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What a morning!

Over 30 vendors, Club members and guests, milling around shopping and chatting over tea'n'coffee, raising money for charity.

Good for the soul, especially when you are on the organising team, or volunteering on the day.

I can't stress enough the importance of joining the local International Women's Club, or American Women's Club or French Womens' Club or any other expat oriented Club the second you arrive in your new city.

If you simply Google INTERNATIONAL WOMENS CLUB you will be amazed at how many there are. Each one will have it's own criteria for membership, but they all share the same mission, tho the words might be slightly different - to help new arrivals settle quickly and well into the City, and to make friends. Some Clubs are more philanthropic than others, some are more social - you'll find the one to suit you. And if it's not 'you', don't disregard it too quickly. JOIN! Take a few months to see what it's like. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Some of my BEST friends over the past 8 years started over a coffee at an IWCD meeting, or thru an introduction simply because we were both from Australia. I've met the most interesting ladies thru the Club, and learnt so much.

I am a strong advocate for membership to International Women's Clubs and was over the moon when I was asked to be Vice President this year. Everything I do is paying it forward, giving back to the Club that made me so welcome and helped me so much on our first expat adventure.

Sadly, the distance and time frames of activities in/around Tokyo prohibited me from joining that one;  The community at school more than made up for it. I've no idea how I'd have fitted everything in if I joined.

Winchester to London is just that bit too far to be guaranteed of getting in/out between school hours, plus the cost was ridiculous. The train ran from Winchester to Waterloo well enough (if there wasn't track work, or other delays) but getting from Waterloo to ?????? might have been another 30+ minutes and that's going in - double that to come home. So again, I didn't join the Australian Womens' Club or International one.

Trust me, I know what's it's like to be disengaged, to feel uncomfortable and lonely. The IWC's can and do have a huge impact. I know that if things had been different, and joining was an option, our time, my time in the UK would have been so different.

Being able to re-join IWCD was one of the highlights of returning to Dublin.

This year we had a committee of 10 organising the Bazaar, of which 4 were new members to the Club.

They had great ideas, shared experiences from previous Club's they belonged to, saw how 'we' do things, and more than that, instantly connected with members who have been with the Club for  a long time, and were seen by others as being involved!

Moving countries often requires you to learn very quickly how to fit in, where you'll make friends, establish a social network and, if you're visa prohibits you from gaining employment, keeping busy!

Volunteering is the best way to immerse yourself; learn the ropes, hang out with people, be seen to be active and participative. If you would rather not be on committee's there's oodles of things to do:

• sell raffle tickets, 
• bake cakes, 
• be the one to collect donations of books etc,
•  put your hand up to be on a roster to work behind a stall;
• pick up members who don't drive and would otherwise not attend,
• rustle up a few donations from local businesses for the raffle, the following is a helpful list of business we ALL know, who might consider giving a gift voucher. Vouchers are brilliant as they are worth nothing until someone uses them - and then you end up spending more than the voucher. 
• gym instructor
• tennis coach
• pilates teacher
• yoga teacher
• beautician
• hairdresser
• dry cleaners 
• physio
• chiro
• masseuse
• favorite restaurant
• favourite cafe
• local fruitshop
• local butcher
• local fishmonger
• florist
• babysitting or child minding
• gardening
• home help (cleaners, ironing service etc)
• get the idea?
• Help with decorating the venue
• Offer to create a music sound track 
• Be there early to help set up, or offer to stay back to pull down event
• If you're handy with social media, offer to manage the FB and Twitter side of the event
• Creative people can design posters or invitations
• Depending on the event, there may well be lots of envelopes that need stuffing and stamps going on,
• Bring friends to the event!

There's a role for everyone who wants one. 

While it's lovely to be asked to participate, please don't be shy - offer!

There are so many places needing volunteers - this is but one aspect of volunteer work. 

As an expat, I guess the obvious places are school, preschool, church, sports clubs, as well as IWC's; but there are local charities that need help too. Ask around for ideas, or Google them.

Depending on where you volunteer you might need to be interviewed, offer up references, have a police check done etc. 

Sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone, to do something we've never done before. It's exciting and scary but so worthwhile. The environment offered by IWC's and one would think any organisation you would be volunteering with is warm and friendly as most of the people involved are volunteers with good intentions. 

It's a great opportunity to add value to existing skills and a relaxed way to learn new ones.

Our raffle overflowed with prizes, all donations from local business and the vendors present; it took us over 25 minutes to call them all out (something we have to address for future as it stops people shopping with vendors, and unless you're winning, it can be pretty dull); our Bric'A'Brac table sold out (which means someone's trash is really someone else' treasure) and our we sold a lot of preloved books (the remainder will be donated to charity). Our bakers were so busy and created delicious treats and took orders for delivery pre-Xmas.

We raised a lot of money for Special Needs Parents Association which is the foundation of our Annual Bazaar, but we also made a difference to our members, especially our new ones, who had never been to the Bazar before.

To receive emails of thanks for a great day, or, I'm so proud to be part of this Club after yesterdays event, to offers of help for next year is really pleasing.

It feels kinda weird today knowing that the two Bazaar's are behind me ...... I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym, catching up with friends, not having my phone beep'n'ring all hours, but in a strange way, I'll miss it too.

G asked me last night, am I now winding down for the holidays, or winding down to wind up for the next event? I didn't dare say the next event LOL.

With friendship
x

Fundraising Ideas: Penny Sale, But Not A Penny In Sight

November/December could also be known as the Charity Bazaar/Fundraising time of the year as schools, churches, clubs, associations, charities and others host Bazaars, Fetes, Shopping Nights, Marketplaces or social get togethers where money is raised thru any number of ways to aid and support given recipient/s.

Maybe it's more to do with 'end of the year' feeling that permeates the air, rather than Christmas, but there's tonnes of Goodwill to All in most places. Shame it doesn't last all year round.

These events are usually organised months in advance, as opposed to disaster relief type events that are typically thrown together with short notice in direct response to a disaster.

We've all supported markets, bazaars (same thing really), trivia nights, casino nights, wine tastings, auctions and dinners all in the name of fundraising. There's walk-a-thins, jog-a-thons, read-a-thons and anything else a-thon. A few friends have done bike marathons, or extreme sports challenges all in the name of fundraising - nothing is sacred these days as fundraising marketers seek to find novel ways to raise much needed funds from an exhausted and often over extended community.

But, up until last month, I'd never been to a Penny Sale!

Have you?

I was assured it was a lot of fun, and you didn't have to spend more money than you wanted to as the entire thing is done very quietly. There were no vendors, only prizes to be won. How curious, I thought.

I was also told it's a 'very American style of fundraising' ........ fair enough. Another cultural 'thing' to experience and learn from. A few American friends didn't know what a Tombola was. Swings and round-a-bouts, eh!

Penny Sale -

The complete opposite of a raffle.

In a raffle (like a lottery), you buy ticket/s knowing you probably won't win anything but are happy to be 'in it to win it'. When you're ticket is called you squeal 'OH I never win anything!'

With a Penny Sale you have control over which prizes you can potentially win. Let me explain.

The success of a Penny Sale is in the amount of prizes on offer - you need LOTS - lots in terms of variety and lots as in quantity. Vouchers work just as good as products.

The organizing committee decides on price points of tickets, usually based on your audience attending your Penny Sale. The one I went to had prepared envelopes for €20, €30 and €50.

The sign up sheets were numbered and allocated in groups to each purchase amount and were placed in front of each box.

I bought €20 and signed my name against 368 (from amongst the numbers allocated to €20).

My €20 gave me 50 tickets each with 368 printed on them. (Organising these is the most time consuming aspect of the event, and needs to be done by someone who is very organised, with a team to help cut each numbered ticket and place them into the corresponding envelope).

Prior to the open time of the event, all the donated items were placed around the room on tables (as above) with a small black bag behind each. On the bag was a small description of the item. As you entered the room to buy your tickets you could SEE how much was on offer, which was a great motivator to maybe spend a wee bit more than you had intended.

The 3 price points is a great idea, as it allows people to choose and doesn't discriminate. Not everyonen who wants to attend a fundraiser feels they can afford to 'keep up' and so don't go (G and I have been invited to some very high profile fundraisers and don't go for this reason, we write a cheque for what we can afford and send it off to the organisers with a note of apology - gosh, how our secrets out!) as it's done quietly and no one needs to know what you've spent!

Once inside, take your time walking around the tables, dropping as few or as many of your tickets (in my case No.368) into the little black bags next to the items you WANTED a chance to win.

There was no point me putting tickets into baby/toddler items; or artwork so I didn't. But I did quite like the Coach purse, the facial/pedicure vouchers, massage vouchers, Christmas Hamper, a several pieces of jewellery.

If you really REALLY wanted something you put more tickets in to increase your chances of having your ticket pulled out and declared the winner. I dumped numerous tickets into the Coach Purse little black bag (still didn't win it)

Placing 50 tickets was actually a lot harder than you'd think! The friends I went with also found it difficult to 'spend' all their tickets so we ended up walking around the room several times, sneaking a peak into bags to see how many tickets were there, and making decisions close to the time the LAST CALL was made and throwing caution to the wind and putting several more tickets into the items we really, really wanted.

Once TIME was called, we went into another room for a coffee'n''chat, then sat down and listened to the announcements of WINNING TICKETS.

Each item was announced, and the company or person who donated it was mentioned, then the winning ticket announced - it seemed to go for ages. A few of us think there has to be a better way to do this part ..... the more items you have the longer it takes to announce winners. Still, people's reactions were fun to watch.

Without a Penny in sight, the group who hosted the event raised several thousand Euros in a few hours!

There are so many different ways to raise money.

Over the next few weeks, I'll share a few with you that I've come across, and invite you to share your ideas too.

Share your Fundraising ideas!
What cultural differences have you noticed?

Let's create a reference folder of great ideas!

FUNdraising

Can't believe this is the first clear head space I've had in weeks to come chat with you.

Between being unwell, managing the Aussie stand at the International Charity Bazaar, G being sick, my back going out, starting to plan the Annual Charity Bazaar for IWCD, MissM being sick, it's been a tad busy around here. I've had oodles of chats running around my head, but not the patience to sit at the laptop and write.

Plus, don't know about you, but the older I get (or maybe the longer we're living away from Sydney) the more stressed I get in November/December by things like the perfect gift (yeah yeah there is no such thing), or writing Xmas cards neatly so people can read them, or making the post to Australia in time to be guaranteed delivery before Xmas.

The weeks are flying by. MissM only started back at school a 'few weeks ago' and in two weeks will have finished first term of grade 4 ........ when she goes back in January, she's on countdown to May when she's finished school for the year and on 3 months summer holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With midterm breaks, and a few Bank Holidays thrown in it will be here before we know it.

It's only 19 sleeps til Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our second Christmas in Ireland - where the heck did those 12 months go??????????????????????

I'm delighted to have been asked by our President to head up the team again this year, as our chosen charity is the one I nominated, Special Needs Parents Association, chaired by my best friend, MrsD. It's also a lot of fun!

The team comprises of ladies who have done numerous Bazaars and just know what to do and a few new members who are keen to be involved. LOVE new members who throw themselves into things like this. It's a great way to immerse yourself in your new community, make friends.

Newbies have energy and ideas!

Imagine if expat women arrived with a CV so that their new community could see what skills and experience you bring to the group and how best to harness them.

We've lawyers, and accountants, solicitors, doctors, authors, teachers, marketing specialists, business owners, administrators, graphic designers, musicians, artists, chefs, IT specialists and more amongst us! Sadly, most of us aren't able to work for all sorts of reasons, Visa's mainly, or the country we live in won't recognise qualifications, or retraining is required.

It's important then that we keep things like LinkedIn up to date, as we can't rock on up to our kids school with our CV in hand and ask for a role in the Parents Association; or the local International Womens' Club. I'm amazed at WHO has checked out my LinkedIn page!!!!! G's colleagues - why? A few recruiters (how funny), new friends (checking me out I guess) amongst others.

Our skills for simply moving our families around the world and settling in are worthy of mention - organisational skills, planning, administration ability, research, conflict resolution, sales to name but a few.

Our team has been inundated with support from local businesses, and we have a lovely group of vendors selling very upmarket products.

In turn, they together with local businesses (butchers, hairdressers, party venues, restaurants etc) have donated an incredible amount of prizes for our raffle.

IWCD members are busy baking for our Cake'n'Cookie stall, while others are clearing out cupboards for the Bric'A'Brac and Books tables.

It's amazing what nominated the SPNA has done - the outpouring of support has been a wee bit overwhelming.

One member has offered to host a Night of Song as a fundraiser while another, a fashion parade.

It seems that many people respect and appreciate just how difficult it is to be a parent of a special needs child in Ireland - sadly the current government is cutting services and pensions, and medical cards all in the name of balancing the budget. The parents are usually the full time carers/therapists/co ordinators of doctors appointments etc.

The Bazaar team works hard every year for a successful event as every charity we support is important and needs the funds.

I never envisaged my advertising/marketing and organisational skills would end up being used for fundraising. It's very rewarding on so many levels.

I'm so excited for our even to happen so we can realise how much money we raised ...... we won't hand over the cheque til June 2015 as we've at least two more events planned.

Whatever amount we raise will be very happily received, as SNPA is 100% volunteer based, and those who are volunteering are parents of kids with special needs - they who have the least amount of time to give, are giving in abundance.

Do you volunteer?

What was the last fundraiser you were involved in?

What was your role?

It's All About Community Spirit

The Diplomatic Community of Dublin host an annual International Charity Bazaar at the Royal Dublin Showgrounds (aka, RDS).  The general public is invited to 'Experience the World in a Day', and all monies raised on the day is pooled together, and donated to local charities.

Last year, 4,000 people helped raise €60,000 which was donated to 5 charities (the charities are known beforehand with lots of promotion leading up to the event)

Last year I noticed, there was no Australian stand and couldn't help but wonder why. Considering the history between the two countries, I thought it was disappointing that the Aussie community in Dublin couldn't get their act together for a stand. I was determined to find out why there was so stand, and to see what might be done to ensure there would be one this year.

I asked around and learnt that the last time there was a stand, the Deputy Ambassadors wife (I think that was his position) took it upon herself to organise things. She might have even been the co-ordiantor of the whole event one year. In fact, most of the organizers are the wives of Diplomats (remember, we are in a very patriarchal community). Our Ambassador is a woman, and the Embassy is small in terms of employees, so this event, while important, didn't have anyone able to dedicate the time to organising. They support the event with donations to the raffle and Tombola.

Move forward a few months, and guess who's been busy co ordinating the Australian stand at this years ICB?

Yep, little ol' me.

Now most Embassies sell food, drinks, arts'n'crafts, jewellery, fashion items, toys. As Australia is so far away, and with no budget, what on earth could we sell? It was slowly becoming apparent WHY we hadn't a stand. What Aussie businesses are in Ireland that would want to promote their product or services at the event?

It's been such fun using my brain (again). I've enjoyed putting my 'creative' hat back on, and coming up with strong marketing suggestions and working them thru to a positive conclusion reminded me of why I loved my career in advertising so much. Lateral thinking. Creative concepts. Making sure everyone benefits. Making the initial approach. Keeping notes of when emails were sent/received; phone calls made, messages left. Waiting for the response. The buzz of a 'yes, we'd love to help'

It's been a lot of work, but like anything it's been so worthwhile.

With huge help from Mr&MrsA in Sydney (THANK YOU!), McGuigans Wines were the first to agree to participate in the event. They have generously offered to sell a twin-pack, gift boxed set of one red and one white wine. Not only that, they are providing staff to set up a professional pop-up stand, and will be offering tastings on Sunday. THANK YOU!

The team from Aussie owned/founded CurrencyFair will be there too, helping people understand how to go about transferring currency back'n'forth (perfect synergy at at INTERNATIONAL event, don't you think?). While they won't sell anything the day, they will be able to promote the heck out of their products and services, and for that, they have made a generous financial donation to the Aussie kitty.  THANK YOU!

Geoff and his chef @ Woolshed Baa came to the rescue and generosity baked 300 lamingtons. They are so pretty and uniform! THANK  YOU!

Lamingtons YUMM!!!!

Finally, no Aussie stand is complete without TIM TAMS! Sadly, Tim Tams are no longer imported into Ireland, so finding the right person within Campbells Arnotts in Sydney was fraught with time zone differences, the impersonal 'contact' to a large multinational company, and finally, asking for something all the way in Ireland was simply, very cheeky. Our Ambassador made a few enquiries while on holidays in Sydney and between the two of us we managed to track down the right person.

Long long story short - a very helpful lady on the other end of a generic 'Hello I hope you can help me' email replied! Not only that, she organised for 6 boxes of Tim Tams to be delivered to the Australian Embassy from Rotterdam, and 6 boxes + promotional material to be delivered from SYDNEY - all donated. You can only imagine my surprise when I read the email.
THANK YOU to Hayley in the North Strathfield office, and my email-buddy, Lilien.

You've no idea how exciting it is to know our household has the only TimTams in all of Ireland. MissM bought the first packet for her daddy.

I posted a pic onto my FB page and have already received bribes from friends who want to be assured of securing a few packets.


Several friends have offered to come help on the day which will make it a fun Sunday.

MissM has offered to be in charge of the Tim Tams and has been practicing her 5x tables (we are selling one pack for €5)

G has offered to collect the lamingtons early Sunday morning, and to help with the  financial aspects at the end of the event.

It's exciting to be a few sleeps away from this event. I've booked a massage for Monday afternoon, just in case!

I'm so proud to be Australian and be part of the vibrant International Community in Dublin.

What national event have you been part of?

How do you feel when you wear your national colours?

Do you have a national costume (we don't)?

If you had to say what your national favourite food/s were, what would they be?

What food do you miss the most from 'home?

With friendship

x

One More Sleep til Flora Mini Marathon

MrsD and I registered for tomorrows Flora Mini Marathon this morning.

This is her 3rd or 4th year participating and my first.

The organisers hold a 3 day registration fair at the RDS and buy stuff.

What's a women's event without even the littlest bit of shopping?

I had my taro cards read along with a crystal ball reading while MrsD wandered off and got her eyebrows threaded for a mere Euro10.

MrsD stopped in her tracks when she saw on the end of one isle of exhibitors Herbalife, and another diet factory company directly opposite a cupcake stall. We couldn't help but laugh but she was softly angry that 'this is what's wrong with women - we eat, then we diet'

There were all sorts of fashion on sale, and various sports oriented companies from clothes to healthy eating, and health products - hair straightening, cosmetics.

We split the cost of a buy-one-get-one-free 'elegant depilation' pack. A small soft sandpaper type product that really does scrub off the hairs on your body, leaving it silky soft! Just in time for summer holidays too. There were jewellery sellers and of course, you could get a coffee.

A gorgeous little man from the UK stopped us and invited us to try his makeup ...... MrsD just had to say 'that looks amazing' didn't she! Even if it did, I really didn't want to buy makeup. To return her generosity, I insisted she sit down and try the make up too ...... it really did look lovely. So rather than offering us a discount to buy two sets, the little man from the UK threw in one more product for the same price - we walked away very happy.

Everyone received a goodies bag full of promotional stuff.

The most unusual and resourceful item is the 4 saftey pins to secure your number onto your t-shirt! I'd have been running around the house searching for one, let alone 4!

MrsD has had t-shirts made for us (will upload pic after the event)

My fundraising is going really well THANK YOU to everyone who's sponsored me. An initial modest target of Euro200 has been well surpassed, and it's closer to Euro400.  Fundraising online is brilliant especially as friends living outside of Dublin are able to sponsor easily. A few friends have said they'll sponsor me and haven't as yet, so I'm quietly hoping to get to Euro500, which would make the world of difference to Special Needs Parents Association (100% volunteer based, not one cent of government funding)

We collected our official bits for tomorrow's marathon. We had lunch. And found a new way to remove unwanted hair.

Not bad for a Sunday.

With friendship
x

Charity Starts At Home ... and sometimes a marathon or two involved.

I'm back in training.

You might recall I was 'in training' last year too.

The one huge difference this year  is there's no reunion beckoning, making me choose between one or the other (the reunion was fantastic)

This one feels more achievable for me too.  It's a MINI not FULL, it's during the day not at night, and MrsD assures me, it's like a long casual stroll as we'll be walking with the wheel chair pushers, and she doesn't train! Doing a full marathon at night thru the streets of London was very daunting but I would have given it my very best had the reunion not got in the way.

Sorry to go on about being an expat, but it is who we are, despite the label, it's times like this that you think - who can I ask to sponsor me? If I was home there would be a load of people to ask and who would happily sponsor me, as I/we do them.

Think about it - you're involved in a fundraiser - who you going to ask to donate? Family. Friends. Work colleagues. Neighbours. Parents at school. The list of your network goes on and on. Plus, they can give you the cash AND the money is in the same currency!

Think about expats - depending on how long you've lived in a place (for me, it's our second time here, so we've a good network) you may not have a network of friends you feel comfortable to ask; plus if it's a local charity you can bet e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e is involved in some way so no point asking for sponsors and everyone sponsors everyone else.

Family'n'friends are too far away, they are supporting their local charities, and may not want to support you in some far-flung-place; plus they have to convert their donations into another currency!

There are other issues going on to, for example,

• Do you feel comfortable asking work colleagues to support you?
• How long do you need to know someone (aka, school parent, tennis buddy, bridge partner, book club members) before you can ask them for sponsorship?
• Raising money for local charities is a great way to integrate into your new community, especially if school is involved. 
• As expats, are we're asked to raise money for many global situations  simply because of our global environment - can you choose one over another? 
• Do we still sponsor things at 'home' even tho we're not living there?
• Is it tit-for-tat? You sponsor me, I'll sponsor you.

We were in Japan when there were the horrendous fires (are there any other kind?) in Australia, and a group of us got together and hosted a coffee morning and raffle. We raided our cupboards for Australian wine to donate, a packet of Tim Tams, some Aeroplane Jelly; then we sourced the gifts we all have, those we keep in their original packaging for just this sort of thing - there was jewelry, ornaments, scarves, paintings, bottles of wine and books. A few of us were able to secure resturant vouchers and a couple of hairdressing vouchers.

We baked cakes, served coffee and raised nearly AUD600! The funniest part of the day was when someone 'won' their own donated item.

In a short period of time, we were back doing the same thing, but on a smaller scale for the Brisbane Floods. It was smaller only because we'd cleared out our cupboards for the fires!!!!!!!! Now I always keep something in the cupboard, even if it's buying stuff on sale.

Then there was Tohoku after the earthquake to support in terms of money and rebuilding; our school partnered schools in Cambodia; and there were local Japanese charities to support. Many teachers and parents from school went into the area, helping clean up and rebuild; MrsN is STILL very involved in the care of domestic animals in the area and in Yokohama.

Doing charity work isn't just about sponsoring - it's about doing too. MrsA volunteers 3 days a week at a children's hospice in Winchester. I applied to help there too, but we moved before paperwork was done. Another friend volunteered with a group who helps young mums in disadvantaged areas.

In the UK I was very proud to be able to host in our home a coffee morning and Home Shopping Market which raised several hundred pounds towards the MoonWalk Marathon (the one I didn't end up doing). Again, lots of money was raised for Breast Cancer Research UK.

Our school financially supported a school in India - and there were numerous fundraising events through out the year for this, plus local charities.

In Dublin, I've supported the Syria Refugees at a luncheon at the Syrian Embassy; Irish MS when MissM participated in the global annual MS READathon;  school is involved in schools in Uganda, but it's only the senior school and PTA that's involved to date. The Junior school does things for local groups. MrsR volunteers with a charity that works with sight impaired young adults.

We've also donated to various Sydney charities via friends walking, running, jogging, reading activities.

We've friends in a few cities with kids with Special Needs, and while I can donate towards their various fundraisers, it's hard to help them in any other way. Being in Dublin means I am able to support MrsD and her family as needed. It also means we can help those families we'll never meet but who she champions every single day as Chairperson of the Association.

MissM was desperate to participate in the MS-READathon like all her friends, but as everyone was involved, and we were still 'new' we didn't feel we could approach anyone here. After digging around, I discovered MS have an i.donate.ie website, and MissM was allowed by school to ask for sponsorship ONLINE - the website even works our currency conversions.

Her grandparents, aunties and uncles, cousins and friends were all invited to sponsor her via email and she was delighted with the response. It was just like being home and being supported, but probably more important as she isn't there to ask in person, but she knew she had the love and support of everyone back home.

Whenever friends pop stuff up onto Facebook, while I can't be there, I will always share their call to action on my page. It's the least we can do.

So, on Bank Holiday Monday I'll be walking with MrsD and the Special Needs Association group (already got my official t-shirt) to raise money for this very very important cause.

With a target of a modest Euro200, I've been truly overwhelmed by the sponsorship from friends in Dublin and Sydney. I'm very excited to see just how much money I can raise towards the Special Needs Parents Association, Ireland.

My Dublin friends are supporting me because they know how hard it is for families with kids with special needs in Ireland, and my Sydney ones are supporting me cos they love me and a few of them have met MrsD and MissS and are fully aware of the passion and commitment she has to SNPA and are very happy to support us.

MissM's donation was with a message of 'proud of you mummy'

G's message was "Good luck. Hopefully this time you actually go thru with it instead of bailing like time. Still, very happy to donate to such a worthy cause' (referring to my tough decision of walking with the Moonlight girls, or going to Dublin for a reunion. I chose the reunion; and still raised money for the Moonlight girls). Those of you who know G will know how dry and hilarious he is. I roared with laughter when I read what he wrote.

• What about you?
• What causes are close to your heart?
• How do you discern between charities?
• If you're an expat, how involved do you get with local charities?
• Have you ever volunteered? Doing what?

So, with no reunion calling, and with the love and support of friends, MissM and G, I'm so pleased to be able to help not only Special Needs Parents Association, but whenever, and how ever I can.

PS: Here's a great TedTalk on non-profits ie: charities ..... hope you have time to watch.

With friendship
x