Category Archives: Charity

Team #GFGS Raises Over £1,000 for Oldham Cats

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Back in 2013 I launched a secular fundraising initiative and named it ‘Good For Good’s Sake’. The idea was a simple one; we would use our online presence to raise some funds for charitable causes. Why? Because it would be a good thing to do. And because we could.

After raising a combined total of £25,775.83 for Red Nose Day, WaterAid and Doctors Without Borders  in year-long campaigns, I decided to turn our attention to a smaller, feline-focussed charity – Oldham Cats, for 3 months. I’m very pleased to say we raised an incredible total of £1,008.00 for this wonderful Cat Rescue.

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Me (left). Fundraising Secretary, Samantha (right)

Our goal was to raise enough money to supply a much-needed replacement laptop for the Oldham Cats’ office. Well, we raised enough for the Laptop and a new laminator. I’ve also been informed they have some funds left over too. The team (comprised of animal loving volunteers) send their gratitude. Oldham Cats were kind enough to ask me to present the new #GFGS funded items to Fundraising Secretary, Samantha.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this campaign. You have made a massive difference to a great cause. Your generosity continues to amaze me. Samantha told me she was touched by all your lovely comments on the Just Giving page. I told her what a compassionate bunch of people you are. I’ll leave you with a sneaky selfie with my favourite (sleepy) resident, ‘Ginge’.

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You can read all about the great work Oldham Cats do at http://www.oldhamcats.co.uk/. You can donate to them by visiting http://www.oldhamcats.co.uk/support-us/. You can keep up to date on all the Oldham Cats residents, and send them some love on Twitter @OldhamCats.

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

New #GFGS Fundraiser For Oldham Cats!

Me and Ginge at Oldham Cats

Me and Ginge at Oldham Cats

Back in 2013 I started a secular fundraising initiative and called it ‘Good For Good’s Sake’. The idea was a simple one; we would use our online presence to raise some funds for a charitable cause. Why? Because it would be a good thing to do, and because we could, How did we do? Well. Really really, really well.

Since its launch, Team #GFGS has raised an astonishing £25,775.83 for charitable causes. No ideological agenda was pushed, nor was anything required in return for our contributions. We were good for its own sake.

This brings me to a new fundraiser I’d like you to get behind for the coming months – this time, with a slightly furrier focus. Typically, in the past we have dedicated our efforts to large, well-supported, human-centric causes – which got me wondering; what sort of impact could Team #GFGS have on smaller charities that don’t receive as much support as WaterAid, MSF or Red Nose Day? I think we should find out. The plan would be to choose a succession of smaller charities throughout the rest of this year, in different countries, but to launch proceedings…

I’m hoping we can start by raising some money for Oldham Cats. Oldham Cats is my local cat sanctuary. I’ve visited a number of times to take food and supplies, and to generally fuss the residents. Below is me with my sponsored cat, ‘Ginge’.MeGingeFloorOldham Cats always try to rehome the cats they take in. And if they can’t, due to medical issues, or because no-one wants them? They become full-time residents, meaning they having free roam of the complex and surrounding fields. You can read their policy in full here. They give a good life, and care to animals that would not be so fortunate without their dedication and love. This, to me, is a good thing worth supporting.

I aim to visit the sanctuary throughout this fundraiser, bringing you updates and providing you with a closer look at how your money will be used. This kind of support for a smaller charity could make such a huge difference.

You can donate to this campaign by visiting the fundraising page here, where credit cards and PayPal are accepted. You can also donate via text by following the below instructions:

textgfgs

Let’s see if we can make a massive difference to a smaller charity. This fundraiser will close at the end of August.

Team #GFGS Does it Again! Over £3,000 Raised For MSF!

msfTeam #GFGS’ yearly charity fundraiser has finally come to a close, raising an incredible £3,002.80 for Médecins Sans Frontières.  This brings the total amount Team #GFGS has raised for charitable causes to £25,775.83.

A gigantic thank you to all those kind enough to donate, support and be a part of something worthwhile.  I continue to be astonished by the kindness and active nature of those I’m fortunate enough to interact with online. I’ve no doubt this amount will help towards improving peoples’ lives.  Isn’t that good?

MSF is a wonderful global cause.  Please see their website to get a glimpse of the vital work they do and consider supporting them again in the future.

Once again, this goal was achieved because a small number of compassionate people agreed that doing something good was worthy for its own sake, regardless of whatever we believe (or don’t) about anything else.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I’ll see if I can arrange for a downloadable certificate and update this blog post accordingly.

Who’s up for a new challenge for 2015? Have a fantastic new year!