Charities
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, a honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
Leo F Buscaglia
Compassion means opening your heart, feeling what others feel and really understanding their problems while showing them you care. Compassion & kindness is a language everyone can understand. Everyday we should be reaching out to someone, even if only a warm hug or a friendly touch.
Backpacks for the homeless
There are so many everyday accessories and toiletries we take for granted - toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant. Imagine how you would feel if you didn't have access to these small things. Well, many people in our community can't afford these things. I always carry a backpack in my car filled with toiletries, food, water, some items of clothing, writing paper and pen plus a list of local services. By giving even the smallest items to those who don't have them, I hope to provide someone with a greater sense of self-worth. Simple accessories we may take for granted could be greatly appreciated by those who are less fortunate. Maybe this support will open a door that will give that person a change to get a job or give them a fresh start to a new life.
You can join me by making your own care backpacks or by donating any of the following:
~ Backpacks
~ Clothing: Socks, beanies, gloves and scarfs
~ Toiletries: Toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, toilet paper, comb, facial wipes
~ Food & drink: Water, dried fruit, granola bars, nuts, easy to open ready made meals. peanut butter (great source of protein), restaurant gift cards (ie Subway), treats
~ Survival: First aid kit, heat pack, sewing kit
~ Other: Journal, stationary
Balmatri and Balajothi are very close to my heart. I have spent time at both and continue to work with them. Both Rishi (Balmaitri) and Mr Balaraj (Balajothi) opened their hearts to provide a place of love and security to so many children, ensuring them a different future - one with hope. And by changing the lives of these children, they are changing lives of everyone around them. Kindness creates more kindness as these ripples of love touch others.
While traveling around India, one of the beautiful women I met and spent time with was the lovely Monica Formichetti. She is doing some amazing work with the Mother and Child Foundation where she is working on a project helping to make Indian women in need economically independent.
Balajothi Centre for the Disabled
​Balajothi Centre for the Disabled is a Bangalore based, non-profit charitable registered trust, committed to serve the disabled and underprivileged, by providing rehabilitation, education / special education and vocational training to people with all forms of physical and mental disabilities including autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, speech impairment and multiple disabilities​
The children at Balajothi are very special and touch your heart the moment you meet them. They greet you with such openess and shower you with love. These children captured my heart and the devotion of the family that started this centre is overwhelming.
Balajothi needs funds to buy land on the outskirts of Bangalore to enable them to build proper facilities for these beautiful children. Or you can sponsor one of the children at Balajothi for only £25 per month.
Balmaitri School & Children's Home
Balmaitri School and Children’s Home – is located 18 km from Luxman Jhula, Rishikesh in the state of Uttarakhand India.​
The school focuses on providing education for village children in rural India. Forty children live in the Balmaitri home. Some are orphans, some are from single parent homes and all are from poor backgrounds. A total of 140 children attend the school daily from several surrounding villages, some walking up to 10 kms a day to reach the school. Some families are able to contribute to school fees but most pay only a nominal amount or don’t pay at all
Rishi Kumar, the founder, believes that you can save the children by educating them academically, about personal growth and hygiene, developing confidence and by building morals and instilling values. In turn, the children will educate their villages to the benefit of all. If the village is saved, nature can be saved.
There are many ways of helping the children & villagers of Balmaitri. You can sponsor a child - a monthly donation of £20 per month, by sending clothing, school & musical supplies or by helping them rasise funds for school teachers and new classrooms.​
Project Craft: Mother and Child Foundation
Let's take a chance 'for women to learn a craft and regain their dignity.
"Project craft" is part of a non-profit organisation working closely with the "Mother and Child Foundation", an association that is located in Kerala (South India) and home to about 250 souls - orphans and single mothers.
The project, started in March 2012, currently works with nine disadvantaged women (abandoned by their husbands, single mothers, or children with disabilities, or just poor) who daily, with the help of volunteers and teachers, are learning to cut, sew and package a finished product in an Italian style. Our goal is to make them self-sustaining.​
Under the label, Abbiamo, these ladies have started to produce various items of clothing and accessories that have been ordered by companies and retailers in Italy.