Tag: charity

The health benefits of generosity – it really is better to give than receive

Shoebox appeal 2014Christmas is a time for giving. This week, we will give more to charity than at any other time of the year. For, all the fundraising carol singers, shopping-bag-packing Brownies, and charity tin-shakers make it hard for even the stingiest of scrooges to keep their wallets buckled shut. But a couple of weeks ago, I witnessed thousands of acts of kindness that would make Father Christmas proud.

Every year, the ‘Operation Christmas Child’ initiative invites members of the public to fill empty shoeboxes with Christmas presents to send to countries in the developing world. Individually wrapped and purposed for a boy or a girl, boxes are shipped to underprivileged youngsters in Africa, Eastern Europe and worn-torn countries such as Iraq. The appeal has been running for over twenty years and for many children, that solitary shoebox of gifts will be the only thing they receive this Christmas. Read more

It’s ‘mo’ joke – moustache month is here!

You too can be this coolMoustaches are a bit like flares, perms and tie-dye t-shirts – they only come into fashion once a generation. Now I don’t care what the fashionistas tell me, or how many glossy fashion mags feature models sporting ‘hipster moustaches’ – moustaches are anything but hip. Surely the last person who looked cool with a tash was Freddie Mercury. And that was when he was wearing skin-tight white Lycra. Read more