Volunteering for a charity is fulfilling as giving back.

Having spent the past few months reviewing my business and my lifestyle following the death of my mother last year, I have finally decided that I need a balance which means I need to give back some of my time to a worthy cause, charity.  I am still running SJD Events, however taking a back step on the weddings for a while.

I believe that everyone should do their bit for charity and be made to give a day a year but that’s another blog.

So, I embarked on finding a charity where I knew that it would be fulfilling for me, it had an affiliation to my own values and experiences and that my time would be appreciated.

For me it was important to get the balance as part of grieving is getting in touch with the inner person so alongside my amazing Jung treatment I felt i was ready.

I am therefore pleased to announce, that I am going to be working with two amazing charities on some very exciting projects namely Maggie’s and Coming Home part of Haig Housing.

• Maggie’s (maggiescentres.org) Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their families and friends. Built in the grounds of NHS hospitals, our Maggie’s Centres are warm and welcoming places, with professional staff on hand to offer the support people need to find their way through cancer.

And, I am going to be working with the event team, to assist with ensuring the success of the Cultural Walk on Friday 18^th September, which I will be taking part in.

Maggie’s Cultural Walk is a 15 mile night-walk, it will be a cultural adventure through the capital where participants  gain exclusive access to a range of amazing buildings and enjoy a host of cultural stories and surprises along the way.   The whole event is being curated by Sandy Nairne, previous Director of the National Portrait Gallery. He is using the theme of People and Places to inspire storytelling along the route, connecting the walkers to hidden corners of the city.

And, I am also going to be helping at the West London Centre, located at Charing Cross Hospital.   My mother was not fortunate enough to use the Maggie Centres during her treatment and what attracted me to the charity was their relaxed approach about helping people whether the cancer sufferer or the family or the carer, which is amazing.

Then, as most of my friends will know, I have a draw to military charities so my next choice will come as no surprise.

*     Coming Home (Haig Housing) ~ http://www.haighousing.org.uk.

I am going to be working alongside the fundraising and events team on an exciting event   called ‘For Queen & Country’ which will be at the Tower of London on Wednesday 16^th September.  Having been privileged enough to attend the launch event for the Poppies at the Tower with Combat Stress, I am really pleased to be able to assist with this event as the chosen charity of Lord Dannatt.   I will also be assisting on other projects as I will be offering a day a week.

They are both so different but two charities close to my heart and being part of a team again is filling me with excitement so who knows what is around the corner for me.

Newsflash – well it is the infamous tandem skydive is next Tuesday 2^nd June postponed from May 2014.

Please do check out the two charities and maybe I’ll see you on the Cultural Walk on Friday 18^th September or buy a ticket and come along to the Tower of London and be blown away by the amazing stories of our heroes.