Love from, Florence Grace

Christmas is often nicknamed " the season of giving ". A lot of us are incredibly spoilt at Christmas time, receiving lavish gifts from our friends and family. We gorge on all of the festive food, spend time making happy memories with the our nearest and dearest and have an all round lovely time. Most people would argue that Christmas is the best time of the year. Sadly, not everyone is so fortunate. Many children wake up with nothing on Christmas Day. Many people wake up on the street, with no roof over their head and no food in their bellies. Many people, particularly the elderly, spend the day alone. So what can you do about this?  You can give back! At one of the most charitable times of year, now is a better time than ever to have a look at how you can give back to those that truly need it most. Here are some ideas of things you can do... Donate Toys to Disadvantaged Children My towns local radio station runs a 'Toy Appeal' every year, where the...

It's three days until Christmas and I've gone from not really feeling it at all to feeling full on festive! Today was my mums birthday; we ordered a take away, whacked on Polar Express and cracked open the tin (or tub, as it is now) of Quality Streets and I knew  that Christmas was finally here for me!  I'm so happy that I'm finally feeling a little more excited about Christmas. I realised that actually, I was being pretty selfish moaning about my Christmas. I'm actually incredibly fortunate because I have two families that I'll be celebrating Christmas with, as well as with my friends; Alec, Ricarda, BJ, Bobbie, Alex, Poppy, Abby and Lauren. I have a house full of decorations and full of all the Christmas food, I've got Christmas Eve-Boxing Day off of work and have time to fully relax and enjoy the holiday. I'm incredibly lucky and I'm glad I've realised it now and so can stop moaning about my lack of festiveness!  I feel a little...

While you're studying, especially at the end of your education e.g. A Levels or in college/uni, it can be highly beneficial to participate in some unpaid work (to be honest, it doesn't have to be unpaid but most of the examples I'm about to list are unpaid) in order to further your career or boost your college application or something similar. Here's what you could be doing and why it will benefit you:  Internships Internships are sometimes paid positions but most of the time they pay for travel expenses and not much else. However, they're a brilliant  way to make important connections that can help you get your foot on the first rung of the ladder to your dream career and can even lead to potential jobs, which is always great. They look good on job applications and university applications too! Work Experience Similar to internships but a little more flexible and laid back, work experience placements are a great way to find out if you actual...

I am a changed woman.  I mean it! I really am!  Okay, okay, let me just back up a second and explain to you guys what has happened. At the beginning of this week, I received some bad news. It wasn't anything drastic, it just wasn't something I wanted to hear. For the next couple of days, I wallowed in self pity in bed, whining to my friends via whatsapp (bless them, I don't know how they put up with me!) and watching the Hollyoaks episodes I had missed from the week before. But once I had worked my way through Hollyoaks, I was left with nothing. I'd watched basically everything that appealed to me on Netflix, so where else could I turn?  BBC iPlayer.  I love a good documentary, and have blogged about them before. So I was delighted to find more brilliant documentaries on iPlayer, and I sat and watched so many. I watched all three of Professor Green's ones about the hidden homeless, dangerous dogs and suicide. I watched all three episodes of Th...

Have you heard of Gift Aid? If you aren't associated with any charities, it's unlikely. Until I started to work at a charity shop, I had never heard of it either- yet now, it is part of my working day duties to ask everyone who donates to our store "Are you a gift aider?" The response I get is on the verge of hysterical.  "Gift aid?" they gasp, eyes wide with fear "Nope, not me. Not at all, not today, nope", and slowly they back out of the shop, arms raised in defence as though my colleagues and I are rabid dogs, ready to pounce. So what the hell is Gift Aid? Must be truly awful to receive such a negative response from about 50% of our donors, right? To force them to leave the shop, too fearful to return in case we spring another surprise attack on them, it must be something truly terrible, right? Wrong. So, so wrong. Gift Aid is a scheme that charities can participate in, in corporation with the government. If you're a UK Tax Pa...

Take a moment to reflect on things you do and use every single day without even thinking about it, let alone being thankful that you're able to do them/use them. Eating hot food, for example. Having clean running water. Being able to watch TV. All things that we take for granted every single day . One thing that we really take for granted is the ability to brush our teeth. It seems like something that everybody does, twice a day, every day. Everyone owns a plastic toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, and when they're finished with, they get replaced- right? Wrong. In less developed countries, owning a toothbrush is far more of a luxury than it is a necessity. Very few people own a toothbrush, toothpaste or are able to brush their teeth. All of this leads to poor dental hygiene which can develop into more serious issues. But this can turn itself around- and you  can get involved with it! A new crowdfunder project, One Smile, was started at the beginning of May with the...

I have worked in a charity shop for almost two years now. Initially, I thought it was going to be a very dull job. How wrong was I!!! From the people you meet to the things that get donated, let me tell you all about working in a charity shop... 1) You will meet such an interesting variety of people. From the diverse range of volunteers, including people who are elderly with free time to those who are just 14/15/16 and working for their D of E award, to the huge range of customers you see every day- everyone has their own story and you hear some crazy things. It's a very unique experience compared to other retail jobs I have had! 2) The things people donate will never fail to surprise you. From Louis Vuitton bags (new with tags!) to used sanitary items and even sex toys, no day in a charity shop is the same...one man's trash is another man's treasure after all! 3) People will want refunds...even though the money they spend/spent goes to charity. You know, helping pe...

Normally, my blog posts are fairly lengthy. This one is just a quickie, because everything I wanted to say wouldn't fit into a 140 character tweet. Tonight (Friday 13th March 2015) is the night where millions of pounds will be raised for Comic Relief, in order to try and help those living in poverty. The event is always successful and an astonishingly large amount is always raised for those in need- it is an excellent event to help an excellent cause, and I think it's wonderful that nearly everybody contributes in such a selfless way, be it through a simple donation or a more dramatic event, such as a skydive for charity, or dancing for 24 hours. There's something about Comic Relief that really grinds my gears though. It's not that I don't support the cause, because I 100% do, and I always donate money to those I know who are doing sponsored silences, cake sales, talent shows and the likes of it. However, why do we pick this one time of year to reach into our sa...

Friday 27th February 2015 saw the grand event that was a fashion show in London for the fabulous charity, Children with Cancer UK. I was invited to the event about 2 weeks ago as a blogger, to cover the event and raise awareness of the charity. I was honored to have been asked to do so, as the charity is really just so important, as well as super excited to cover a fashion show, as this was something I had never done before! The night was a huge success, and the display of talent was extremely impressive- from the designers work, to the various acts performing in between! The venue was fairly glamorous, based at The Building Centre in London, and upon entry we received glasses of wine, nibbles and goody bags, as well as having the opportunity to mingle with some of the other guests before the show began. When it was time for the show to start, I went to try and seat myself- only to find that because I was "press", I needed to get myself a press pass (which I was thri...