JustGiving for Childhood Cancer Trust
Last year, when I completed my NLP Master Practitioner course there where 39(ish) doing various challenges as a self-development, fun and to push ourselves to meet our goals. The tag line was ‘Because I said I would’ the social movement founded by Alex Sheen which is dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept.
The idea is that you announce your promise to the public, and just do what you promised. Our challenges vary from holding a spider to jumping off a plane…
And we all achieved this...what did I do? Well, I sang in public, jumped off a plane, went on the longest zipwire ride and of course, beat my mentor in 10K run.And this year, I'm doing it again.
This blog is about an amazing small charity that does so much good and why acts of kindness, like supporting a good cause is so important for them and for you.
How doing good can help YOU?
Do you remember the last time you did something good or helped someone? Do you remember how it made you feel? I remember once going to the restaurant’s washroom to find an elderly woman crying. I didn’t know her but I asked her if she was ok. She responded that she wasn’t and before I realised, I had put my arms around her to give her a big hug. So, we stood there for a little while whilst she held me. She then let me go and thanked me. It is difficult to describe the joy I felt when I went back to the restaurant. The energy it gave me, it was as if I was floating.
Random Acts of Kindness have many benefits. They promote love, peace and kindness in a world that can so often bring us so many challenges. It also has a ripple effect. After hugging that woman, and seeing her feeling better, made me feel like I had won the lottery. I’d like to hope that she too had a better day than she had before.
Feeling good, means that you have a more positive mindset, you are happier and able to problem-solve better. This all means that you are more likely to take the right steps for you to achieve your goals.
The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust
One of the challenges I set for this year is to run 10K and raise money in support of The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). The charity is the only one in the UK dedicated to helping people affected by retinoblastoma (Rb), a rare form of eye cancer that affects young children, mainly under the age of six. This charity has been helping in this way for the past 30 years and offers support to every family in the UK following a diagnosis, as well as providing lifelong support to anyone affected.
What is Retinoblastoma?
Retinoblastoma develops in the cells of the retina, the light sensitive lining of the eye. There are around 50-60 cases diagnosed in the UK every year, which is about 1 child a week. Whilst it’s very rare, can you imagine having so young children through such a serious condition, which could affect not only one, but both of their eyes. Until I came across this charity, I had no idea about this type of rare cancer. I have now found out that this fast growing cancer represents 3% of all childhood cancers and 10% of cancers in babies under one. Whilst it has great survival rates, around 98%, 70% of children will have an eye removed.
How you can help?
CHECT is a small charity and relies on public donations to keep their good work going. So, I’m dusting off my trainers and running 10K on the 13th July 2019 at Regent’s Park, London. Your donations would mean a lot to this lovely charity, so if you or anyone you know could spare some money in support of their amazing work, please visit my JustGiving page
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lauralohk
For more information about the charity, their work and Retinoblastoma, please visit
Wish me luck and Thank You for all your donations!