I am angry !

62 people read the blog yesterday, numbers down a lot but that's not what is making me angry. I'll explain in a moment. I wonder how many friends will read what I am about to say today. I am about to rant and rave. I hope what I have to say will be read by a lot of people.

Yesterday evening I decided to treat myself, I went to a Chinese take away to buy a mushroom chowmein, love that dish.  While I was waiting for the food to be cooked I picked up a copy of the local newspaper, nobody reads this any longer but I wondered what its pages had to say.

I was horrified to find that the NSPCC has purchased a third of a page for a full colour advert looking for people to take part in The Milton Keynes Big Fun Run. That's the same event OurRebekah has people taking part in. Our little team has already raised in excess of £700 for Ronald McDonald House in London.

I wondered how much money the NSPCC spent on that full colour advert.  If a charity can throw away money like that then I suggest it is not a cause worthy of support. You may disagree but that advert made me angry.

EVERY single penny generated by OurRebekah goes directly to Ronald McDonald House Charities, not a single penny is spent on administration.  I cover ALL costs myself, every penny every person gives goes to the cause.

Earlier in the day I had read of a charity organising an absailing event down a not particularly tall building. What I read made me more than angry, it disgusted me. I was and I still am furious.

To take part you first of all had to pay £25.

WHY ?

I can not imagine for a moment the owners of the building would charge to use it for the event. If by chance they were charging then may I suggest they shove their not particularly tall building where the sun does not shine.

Then every person taking part has to undertake to raise a minimum of £200. Raise £199.99p and the organisers do not want you.

Obviously the organizers are not looking for SUPPORTERS but for CASH COWS.  The individuals taking part in their not very spectacular absailing event do not matter as people, all that is wanted is their money !

That made me so cross I have decided once our Frog Challenge and our Doggie Treasure Hunt have taken place I am going to investigate an absailing event down a TALL building.

NO there will NOT be a £25 registration fee.

NO there will not be a demand that every person taking part raises a minimum of £200.

Within OurRebekah there are times when I have used the word donate but I prefer where possible to use the word SUPPORT.  Support does not have to mean money.

Let me tall you about two special people, two very different people. Neither have given OurRebekah a single penny but from both their SUPPORT is beyond measure.

The first is a dear and very long-standing friend of my family, a lady in her late eighties.  Here she can be seen signing cards to families in Ronald McDonald House Birmingham. That is support !

Yesterday she asked me for some more leaflets telling people about our Doggie Treasure Hunt.  She wanders round her local park stopping people who are walking their dogs and telling them about the treasure hunt.

I find that rather special, don't you ?

What she is doing is much more powerful than squandering money on a full colour advert in a newspaper that nobody reads anyway !  What she is doing does not demand from dog walkers a £25 registration fee and a minimum sponsorship of £200 !

I took her for lunch yesterday to thank her for what she had done. I paid. I wonder what kind of a thank you the NSPCC fun runners or the absailers will get ?  Do cash cows receive thanks ?

I asked this very special lady if she would be one of the supervisors at my Frog Challenge on Saturday 30th September.

She did not hesitate for a single moment. As she accepted she suggested a fun  way she could count the the thirty seconds while the frog is in my hands.

THAT MY FRIENDS IS SUPPORT !

The second person I want to tell you about I have mentioned on the blog before, mentioned him several times but have never included his photograph.  The guy is a bit camera shy, I have Google searched for a picture but can not find one. That is a bit odd considering who he is.

Trevor is the communications director for Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.  A very powerful man in the world of sport. The support he has given to OurRebekah is amazing.  How many organisations do you know that have been in existence for just over three months who can pick up a phone and get through to the personal number of a director within a major football club ?  

OurRebekah can !  

Not because we are anything special, because Club Director Trevor is special.

Trevor had on his desk this picture, taken last Sunday at the club when the football autographed by players was presented to OurRebekah for the e-bay project. Trevor had within his e-mail inbox the short article I wrote to go with the picture. NOTE the use of the past tense, had not has.

Being cheeky I asked him if it could possibly appear in the programme for Sunday 24th September, for the sell-out local derby game against Sheffield United.  Not for a single moment did I expect that to happen. 

The editorial pages for that game's programme would have been set down weeks ago, the printers would just be waiting for the latest club news before printing FORTY THOUSAND COPIES. 

Trevor moved heaven and earth, the picture and my article will appear in the programme for the club's biggest game of the season. 

THAT MY FRIENDS IS SUPPORT !

THAT MY FRIENDS IS LOVE !

When it comes to support I am proud with that OurRebekah is achieving. We have so far raised £1,344 for Ronald McDonald Houses but the LOVE runs into millions.

We will NEVER seek cash cows to be part of what we do. SUPPORT DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN MONEY. SUPPORT ALWAYS MEANS LOVE.

I am never short of material to write opn this page each day, The Wave Of Love is never short of special people surfing with us. I ALWAYS thank everyone as quickly as possible for their support. There will NEVER be a cash cow within anything we do. There will never be a single person who is not thanked for what they bring to our wave of love.