE CABLE VISITS THE KILLING FIELDS

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“Listen – the birds are singing. I’ve missed that.”

She’s right. All through Vietnam there has been hardly any birdsong, but now we’re in Cambodia, at Choeung Ek, the most famous of the hundreds of killing fields, there is.

Perhaps we hear them because our normally ebullient group is stunned into silence as our guide explains the process into our headsets, his tone without emotion. He was a tiny child when this happened. He is only alive today because his father saw what was coming and prepared accordingly. Even so, the family barely managed to keep their heads below the parapet until it was over.

In three years, eight months and twenty days from 17th April 1975 Pol Pot’s regime killed somewhere north of 1.5 million people. No-one was safe, least of all the children of between 10 and 15 years old who were brainwashed into carrying out the killings. The regime figured they would tire of it but couldn’t afford for them to talk. After eight months or so they joined their victims in the mass graves.

At Choeung Ek no-one survived. They were very careful. The victims arrived by  truck, having been told they were being taken from prison to a new life. Shackled and blind-folded they were held in a wooden shelter and taken one at a time to the edge of the graves then hit over the back of the head. Then their throats and wrists were slit. Particularly sadistic killers would use the serrated edges of palm fronds instead of knives. All of this while music blared from speakers hanging in trees to drown out their screams. For children and babies the process was simpler – swing them by the feet and bash their brains out on a tree trunk studded with nails.

Why kill babies too? Simply because the regime believed they were born with their parents’ beliefs. And the regime wanted to restock Cambodia with only the genes of 40,000 carefully chosen party members. Everyone else would die. The population of the country at the time was around 7.5 million.

Had I been born in Cambodia I would have been one of the first to go. I wear glasses, you see. And glasses were a sign of wealth and education. Education was a dangerous commodity. Even 20,000 Cambodians studying at universities abroad were lured back to the country to be part of a brave new world then imprisoned the moment their planes touched the ground. Imprisoned and killed – the same fate as any foreigner who had the mischance to be in the country at the time.

The killing field at Choeung Ek pulls no punches. The memorial at the centre contains shelf after shelf of skulls, many gazing out through the windows over the lumpy ground. Enough graves were excavated to demonstrate the scale of the atrocity and the rest left in peace. But even so as you walk around you spot the odd bone near the path or under a tree. Some of the graves have been fenced in and to these fences are fixed hundreds of friendship bracelets. They also adorn the tree where the children were killed, as far up the trunk as a human arm can reach.

The idea is to tell people, make sure the world knows so that nothing like this can happen again. But in Cambodia children are no longer taught about it in school. Perhaps because some of those associated with old regime have returned to positions of power. What seems inconceivable to us is not to a country which is fundamentally Buddhist – you do not seek revenge, you forgive. Because punishment will be dealt with after this life and is not the preserve of mortals.

While I applaud this approach it worries me that it leaves the country vulnerable. The real safety valve is probably that Cambodia is looking to build its future in large part on tourism so needs to remain an attractive destination. Which recent history aside it most definitely is.

Unwrapped: My Kind of Christmas Dinner

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I really don’t like mentioning the C word – not until at least December anyway – but there’s always going to be an exception. And the Christmas Dinner will always be my exception.

Last year I stumbled upon this fabulous event for young people leaving care. I didn’t give them a thought before – did you?

TCD – The Christmas Dinner

I wrote about the Leeds Christmas Dinner because a friend’s post on Facebook caught my eye. Perhaps you remember it? Perhaps you were a Secret Santa yourself. If not you can read about it here.

It’s the easiest way of giving and stepping into the Christmas Spirit while all those brilliant volunteers do the hard work. And those who give of their time so freely are from all walks of life – teachers, PAs, lawyers, waitresses, actors, photographers and social workers to name but few. Juggling homes, families and stressful jobs, they give up huge amounts of time to make Christmas special for many young people who may otherwise remain forgotten and lonely.

The Christmas Dinner is an annual project founded by the poet Lemn Sissay MBE for communities to provide a Christmas Day for care leavers aged between 16 and 25. This is the THIRD year a Christmas Dinner has been held in Leeds, mobilising the community to put on a scrumptious and magical Christmas Day dinner, turning Christmas into a time to cherish.

Lemn Sissay MBE

Lemn Sissay is a former care leaver himself so knows how tough this time of year can be for young people. Now Chancellor of the University of Manchester he continually inspires others to step up and get involved. And you can get involved without leaving your armchair. Bliss!

Volunteers look after every element of the event, from present wrapping, collecting food donations, dressing the venue, to helping to cook and entertain on the big day itself.

 

If you are in the area – and there are nine Christmas Dinners planned for this December – then why not join in. And if that’s not your particular bag and you’re up for Secret Santa – the bit I love the best – then why not click the link to the Amazon page and select a gift. Couldn’t be easier – and no wrapping!

Gifts range in price from £3.99 for a lip balm to £65 for a smart watch, and a variety of gifts that will suit most people’s pocket in between. Any one of them would make someone very happy indeed.

If only all of Christmas could be so easy!

I am being glib, I know, but sitting here at the keyboard allows me to be. It doesn’t mean that I’m not counting my blessings and looking forward to all the family descending here for Christmas – Brussel sprouts and all. Family can be many things but mostly it’s about caring for each other. Who that other is is up to you.

Well, there’s still so much to do before the big day and I’m determined to ignore it as best I can until the last possible minute.

Until then, I’m hoping over to Amazon right now to make my selection.

Care to join me?

To be Secret Santa follow me The Christmas Dinner wishlist for Leeds

You can find more about the other Christmas Dinners at http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-christmas-dinner-2017

 

Hampshire style blogger shaves her head to raise vital funds for boy’s Stem Cell treatment

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A 21-year-old girl has shaved her head in a bid to raise the £30,000 a young boy desperately needs for Stem Cell Treatment.

Chloe Miles, from Aldershot, shaved her head to help her friend, four-year-old Enzo, from Odiham, who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was just a few months old.

Chloe met Enzo when she began volunteering with Sebastian’s Action Trust, a charity that supports the families of seriously-ill children. Chloe’s younger brother Dylan had Wolf Hirschhorn Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, and sadly passed away. Shortly after, Chloe began volunteering with the charity and was paired with Enzo and his family to help support them through helping with the shopping, daily household chores or simply playing with Enzo.

Chloe said: “The Trust couldn’t have picked a better match. I very quickly fell in love with Enzo’s cheeky personality and instantly clicked with Enzo’s mum, Caroline. I actually only visited once through the charity before we exchanged numbers and for the last two years I’ve been welcomed as a family friend instead of a volunteer.

“I feel so lucky to be able to watch Enzo and his little brother Luca grow and develop. I volunteered to help Enzo and his family but I think they’ve actually been the ones helping me. When Dylan passed away I had no one to be silly for, no one to entertain and interact with in the way that I’d known for my whole life with Dylan.”

Becoming friends with Enzo helped Chloe enormously through her grieving process, so when Caroline mentioned that they hoped to do Stem Cell treatment to help Enzo’s condition, she desperately wanted to find a way to help them raise the funds.

Chloe decided to shave her head and set up a JustGiving page in the hope that people would donate towards his treatment, and has shared it on social media using ‘#EnzosStemCellAppeal’.

She said: “When I was about seven or eight years old I heard about someone shaving their head for charity and I decided that if Dylan ever needed money raised I would shave my hair off for him. Unfortunately when Dylan got ill there was nothing I could do, there was no treatment and no amount of money could have helped him.

“I’ve seen first hand the effect that the first round of Stem Cell Treatment had on Enzo, his progress was incredible to watch. There is of course no guarantee that the second round will have the same effect but if it does it could improve Enzo’s quality of life drastically and hopefully lead to him living independently when he’s older.”

Chloe shaved her head at The William Cobbett, in Farnham, and held a fundraising day on 2 September.

Although she is still getting used to her short hair, she said she feels fantastic and the amount of support she’s received has been incredible.

So far almost 200 people have donated to Chloe’s JustGiving page and more than £4,400 has been raised out of her £30,000 target.

Enzo’s mother, Caroline, said: “Enzo is such an incredible boy. We do various types of physio with him every day, which he finds difficult and exhausting, but he has such strength and determination, he understands that the work that we do with him is beneficial to his development so he never puts up a fight. He works so hard to achieve what many would consider to be the simplest of tasks, but for Enzo, any achievement is a massive achievement. Life for him is tough, he has to constantly push on and work hard, but he is the happiest little boy, with a fantastic personality, sense of humour and inspirational drive for life.

Stem cell treatment could help Enzo in various ways. This will be his second round. After his first round of treatment we noticed significant changes in his ability. For example, he gained better head control so that he can sit in his chair or supported by me for longer periods of time and gained better fine motor skills, so he is now able to reach for a toy and grasp it in his hand. We hope that another round of treatment will help him to the same degree if not more so.

With the stem cell treatment we hope that in the future, at the very least, Enzo will gain the ability to live as independently as possible. We hope that he will gain even better head, arm and hand control and movement so that he can sit un supported/assisted, be able to lift himself, for example, from a chair to a bed and to gain the skills needed to operate a power wheel chair.”

To donate to the JustGiving page, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/shavingmyheadforenzo

The Christmas Dinner that Spreads Joy

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secret santa

It’s only one day but what if you had nothing to look forward to over the Christmas period?

A lot of us might think of the elderly living alone, no-one to make their Christmas a special event but there are many people for whom Christmas can be a painful time. We may not give a passing thought to younger members of society yet many of them will be dreading Christmas too. And if it wasn’t for something that popped up on my Facebook feed I might still be guilty of that.

Facebook might be littered with photographs of what people had for dinner, indulgent cakes, cheesy cartoons and cute dogs – but now and then, among all the dross, something will catch your eye, as a friend’s Facebook post did mine. How would I like to be a Secret Santa? All I had to do was follow the link  to Amazon, choose a pressie and click. Simple yet stunning and I felt I had to share.

There are many young people leaving care, who may be living in B & Bs, bedsits, sleeping the streets or on friend’s sofas and many of them will be dreading Christmas. Lemn Sissay, award-winning official poet of London Olympics 2012 knows how that feels. He was a care leaver himself and he came up with this wonderful idea to make sure that those who are in a similar position have a fantastic Christmas.

Behold The Christmas Dinner  One big Christmas party when they can relax, have fun and be given gifts – this is where the Secret Santa comes in. A festive day for care leavers (those who are 18 – 25 who have been looked after by local authorities away from the home for at least thirteen weeks since the age of fourteen, as well as those with a background in care within the home).

The Christmas Dinner started in Manchester in 2013 but this year there will be similar events in Hackney, Leeds and Oxford.

I spoke with Jill Ambrazitis, who is organising The Christmas Dinner in Leeds to find out more about event and how to get involved.

How many people in the team to bring this sort of event to fruition?

The steering committee for the Leeds event comprised approximately 20 people.  We will also have additional volunteers assisting with set-up on Christmas Eve, more on Christmas Day to help with the actual event and then a further group on Boxing Day to assist with clear-up etc.

How many young people will receive gifts this year?

We anticipate that there will be 50 care leavers attending our event this year, all of whom will receive gifts.

Who devised the list, accepts delivery, wraps the presents etc?

Lemn suggested that we set up an Amazon wish list, (we believe Manchester and Hackney were already doing this).  I added the suggested gifts and required quantities to the Leeds Wish List on Amazon. All gifts purchased from the list will be delivered to me.  We have a group of volunteers participating in a marathon gift wrapping session on Saturday 17 December.

How can people get involved? 

At this stage, mostly by being Secret Santas and purchasing gifts via the Amazon Wish list using this link https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/1A1SAFC1KDL5B/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_2

Ideally, we would like to have as many of the gifts as possible delivered by 16 December (prior to the wrapping activity), however, having said that this does not mean that we would not accept contributions/donations thereafter!  In addition, our venue does not have any sofas/soft furnishings, so if there is anyone who has bean bags/sofas etc. that they are not using and would be prepared to lend/donate these to us  that would be amazing.

So, click on the link and choose your present. It’s quick and easy way of being Secret Santa and it will make someone’s day to receive a sackful of presents.

If anyone else is thinking of doing something similar you can find out exactly how to plan your event for 2017 on Lemn Sissay’s blog.

Woking for 1000

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Today, Frost were extremely privileged to have spent the day making meals for the capitals food banks alongside 200 others with School of Wok. Wok for 1000 is the first of it’s kind, large scale cookery class helping to create 1000 meals in just one day. This incentive is a collaboration with charity, Plan Zheroes, who are an online database helping to put food businesses in touch with participating shelters. For the past two years the School, based in Covent Garden, were inviting corporate parties to cook double the portions which totalled somewhere near 800 meals in total which then supplied Passage, a non profit homeless shelter in Victoria. Pang then explains that if he can double the portion through his cookery school, why not hold a mass cookery class for corporate parties and try and make 1000 meals in a day! So, this morning that’s exactly what we did. 200 participants from small businesses took their away day for a three hr cookery class in London’s Borough Market and not only did we enjoy a lesson in Chinese cookery from Jeremy Pang himself, we also got to enjoy the meal whilst creating meals for those in need. When setting up this incentive, what most food businesses quickly realise is when trying to get this off the ground was that getting charities to accept food in the first place is the hardest part. Having spoken to other eateries in cafés in the past, there is a lot of red tape when dealing with food liability and even the differing amounts which could be donated day to day.

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With the help of Plan Zheroes, Wok for 1000 could not have been possible. They are the superstar charity with an online system in place which links food businesses and their food waste to participating shelters. In the UK alone, we waste 10 million tonnes of food per year so we think that’s enough to sustain the people that are in desperate need of a meal. As well as all guests enjoying an incredible cookery class in their corporate teams, this was a fabulous team building experience with wonderful community spirit. In turn, Wok for 1000 helped to feed a number of different homeless charities, as well as, care homes for the elderly, mental health trusts and children who have been affected by the refugee crisis.

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School of Wok were extremely lucky to have had some incredible sponsors for the event who helped to make it extra special for participants and also to those who donated ingredients, space, appliances and of course TsingTao for their beer. With Wok for 1000 being such a success they are hoping to continue this incentive annually but there are also other ways you can help to end food poverty in the country. Sarah from Plan Zheroes explains, there are many ways to lend your support, firstly, you can ask shops of food businesses to donate surplus food through Plan Zheroes, you can donate food yourself or you can continue to fundraise for this worthy cause.

We think that it’s the little things that help, so even by becoming aware of this issue, gradually, we can start to combat food poverty in the UK. School of Wok continue to run their corporate social responsibility incentive and you can find out more here:

https://www.schoolofwok.co.uk/events/cook-for-the-homeless

Preventing Food Poverty with Wok for 1000

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Studies have shown that we are becoming increasingly aware of the negative effect food wastage is having on the environment. Not only is this causing a massive blow to our economy, but we are also wreaking harm to the environment by increasing our green-houses gasses significantly. As well as this, a study has shown that approximately 870 million people go hungry each day so as well as food wastage being detrimental to the environment, we also find ourselves in a moral dilemma. Remarkably, the wonderful team at School of Wok have come up with a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative to help us make some small differences to combat this downward spiral we find ourselves in by making sure this doesn’t have to be a laborious task.

Following on from their previous (CSR) initiative which invited guests to cook double the portion to donate to food banks, Wok for 1000 is the follow-up, one of kind, very first large-scale cookery event and will be showcasing this Tuesday November 1st at Borough Market. Hosted by Jeremy Pang and his School of Wok, they are inviting you to sign up in groups of ten, if you’re part of a small business or incentive, and help to produce 1000 meals. This event is designed to build awareness of the ongoing issue of food poverty across our country and demonstrate how we can work to address this issue in future. The most wondrous part is that you not only get to enjoy a cookery class with Jeremy himself and enjoy your meal after, you will also be producing 1000+ meals which will be delivered across the capital to various different food banks.

The event will feature;

3 hour cookery class with Jeremy Pang and School of Wok expert Chefs.

A sit down meal for all participants

Prizes, goody bags and give-aways from participating sponsors

Following on from the lunch, 200 or so charity beneficiaries will also be invited to Borough to enjoy the freshly cooked meal. Participants will be welcome to stay and volunteer here as well.

Prices will be £100+Vat and ALL Proceeds will go be donated to charity Plan Zheroes working to achieve zero food waste and hunger.

Find out more about Plan Zheroes here: https://planzheroes.org/#!/

For more info for Wok for 1000 visit;

https://www.schoolofwok.co.uk/partners/wok-for-1000