Thirty Ninth of 40 Donations

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The Thirty Ninth of my 40 donations goes to Level Up. Level Up is a Feminist organisation based in the UK whose mission is to build a community of people who can work together to interrupt all forms of gender injustice.

Two cases that highlight the need for society to consider how it treats women are Sarah Everard’s brutal murder in the UK at the hands of a deranged Policeman and that of Gabrielle (Gabby) Petito in the USA whose Fiancée appears to know more than he is willing to share a this juncture.

Violence, harassment and abuse of Women needs to stop.

Level Up’s vision is a world where people of all genders are loved and liberated from the systems of oppression that lead to bodily and systemic violence.

Level Up want a membership from all walks of life. Our race, class, sexuality, gender identity and ability affect our experiences of sexism, and Level Up run campaigns that take that into account.

Level Up want feminism to be easy to understand: Plenty of people care about gender equality who haven’t read lots of feminist theory or been involved in activism. Level Up is the place for them.

Level Up want to have fun: Living with sexism can be tiring. Level Up want to make campaigning as fun and enjoyable as possible and Level Up try not to take themselves too seriously all the time.

Thirty Seventh of 40 Donations

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The Thirty Seventh of my 40 donations goes to the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. The Battle of Britain Memorial includes the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall at Capel-le-Ferne. The Memorial wall lists the names of all the aircrew known to have flown with a recognised squadron during the Battle of Britain, which took place between 10 July and 31 October 1940 – just under 3,000 men in total.

Sponsoring one of the names on the wall allows you to form a special bond with one of the individuals who flew to preserve the Freedom of the United Kingdom in 1940.

Coincidentally, you can sponsor one of those names for a donation of just £40!

I posted this today as the 15th September is also known as Battle of Britain Day, an annual commemoration of the battle in the United Kingdom. The 15th of September date is significant as a large-scale aerial battle (some say the climax of the Battle of Britain) took place on the 15th September 1940; the German defeat proved to be a turning point in the whole war.

The wall is named in tribute to the late Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Foxley-Norris, a Hurricane fighter pilot in 1940. He was the first President of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust and, together with Lady Foxley-Norris, provided the funds that allowed plans for the wall to go ahead.

By sponsoring a name on the wall, I will receive a commemorative folder containing a certificate marking my donation and a copy of my airman’s entry in ‘Men of the Battle of Britain’, the recognised guide to the men who took part in the RAF’s critical defence of England’s shores.

I will update this post with the details of who my chosen Airman is and hopefully, some of his story.

https://www.amazon.com/Men-Battle-Britain-Kenneth-Wynn/dp/0947893156

Thirty Fifth of 40 Donations

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The thirty fourth of my 40 donations goes to Nathan Ford’s rehabilitation.

Nathan was involved in an accident whilst competing in a British Championship Triathlon in Aberfeldy, Scotland.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nathan-ford?utm_source=fb_copy_link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR3VDE–LF-wA2Gz0m7fLLmAET9Ud4kv9jh88090DPSU82QSlReupole63k

As a result of this accident Nathan is currently in Intensive Care in Scotland and has a long road ahead of him. Nathan was diagnosed with two life threatening conditions, a brain injury and a spinal injury.

It appears that his brain injury isn’t as severe as initially thought but his spinal injury is worse than imagined. Currently Nathan is not able to breathe independently and is unable to move.

Nathan’s wife set up this page to support herself and their family, to be close to Nathan in this critical time. They are 500 miles from home and hope to stay with Nathan until he can be transferred closer to home.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nathan-ford?utm_source=fb_copy_link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR3VDE–LF-wA2Gz0m7fLLmAET9Ud4kv9jh88090DPSU82QSlReupole63k

The Family is searching for extra tools, support and services that can help them to help Nathan. There are resources to help him communicate with them that they feel are vital for his wellbeing at this time.

Much further down the line they are hoping rehabilitation can provide some quality of life for Nathan.

It goes without saying that they are heartbroken at this time and any support that can help alleviate some of the financial worry will be hugely appreciated.

Nathan is well known and loved by so many, and we all know how strong and independent he is, but this isn’t a race he can win alone.

Having had a serious bicycle accident myself, I realise how quickly things can take an unexpected turn and my heart goes out to Nathan’s family. Incredibly, the community has rallied together and at the time of posting this blog, the fund has risen to over £80k!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nathan-ford?utm_source=fb_copy_link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR3VDE–LF-wA2Gz0m7fLLmAET9Ud4kv9jh88090DPSU82QSlReupole63k

Thirty Fourth of 40 Donations

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The thirty fourth of my 40 donations goes to the Robin Hood Tax Campaign UK.

The idea behind the Robin Hood Tax is to generate billions of pounds – hopefully even hundreds of billions of pounds, from fairer taxation of the financial sector.

The billions it could raise every year could give a vital boost to the NHS, educational institutions and the fight against child poverty in the UK – as well as tackling poverty and climate change around the world.

https://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk/how-it-works

I’m mindful that additional taxes are likely to make certain financial transactions more expensive and this risks driving away business but I believe there is a better system than the current one and welcome innovative ideas like this.

Read more at:

https://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk/

Thirty Third of 40 Donations

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The Thirty Third of my Fourth donations goes to OCEARCH. OCEARCH is a non-profit, data-centric organisation built to help scientists collect previously unattainable data in the ocean.

You may have seen footage of them tagging and taking samples from huge sharks on a specially made submersible (and raiseable) pontoon:

OCEARCH is recognized as a world leader in generating scientific data related to tracking (telemetry), and biological studies of keystone marine species such as great white sharks, tiger sharks, and more. OCEARCH has embarked on 39 ocean research expeditions as of September 2020.

Their mission is to accelerate the ocean’s return to balance and abundance, through fearless innovations in scientific research, education, outreach, and policy using unique collaborations of individuals and organisations in the United States and abroad.

Definitely worth checking out their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/OCEARCHsharktracker/featured

OCEARCH maintain a free open-sourced Shark Tracking service so you can see where individual sharks are in the world and how far they travel! This allows scientists, educators, and fans alike to learn about the never before documented movements of our ocean’s apex predators.

Details of their 2021 expedition can be found here:

For questions or more information, please email them at info@ocearch.org

They take donations in US Dollars so I used XE.com to provide the spot rate for currency conversion.

Help protect sharks; facts not fear!

Thirty Second of 40 Donations

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The Thirty Second of my donations goes to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

For the past 70 years, UNRWA has been delivering effective and reliable humanitarian support to Palestine refugees living in Gaza, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Hostilities in recent days have caused the loss of human life and the destruction of physical infrastructure. Already high levels of psychosocial stress, especially among children, have been further exacerbated. As the need grows, we need your help more than ever. Support Palestine refugees in Gaza now.

https://donate.unrwa.org/-landing-page/en_EN

Check this BBC article out:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57970467

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57970467

Your donation helps ensure that Palestine refugees receive essential service including education, health, emergency cash and food assistance and protection.

Show your support to Palestine refugees in Gaza: https://donate.unrwa.org/one-time/~my-donation

Thirty First of 40 Donations

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Following Da Baby’s completely stupid and ignorant comments, the Thirty First of my 40 donations goes to the Terrence Higgins Trust.

The Terrence Higgins Trust is a charity that supports those living with HIV – they are the largest voluntary sector provider of HIV and sexual health services in the UK, running services out of local centres across Great Britain.

No one really wants to live with this; it’s not limited to any one section of society.

The Terrence Higgins Trust estimates that about 7% of the roughly 103,800 people living with the virus in the UK, do not know they are HIV positive.

Their vision for 2030 is that there will be no new HIV transmissions in the UK.

A drug that prevents the transmission of the HIV virus will be available on the NHS in England from April, the Department of Health has confirmed.

The cost is estimated to likely be much less than the lifetime bill for treating those who already carry the virus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51897856

PrEP – or pre-exposure prophylaxis – is an antiretroviral medicine which, taken once a day, stops the transmission of HIV during unprotected sex.

Stay safe out there!

Thirtieth of 40 Donations

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The thirtieth of my 40 donations goes to World Animal Protection. What appealed to me what their Sea Change campaign that reduces the huge suffering caused by ‘ghost gear’ – abandoned fishing gear that turns oceans into death traps for sea animals. This is something I am passionate about having almost always returned from a dive with some cast off fishing gear or other rubbish in my pocket.

Sea Change campaign: tackling ghost fishing gear | World Animal

Nonetheless, I appreciate they allocate funding as they see fit and I wish them well with all their campaigns.

https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/
https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand&gclid=CjwKCAjw3MSHBhB3EiwAxcaEuySdQ3kdBdiBT5sKhIsn7icBuCSd

Twenty Eighth of 40 Donations

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The twenty eighth of my 40 donations goes to the Shark Trust who are safeguarding the future of sharks through positive change. The Sharks Trust believe the best way to safeguard the future of sharks is through a solutions-based approach that promotes positive change.

The Sharks Trust’s conservation goals set the agenda for their work. They achieve their goals through projects and campaigns that bring together different players. All of their projects, campaigns, and policy actions drive progress towards these 3 key goals:

  1. SPECIES PROTECTION – protection of endangered species through legislation and effective conservation action. Their Saving Species projects place science at the heart of conservation action.
  2. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT – fisheries managed for sustainability to prevent declines in non-threatened species. They’re working to transform fisheries to prevent population decline through overfishing.
  3. RESPONSIBLE TRADE – They promote responsible trade and reduced demand for non-sustainable shark products.

There’s lots of ways you can help. From raising awareness about shark conservation, to taking part in one of their citizen science projects – they’ve got something for all ages. Visit their Get Involved page to find out more.

https://www.sharktrust.org/contact-us

Twenty Sixth of 40 Donations

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The 25th of my 40 donations goes to Stronghold Rescue and Relief who protect and care for families in conflict zones around the world. Read some of the stores and watch the video below, it’s really something.

Stronghold Rescue and Relief send small teams of highly-skilled former special operations members into conflict zones to conduct and organize humanitarian rescue and relief operations.

Stronghold Rescue and Relief teams serve local families by providing emergency medical aid and delivering situation-specific humanitarian relief.

When appropriate, Stronghold Rescue and Relief‘s highly-experienced operatives advise and accompany local authorities during high-risk, life-saving rescue operations.

Over time, Stronghold Rescue and Relief organise and employ teams of locals to conduct their own rescue and relief operations with minimal outside help. Stronghold Rescue and Relief call this “Charity With Dignity.”

https://strongholdrescue.org/

I looked into making a donation and found that they prefer longer term support for cash flow and planning reasons. They actively encourage monthly subscription on their website including by giving a t-shirt to all monthly subscribers. Therefore, I signed up to provide $15 a month and I will do this for four months.

https://strongholdrescue.org/support

According to XE.com today $15 equates to £10.86 so over the course of four months I will end up paying almost 10% / £4 over £40 but I guess that will pay for the t-shirt!

https://www.xe.com/
$15 x 4 months = $60 / 1.38040 = £43.47
Khallas

I came across Stronghold Rescue and Relief on a YouTube channel called MrBallen by a dude called John Allen, a former Navy SEAL who now tells strange, dark & mysterious stories…

The story of how Stronghold Rescue and Relief became established is incredible and is summarised nicely in MrBallen’s below video:

You can find MrBallen’s YouTube channel here; if you like his content, subscribe.

https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen/videos

Instagram: @johnballen416

Twitter: @johnballen416

2nd YouTube channel: MrBallen Shorts

TikTok: @MrBallen

LinkedIn: John Allen (MrBallen)