Cycle ride for charity

Cyclists are being sought to take part in the Action 100 bike ride from Bristol and Bath to London on Sunday, August 30.

The event is being organised to help raise funds for medical research projects. The ride challenges cyclists who are prepared to cycle 100 miles for the charity Action Medical Research.

Cyclists have all day to complete the ride and are fully supported, with plenty of refreshment stops, a pub lunch and hot showers and beer at the finish.

All money goes directly to the charity, which has already contributed towards the first UK polio vaccine and the first medical use of ultrasound in pregnancy.

This year the charity aims to recruit 650 cyclists and raise £60,000.

To register, call Roy Clarke on 0117 973 6993 or enter online on our website

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Oxfam suffers as donations fall

• Public donations have fallen by 12% so far this year
• Households buy fewer things and have less to donate

The charity Oxfam today revealed the full impact of the recession on its shops as it announced that donations have slumped by 12% this year.However, sales in its network of 714 shops remain strong – up 5% on last year – as the credit crunch also means demand for donated goods remains high.More than 80% of Oxfam's total income from its shops comes from donations of clothes, books, music, homeware and other goods.

But with fewer people moving house the charity has seen a huge drop in donations of household items. Donations of crockery, china, glass and curtains are down by 7% so far this year, while furniture donations have plummeted by 13%.Clothing donations would have been down by 8% had it not been for an extra 900,000 donations resulting from a collaboration with Marks & Spencer, which incentivises people to take in their unwanted M&S clothing.The fall in donations clearly demonstrates wider trends resulting from the credit crunch: families tighten their belts and buy less, which means they replace less and therefore have less to donate to charity shops.But the 12% fall in donations so far could mean 1.2m fewer items are available to sell this year, the charity warned.

Oxfam's director of trading, David McCullough, said: "The £20m profit made by our shops last year would be enough to fund all of Oxfam's work in DR Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia for a year. But we can't sell fresh air, and [the shops] of course rely on the generosity of the public for their stock."Without continued donations of everything from clothing to cookware, Oxfam shops could not continue to play such a key role in communities across the UK."Among the worst-hit areas for donations are North Yorkshire, north London, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Cornwall. Areas that are faring best include the West Midlands, Tyneside, Teesside and south Wales.Other leading charity shops said they were also feeling the pinch.

A spokeswoman for Cancer Research UK said: "We're in a similar situation. While we know, anecdotally, that footfall has increased, we are in desperate need of stock to sell. We have found that donations to our shops have dropped significantly."The British Heart Foundation, which has 580 shops selling clothing, books, DVDs, CDs, toys and bric-a-brac, and more than 60 BHF furniture and electrical stores, said it had experienced a similar slump in donations.

Rebecca Smithers, Consumer affairs correspondent guardian.co.uk

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Haggis king's really got the stomach for charity bike ride

THE haggis king of the Capital has embarked on one of the toughest cycle endurance events the country has to offer, to raise money for charity.

James Macsween and Peter MacGregor began their journey from Land's End on Saturday and, with legs of 100 miles a day, hope to reach John O'Groats by early next week.

Mr Macsween, well known in the Capital for his haggis manufacturing business, lost his father John to cancer in 2006, while his accomplice Mr MacGregor – who will be undertaking the challenge for the third time – was also affected when his wife Jackie died of the disease the year before.

The two decided to generate cash for Cancer Research UK through the cycle, and have already met their fundraising target of £5000, with more money expected during and after the event.

Mr Macsween, 37, director of the family-run Macsween organisation which recently struck a lucrative deal to supply supermarket chain Morrisons with the Scottish delicacy, said: "We'll need to cover 100 miles each day – so it will be a fairly tough schedule.

"In this year of Homecoming we'll be looking forward to crossing back over the Border and cycling through Scotland.

"We have already raised more than £5000, which is fantastic."

He and Mr MacGregor, who works for British Waterways, began discussing the idea of a fundraising cycle three years ago, and last year intensified talks and agreed this was the year to do it.

"I've never done anything like this before," he added. "I'm quite sporty but this will be the most difficult thing I've done in my life.

"It's the best part of 1000 miles to cycle the length of the UK. We've been breaking it down psychologically, saying to ourselves that it's only five blocks of 20 miles per day.

"I've been blown away by the generosity of people to donate money. It's not just friends and family either, it's people who I've worked with in the past and others too. The original goal was £2500, so to double that has been fantastic."

The two will be supported by another member, friend Alistair Williams, 40, who completes what is being tagged as the Haggis in High Gear team.

Mr MacGregor, 48, added: "Through this trip we hope to commemorate Jackie's and John's lives, and raise money."

www.justgiving.com/jamesmacsween
www.cancerresearchuk.org

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Women gear up for charity fundraiser

WOMEN in Chester are gearing up to get behind the wheel of fire engines, ambulances, and tractors amongst other unusual vehicles as part of a charity fundraiser.

Chester Lions Club have organised the challenge which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7 and are appealing for as many women as possible with a full driving licence to get in to the driving seat.
For sponsorship forms visit Special page
All vehicles will have a regular experienced driver to supervise and a driver will be on the airfield runway.

Bookings are taken on a first come first served basis by returning the entry slip at the bottom of the sponsorship form with £5 entry fee for registration. All drivers must be pre-registered.

No entries will be accepted on the day. Minimum sponsorship requested is £50.

CES (UK) Ltd is supporting this event by contributing to safety and control features.

Proceeds from the event will be distributed to the Countess of Chester Relative Comfort Appeal which provides overnight facilities for those in the Critical Care Unit, Miles of Smiles charity, which provides holidays for mentally, and socially disabled and disadvantaged children, and the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, Backford, providing equipment for the Lions Day Care Room.

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Birmingham gym raises charity cash in sponsored spar

A CITY gym punched above its weight by raising more than £2,500 for charity in a sponsored sparathon.

Novice and professional boxers took turns at fighting with each other for a whopping 12 hours.

And there were plenty of high- profile contests to keep the crowds happy at the Fighting Fit Gym, on Lionel Street, in Birmingham city centre.

Broad Street manager Mike Olley sparred with Stuart Hyde, assistant chief constable of the West Midlands Police.

The gym’s owner and professional heavyweight Neil Perkins took on Birmingham chef Glynn Purnell over four rounds.

Neil, 29, who is undefeated in his fledgling boxing career, said: “It was a great day.

“We had loads of people down here coming and going all day.

“I would just like to thank all our members who worked really hard.”

The event also served as an open day for people wanting to find out more about boxing training and nutrition.

The £2,840 raised during the mammoth boxing bout, held on Friday March 13, was donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Macmillan fund-raising manager Sharon Battersby said: “They did a really fantastic job.

“I think the amount raised was beyond their expectations.

“The money will go towards helping fund a number of nursing posts in the city centre.

“They cost £140,000 over three years so the money is a massive help.”

The gym chose Macmillan after one of their staff received assistance from them when both his parents died of cancer.

Personal trainer Paul Gough, 43, from Dudley, said: “I lost my mum and dad to cancer a few years ago and the support they got was brilliant.

“I did a similar thing in my old gym in Dudley and it worked pretty well so I thought we would try it here.”

British cruiserweight champion Rob Norton was on hand to lend his support and show off his title belts.

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U2 'to donate £8.3 million to charity'

U2 will donate approximately £8.3 million of profits from their upcoming U2360 stadium tour to charity, it has emerged.

The band will be giving away 100% of the money raised from their 'Red Zone' VIP auction ticket sales, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Around 600 premium tickets are being sold off at auction for the concerts, with bids starting from between €95 (£87) and €1,015.

A U2 spokeswoman said: "All of U2's income raised from the auction of Red Zone tickets will be donated to charity."

Charities believed to be benefiting from the scheme include Global Fund and organisations focusing on Africa.

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Charity Commission survey reveals the recession is setting in

According to the Economic Survey of Charities larger charities whose incomes are between £100,000 and £1m have so far been most affected by the recession as there is a greater demand for their services even though their income has fallen.

Two-thirds of large charities have indicated that they are concerned that services may need to be cut back, although the survey has highlighted that only 3 percent of charities have considered working together.

The chair of the commission Dame Suzi Leather has said that it is surprising that more charities have not considered collaboration as will mean that they can share the costs as well as expertise but most importantly it will allow their work to continue through the recession.

As a result of the recession charities have are experiences a drop in their funding as a combination of falling house and share prices, a weak pound and cancelled direct debit donations are undercutting the voluntary sectors efforts in their time of need.

Rapidata the company which handles over four million direct debit transactions for the charitable sector has revealed that cancellations of monthly donations is on the up but new donators have continued to fall as charities have lost around 32.4m from canceled subscriptions over the past 10 months.

by Peter Charalambous

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Business will donate £500m less to charity, says survey

Fresh evidence of how the credit crunch is hitting charities emerged today with a new poll showing that business donations to good causes are expected to be cut by almost £500m this year as a result of the economic downturn.

The survey of 450 senior business leaders in the UK found that corporate giving is expected to drop by 34% this year, with six out of 10 respondents expecting that their organisation will cut its charity budget.

British business gives an estimated £1.4bn a year in revenue and support to good causes - much of it from the now devastated financial services industry.

According to the research, which was commissioned by the Social Investment Consultancy and carried out by online pollsters YouGovStone, about 83% of respondents believed that reducing corporate giving was "a necessity" in times like these.

In addition to cutting the total amount of support, almost half of those questioned expected to cut the number of good causes they support this year.

Jake Hayman, the chief executive of the Social Investment Consultancy, said: "These cutbacks will either expose corporations as fair-weather donors, or it could mean they apply themselves to develop more innovative ways of supporting communities.

"The truth is, there are plenty of things companies can do to maintain strong partnerships with good causes that can build rather than hit the bottom line."

More optimistically, four out of five respondents agreed that companies whose budgets are squeezed should look for other ways of helping the community, such as helping staff volunteering, offering the use of their function rooms for fundraising events, or "gifts in kind".

A computer company that previously gave a £10,000 cheque to its chosen charity might, for example, now opt to give 10 laptops directly. It is a gift still worth £10,000, but perhaps only costs the company £5,000.

The financial services sector, which has been among the worst hit by the economic crisis, has dominated corporate giving. Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS gave £57m and £55m in 2007, according to their annual reports, but that level of funding must now be in jeopardy. Lehman Brothers, the US bank that collapsed last September, reportedly gave $39m (£28m) to charity in 2007.

The Northern Rock Foundation, which was set up by the bank to fund charitable and voluntary organisations in the north-east of Britain, was also a significant donor.

The consultancy's clients include Standard Chartered Bank, which last year commissioned the firm to gauge how effectively staff were engaging with its flagship Seeing Is Believing programme. The scheme is operated in conjunction with the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness to reduce the levels of avoidable blindness.

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Paris marathon bid to help charity

A west Wiltshire woman is running the Paris Marathon next month to raise funds for a little-known charity in the area that provides support to disabled children.

Alison Pendle, 62, is running the famous race on April 5 for the West Wiltshire Portage Service, which is a home teaching service for pre-school children with special needs.

Portage visitors, based in Court Street, Trowbridge, go to the family home every week and work with parents and carers to encourage the children to play and learn with specific goals in mind.

Mrs Pendle is on the management committee for the charity and decided to take part in the Paris Marathon when a friend suggested it last year.

She said: “I did a half marathon back in 2004 and we raised about £4,000 between a team of us.

“I decided to do the Paris one because it is much easier to get a place to run in it than the London marathon and it is flatter.

“My running mate and I have been training hard. We downloaded a training plan from the internet and have been doing 16-mile runs fairly regularly.

“We want to raise as much money as possible for the charity.”

Children who benefit from the portage service often have conditions ranging from Down’s Syndrome to cerebral palsy.

They are allocated a home visitor who devises a detailed plan and comes each week to work on a specific aspect of their learning, sometimes as simple as holding a spoon or sitting up.

They then teach the child’s parent or carer how to continue to teach them when the visitor is not there so the child can progress steadily.

It costs the charity £2,500 a year to properly support each child and they usually work with about 30 at any one time.

But there is always a waiting list and the charity needs to raise about £30,000 a year to support the care funding it gets from Wiltshire County Council.

The charity was awarded a £1,000 grant from the Gannett Foundation - a charity run by the Wiltshire Times’ parent company - in 2007.

To sponsor Mrs Pendle on her run visit www.justgiving.com/alison-and-linda or write a cheque, mark it Paris Marathon, and send it to the West Wilts Portage Service, Andil House, Court Street, Trowbridge, BA14 8BR.

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Half of UK charities suffer from downturn

More than half of charities say they have been affected by the financial downturn, according to a survey by the sector watchdog.

The Charity Commission, which gauged the impact of the credit crunch in a poll of 1,000 organisations carried out in February and published on Tuesday , said 52 per cent reported tougher times compared with 38 per cent only five months earlier. About three in 10 charities surveyed are suffering a drop in income as a result of the recession.

Dame Suzi Leather, who chairs the Charity Commission, said: “Clearly the impact of the financial downturn on charities is widening and deepening. Some charities still face that double whammy of a drop in income as well as an increased demand for services.”

Worst hit are moderately large charities, which lack the powerful brands of the largest organisations but cannot survive on the generosity of a few wealthy donors. Among charities with an annual income of between £100,000 and £1m, 42 per cent said the overall impact of the downturn was “significant” or “very significant”.

But the survey also shows that a surprisingly large number of charities feel relatively unaffected by the recession.

Only a quarter of charities overall said the impact had been significant or very significant – lending support to the maxim that charitable giving is one of the last activities to be hit in a recession.

Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: “This demonstrates that the recession is having an impact on charities, but that not all charities are experiencing the downturn equally, and that some will need more support than others.”

He was encouraged by the survey’s finding that one-third of charities were already taking steps to combat the effects of the downturn.

These steps are often painful, however. Some charities have responded to the credit crunch by drawing on their reserve funds, but for many smaller charities such funds are limited. A more common method was to reduce costs, according to the survey, which covered England and Wales.

In several cases, including that of the overseas aid charity Oxfam GB, this involved job losses.

Dame Suzi said drawing on reserves “is not a step that should be taken lightly”. But she added: “It is important to remember that reserves are collected for this purpose – now is the rainy day they have been saving for”.

Commenting on the recession, John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “The vulnerability of smaller charities is of particular concern.”

http://www.ft.com/

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Servicemen's charity reaches £17 million

A WILTSHIRE couple’s charity to help severely wounded servicemen has now raised £17m in just 17 months.

The Help for Heroes was founded by cartoonist Bryn Parry and wife Emma, from Downton near Salisbury after Bryn visited military amputees in 2007 and were moved by their plight. Based at Tidworth on the Salisbury Plain the charity has already ploughed more than £12 million into improving facilities for seriously wounded personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Of that, around £8.5 million has gone towards a swimming pool and gym at Headley Court, a rehabilitation service in Surrey. Another £3.5 million has been used for helping injured servicemen who may have lost limbs to adapt their lives and £500,000 to improve the first medical facilities injured service personnel encounter when they return to the UK, the Selly Oak NHS Hospital in Birmingham.

Since it started the public have responded well to the charity and big campaigns have helped to fuel support including the X Factor contestants’ version of Mariah Carey’s Hero as well as the support of high profile figures such as Princes William and Harry.

To find out more about the charity see the website www.helpforheroes.org.uk.

You can also send a cheque to Help for Heroes, Unit 6, Aspire Business Centre, Ordinance Room, Tidworth, SP9 7DQ, or call 0845 673 1760 or 01980 846 459.

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Charity gala event at Burton Agnes Hall

KIND-hearted traders in the Driffield area are proving the credit crunch does not have to get in the way of charity.

Local traders and businesses have been generously pledging donations and promises for an auction to be held as part of a St Valentine's Charity Gala evening at Burton Agnes Hall on Saturday.

The black-tie event has a top promise of dinner for four with owner of the hall Simon Cunliffe-Lister in the dining room at the hall, complete with butler service and champagne.


Among the many items promised so far is a rugby ball signed and donated by Hull FC Rugby League Team and also a Hull City Tigers shirt signed by the team.


Proceeds from the event will go to two charities, the National Starlight Foundation, which grants a wish to severely and terminally ill children, and the local Naomi Smith Appeal.


Naomi Smith, of Nafferton underwent a liver transplant almost 15 years ago and is gearing up to represent the UK in the World Transplant Games in Australia in August.


As a member of the UK Team Naomi, of Nafferton has to raise £8,000 towards her costs and it is hoped the gala will go some way to boosting her fundraising.


Tickets for the event cost £35, including a buffet and mulled wine, and are available by calling (01262) 420062 or (01262) 490324.

From Hutton Cranswick Today

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Weight loss fundraising for Weston hospice

WORKERS at a Somerset garden centre have signed up to take part in a sponsored slim to lose more than one stone and help raise money for a Weston charity.

Dan Williams, Peter Burks, Dolly El-Mahdi, Ali Stokes, Mark Horler and Tracey Williams from Sanders GardenWorld in Brent Knoll, will be shedding pounds in aid of Weston Hospicecare.

Dan said: “When we heard about the hospice's sponsored slim we thought it was a great opportunity for a team from the garden centre to take part and get fitter and healthier for 2009.

“We want to lose a combined weight of more than seven stone and raise as much money as possible for the hospice. I hope this will encourage other businesses in the area to register teams to take part too.”

Penny Beare, fundraising and communications manager at Weston Hospicecare, said: “We are thrilled a team from Sanders GardenWorld has signed up for the sponsored slim. It is a great idea to register as a team as every participant can encourage each other.

“It's a good way to raise funds as many people may have decided to try and lose weight in the new year, and being sponsored will hopefully incentivise them to reach their goal.

In celebration of the charity's twentieth anniversary, a Gordon Ramsey-trained chef will hold a cookery demonstration at the Thatched Cottage in Weston on March 5.

Tickets are £49.95 from the fundraising department on 01934-423921 or from Weston Hospicecare's headquarters at Jackson-Barstow House, 28 Thornbury Road in Uphill, Weston.

By Burnham And Highbridge Weekly News

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Brave girl is taking leap for charity

AN East Kilbride teenager who overcame leukaemia plans to launch herself 100 feet from a crane in an attempt to raise awareness and much-needed funds for The Anthony Nolan Trust.

The prospect of taking part in the charity’s zip-slide fundraiser on Sunday, April 5, does not bother 16-year-old Calderglen High School pupil Amanda Cameron in the slightest.

For she has already had to overcome much greater challenges in her young life.

The fifth year pupil, who lives in Greenhills, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2006.

And, following an intense course of chemotherapy, she was given the all-clear in October, last year.

Although Amanda did not need a bone marrow transplant, she is still keen to highlight the work of The Anthony Nolan Trust, which has saved over 5000 people from leukaemia since its launch in 1974.

The charity was instrumental in finding a donor for young East Kilbride girl Katie Currie, who is still fighting for her health.

Every 21 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with leukaemia or a related illness and for many people a bone marrow transplant is the only cure.

It costs the charity £125 to fully tissue-type each new donor and place them onto the register and the money raised at the zip-slide will enable it to maintain and expand the bone marrow register in Scotland.

Amanda said: “Although I’m a lot better now, it’s important to remember there are thousands of others out there who are not as fortunate as I am and are desperately waiting for a bone marrow transplant.

“If the money we raise puts another potential life-saver on the bone marrow register, then the zip-slide will have been worth it.

“Three of my friends have agreed to do it with me and although we’re slightly nervous, we’re all really excited and hopefully more people will sign-up and join us on the day.”

Anne Hughes, regional fundraiser for The Anthony Nolan Trust, added: “Although we have had a good response already, there are still places available for the zip-slide, and we would like to sign up as many as 150 people over the next few weeks.

“Previous zip-slides have been very successful and we’re hoping people in East Kilbride will want to join in on what should be a great day out.”

The event, the first of its kind to be held in East Kilbride, will take place between 10am and 5pm at Calderglen Country Park.

A crane will take groups of five daredevils at a time to a height of more than 100 feet, where the ‘adrenaline junkies’ will be hooked onto a wire before zipping to the ground over 700 feet away.

To take part, all participants have to do is pay a £10 entry fee and raise £100 sponsorship. The event is open to anyone over the age of 11 years and it is hoped the event will help The Anthony Nolan Trust raise somewhere in the region of £15,000.

For more information contact The Anthony Nolan Trust on 01506 655361 or e-mail anne.hughes@anthonynolan.org.uk. Alternatively you can sign-up online at

ON A HIGH: teenager Amanda Cameron will be among the daredevils taking on the zip-slide challenge for charity.

By Lynda Nicol

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Charity event sparkles with brilliance… and diamonds

Belfast dentist, Lucy Jaffa, is hosting a multi-sports race called Diamond Quest Ireland for her charity, the African Schools Trust. With thousands of pounds worth of diamonds up for grabs, drop your drills and grab your trainers for one of the most exciting races of the year.

This May, hundreds of men and women from across Ireland and the UK are expected to hit the Irish Carlingford and Mourne Mountains. The race, which is being organised by Adventure Ireland and Causeway Coast Adventure Racing, on behalf of the African Schools Trust charity, will aim to raise funds for a feeding programme to nourish 1,000 teachers and school children in the slums of Nairobi for the following year.

Competitors will start off from Carlingford in County Louth with a hill run through the beautiful Cooley Mountains and along a forest path, followed by a short kayak section from Omeath to Warrenpoint, and finish with a bike ride through the heart of the Mournes, sweeping down to the sea at Newcastle in County Down.

But it's not just the first across the finish line who will receive prizes – there are four diamonds to be won, as charity patron Lucy Jaffa explains: ‘To give everyone the opportunity to win one of our diamonds, we'll be allocating one for those in the top 50, another for the next 100 and a third diamond for the rest of the competitors. Plus there'll also be an extra diamond to be won by any competitor or guest at the party that night in O'Hare's bar in Newcastle, where we'll sneak a diamond into a glass of champagne! It means you don't have to be the fittest to win a diamond, and you'll still have fun taking part.'

Everest climber and dentist Hannah Shields, who is supporting the event, said: ‘Taking part in a race like this will give competitors such a fantastic buzz of adrenaline, as well as the great feeling of helping so many needy children in Africa.'

Also helping to promote the race and all set to take part are Lucy Evangelista, former Miss UK, and Ulster rugby player Matt McCullough.

For those wishing to enter the race, which takes place on Saturday 9 May 2009, the fee is £80.00 (which includes T-shirt, post race party entry and refreshments). For further details, contact Lucy on +44 (0) 7734 083533 or Ivan on +44 (0) 7866 416550, or visit the website at www.diamondquestireland.com.

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U.K. Animal Charities Argue About Fund Raising

In what might be described as allegations of donor poaching, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has accused its English counterpart of unfairly fund raising in Scotland.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which operates in England and Wales, denies the charge.

But the Scottish organization said the Royal animal-welfare group has advertised itself on Scottish radio and at Scottish supermarkets.In response, the group has started an ad campaign aimed at humbling its peer.

“The Scottish SPCA today challenges the RSPCA to stop stealing food from the mouths of Scotland’s defenseless animals and tell the truth to the Scottish public,” the group said in a statement on its Web site.

The animal charity said that 70 percent of the Scottish public believes the RSPCA helps animals in Scotland. “We are therefore calling for the RSPCA to be explicitly clear in its advertising that it does not rescue or rehome animals in Scotland. This could be by explicitly stating where it works or even describing itself as the ‘RSPCA for England and Wales,’” the statement said.

According to The Times, a newspaper in London, the RSPCA said it did not deliberately market itself in Scotland.

“Every piece of printed literature, television advertising, and Internet banner advertising always features the wording ‘The RSPCA is a charity registered in England and Wales.’ We always make every effort to exclude advertising messages reaching Scottish consumers. All Scottish donors, who contact us via RSPCA fund-raising campaigns, are directed to the Scottish SPCA so that they can donate to them if they so wish,” the RSPCA said in a statement, reports the newspaper.

A newspaper in Scotland, The Herald, this week investigated the RSPCA’s claims and reports that the English group accepted about $2-million a year from Scottish donors.

By The Ian Wilhelm from philanthropy.com

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Camilla's charity bash

Britain's Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, has opened her Clarence House home to supporters of the War Memorials Trust.

The Duchess - who is married to Prince Charles - held the event in aid of the little-known conservation charity, of which she is patron. British Army officer Andrew Dobson - who is running the London Marathon in aid of the trust - spoke to the Duchess at the function.

He said: "She asked how often I'm running and how many miles I'm up to. It's fantastic to be running for fallen soldiers as opposed to those still serving.

"It's nice not to forget those who are no longer alive. It remembers people that have done their service and the freedom that our forefathers have given us.

"I'm doing as much as I can to help them. I hope to raise the equivalent of two runners, possibly three runners."

The War Memorials Trust protects and conserves the UK's 100,000 war memorials.

Other charities of which The Duchess is patron include the Animal Care Trust and the Cornwall Community Foundation.

Royal Watch News

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Thousands raised for charity

Over the past three months, Peters Food has raised around £17,000 for the charity - which provides support to children and their families with Cancer. To raise the money six senior staff members volunteered to take part in the Three Peaks Challenge. The challenge - which took place in September - involved the team of six climbing three of the toughest mountains in Britain in just three days.

John McAughtrie, national account manager and event organiser for Peters said: "The challenge has raised money for a very worthy children's charity and we want to thank everyone who sponsored us and donated to the cause. We're already thinking about what we can do next to raise even more for charity."

The first mountain the team climbed was Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. The team then went on to Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England, the last and most difficult was Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK.

Peter's held a charity auction on Saturday in hope of raising even more money for the children's charity. The evening included an auction - with the 2008 Glam Slam winning jersey going for £280. Guests attending the event got to see Chris Banting - from the children's charity CLIC Sergeant - presented with the cheque by the Peter's staff who completed the Three peaks climb.

The team - who spent weeks training for the challenge - included National Account Manager John McAughtrie, Food Service Director Justin Griffiths and Regional Sales Manager Ken Blackman all based at the Caerphilly Head Office. Joining them was Van Sales Directors Vince Edes and John Llewellyn as well as Tony Thompson a Regional Sales Manager.

For further information on the Three Peaks Challenge visit the Peter's website on www.petersfood.co.uk and take a look at the Three Peaks blog to see how the team prepared for the challenge.

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Action for Children launches second-ever TV ad

LONDON - Action for Children has launched the second phase of its 'As long as it takes' activity to boost awareness of the need to support young people.

This stage of the campaign includes the charity's second-ever TV work, as well as national print ads.

The work features autistic teenager, Dan, who reveals that his middle years were crucial in terms of identifying and tackling his problems. It follows the charity's first TV ad, which featured a girl called Nicola, who spent her formulative years caring for her mother with MS.

In addition, 60,000 postcards featuring artwork from the ad and key facts from campaign research are being distributed more than 40 locations across the UK. They are intended to drive traffic to the Action for Children website and encourage the public to fill in their details and return completed cards via Freepost. The cards will then be used to support the charity's work pressuring UK governments into providing more support for six to 13 year olds.

Action for Children works in partnership to run nearly 450 services for more than 170,000 of the UK's most vulnerable children, young people and their families.

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Putin painting fetches £750,000 in charity auction

He has a black belt in judo, goes fishing with his T-shirt off, and even owns a pet Siberian tiger. But Vladimir Putin's answer to action man – demonstrated his previously unknown artistic side over the weekend when one of his paintings sold for more than £750,000.

Putin's deft canvas, titled Pattern, fetched 37 million roubles at a charity auction in St Petersburg – 32 million more than its reserve price. The work was sold together with paintings by other Russian celebrities to raise money for children with cancer. The sale price is thought to be a record for the sale of a painting in Russia.

The former president and current prime minister's contribution shows a festive view from inside a log cabin. While not exactly a Picasso, the colourful scene seems surprisingly competent for a beginner.

Putin allegedly dashed off it on 26 December, just days before Russia's bitter gas row with Ukraine erupted, which saw Putin turn off Europe's gas. Ironically, the two frost-covered windows in the painting look out on to a Ukrainian landscape, with snow falling.

Natalya Kurnikova, the Moscow gallery owner who bought the artwork, said she had done so because it could be the first and last painting of its kind.

Politicians were careful to praise the work. In Russia these days, there is no such thing as being too loyal. St Petersburg's ultra-loyal governor, Valentina Matviyenko, admitted that Putin was a bit of an artistic beginner. But his canvas was nonetheless "excellent", she said.

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