I was going to write today about some of the things on my Christmas List but then my computer crashed and I decided to do something completely different.Having a bit of a random active brain (totally non logical, as my hubby calls it) I remembered, while I was waiting for my pc to re-boot, a conversation I'd had yesterday with one of my favourite people, Lynne McNicholl, an ambassador the Teenage Cancer Trust. Actually this was an email conversation, which comes to the same thing, so I decided to pass it over to you, in the hope that you might like to begin a conversation with her too.
I came across Lynne a few years back, when she approached me for a few books as prizes for an event she was holding, and I've given her a few every year since. She's a completely amazing person, Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year 2009 for Scotland, making a huge difference for children with something most of us don't want to even begin thinking about.
A couple of years ago one of my younger son's best friends had cancer, which thankfully he has come through (I'm not going to go into the details so if I appear to be moving on swiftly it's because I don't think I should) but I remember well Calum (my son) driving from Hemel to Tooting each Friday evening to visit him (he's a great boy sometimes) and trying desperately hard to work out how we could help, when in fact, at that point, you can't, other than making sure that the parents know you're there.
Anyway, back to Lynne, and to avoid going on much longer. I realised that I know a lot of retailers and people who much have the odd spare gift they could give to the CCT via her. She's up in Edinburgh, not that it makes much difference, but I have two boys at Uni there, a daughter about to go and I'm married to a Scot so you could say that I've totally embraced Scotland.
If you have one or a few gifts, left over from last year, a 'bin end' in your shop or online store or any treat you're prepared to part with for a mum, dad or teenager then please would you send them to her. You can contact her here. You can also follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynneschallenge and at http://lynneschallenge.co.uk/
As she put it to me yesterday: 'Over the past four years I have become friends with many families who have battled cancer, they put their lives on hold.......I saw a need to give them a small gift to show that someone was thinking about them, to help them in a tiny way to get through these difficult times. I have put together gift boxes filled with luxury treats for a mum or dad, so far I have given out 20 of these boxes, paid for me personally at this stage and they have been incredibly well received. I'm also providing treats for teenagers and young adults - itunes gift vouchers and things like that. Hey! It keeps me out of mischief. Thanks for supporting me right from the start.'
If you'd like to give something for one of Lynne's Gift Boxes please email me at patricia@thesiteguide.com and I'll give you her address or you can contact her as at mailto:lynne@lynneschallenge.co.uk.
She's a truly amazing person and deserves all the help she can get
I'll write about my Christmas list tomorrow. Promise.
