UPDATE: Check the blog at http://hadranwalking.blogspot.com/

Thank you for visiting!

This July, I will be participating in a charity walk across England, from coast to coast.  A group of us will leave Newcastle, on the East coast of England on July 5, 2010 and walk about 15 miles each day to reach Bowness-on-Solway on England’s west coast six days and 86 miles later on July 10, 2010.

It will be grueling, tiring, possibly painful, hopefully a lot of fun, and for a good cause.  I am hoping you’ll be able to provide some support to the charity that is benefiting from the walk. While the more you can give the better, PLEASE do not ignore this plea because you don’t think you can give a large amount.  Even a 50-cent donation would be appreciated, acknowledged, and move me one step towards my goal of $2,500.

 

So, what’s the charity?

It is a UK charity called the JOSEPH SALMON TRUST (http://www.thejosephsalmontrust.org.uk/) and provides financial support to parents who have lost a child.  The form of support is individual to each case and could include funeral costs, basic household costs during a grieving period, or simply to allow parents to take some time off work to come to terms with the tragedy.

Unfortunately, since it is a UK-based charity, your contribution will not be tax deductible if you’re based in the USA.  If you’re in the UK, please consider making *some* contribution as the UK government apparently adds an additional 25% to registered charities in the form of a gift aid tax refund.

 

Why should you contribute to a “foreign” organization?

I am certain that any of you in my circle of friends and relatives are not ethnocentric enough to believe that only bereaved US parents deserve charitable support.  This is a good cause and helps parents deal with an event that all of you would agree is devastating, no matter where you live. Still, it is a question that quite legitimately could be addressed to me.  My support of this particular charity is because of my friends.  It started with the desire to participate in this walk which happens to be supporting a UK charity.  You know, if you drop me an email and tell me that my email has encouraged you to make a contribution to a US charity that supports bereaved parents, I would be quite pleased.  You deserve the tax deduction.

To me, something that makes this charity particularly attractive is that every SINGLE CENT of your contribution will go towards the actual support of the parents.  Not a penny of your contribution goes toward overhead costs. The trustees and individuals who work for the trust do so on a purely voluntary basis and so you can be sure that every bit of your contribution will go towards supporting the cause.

 

How do I Contribute?

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please donate now.  REMEMBER, EVEN A TINY 50-cent DONATION WOULD BE WELCOMED!

Check out the Hadrian's Walk page to monitor our progress at:  http://www.hadrianswalk.org/

- Rajiv