Big City Sleep to Highlight Brazilian Street Children

A charity is organising a 12 hour sleepathon overnight at Spitalfields Market to raise money, and awareness, for the street children and vulnerable young people in Brazil.

City workers are invited to get involved by stepping out of their comfort zone and “swap their comfortable beds for cardboard boxes” for the night.

The event is being organised by the ABC Trust (Action for Brazil’s Children) and they will be arranging a mix of Brazilian themed entertainment on the night including live music and a performance from the East London Capoeira group.

Each participant will be aiming to raise at least £150 in sponsorship money, with the ABC Trust hoping to raise a minimum of of £15,000 to help provide basic provisions for street children this Christmas.

Andrew Webb – CEO of ABC Trust said “It is vital that people understand that this is not an attempt to undermine or trivialise the issues that street children face, and in no way is it aiming to recreate the everyday life of a Brazilian street child.  The aim of the ‘Big City Sleep’ is to show members of the public what some aspects of life are like for those children who live on the streets in Brazil, the difference is that participants in the ‘Big City Sleep’ can go back to their own comforts and normal life the following day.”

Toby Brown, Spitalfields Estate Director “We are delighted to support the ABC Trust; by using Spitalfields’ public space to host the Big City Sleep fundraising event we are helping to raise awareness and money for some of worlds most vulnerable children”.

To take part in the ‘Big City Sleep’ or for more information, please get in touch: Reference – Big City Sleep, email – lydia.stevens@abctrust.org.uk, or phone: 0207 287 3818

Crisis Square Mile Run 09 Raises Money For Homeless

The 17th annual Crisis Square Mile Run took place on Thursday 4th June, with 2700 runners pounding the streets of the City to raise money for a good cause.

Chris Cook won the men’s race, completing the 3.75mile course in 24m 31s. Gillian Curr was the victor in the women’s race with a time of 26m 25s

Find out more about the Crisis Square Mile Run and register for next year’s race.

Time to stock up on air freshener.

The setting for the Big Curry at the Guildhall

Tomorrow, Thursday 14th May, sees the Lord Mayor’s “Big Curry” in support of the Army Benevolent Fund between 12 noon and 3pm at the Guildhall. Wisely they’ve organised the sittings to suit City lunch times and with each sitting being forty minutes long there’ll be time to get to and from the office in the mandatory hour.

Controller of the Army Benevolent Fund Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter KCVO OBE says: “With the ongoing losses in Afghanistan, we are constantly reminded of the rising casualty rates and the increasing demands on the ABF and our resources in the future. Now more than ever is when we need support from the public to help us look after those soldiers and their families in times of need. Taking part in the Big Curry is something really simple that people can do to show their support.”

If you can get down there then please do and support the men, women and families of the British Army and if you want to book tickets then do visit the website for the event or call The Army Benevolent Fund on 0845 241 4831 and ask about the ways in which you or your company can help.

The Big Curry
www.bigcurry.org

Beat The Banker…. Literally

Square Up In The City - fighting for charity

Those G20 protesters had it all wrong. If they wanted the chance to give a banker the proverbial bunch of fives and get cheered on whilst doing it then they should have forsaken the risk of arrest in the recent demonstrations and considered Square Up In The City, where people from the Square Mile get to beat the life out of their opponents and raise money for charity at the same time. Yes Mr Pedantic, I know technically that they’re Investment Managers and not bankers as such but I’m sure the baying G20 crowds wouldn’t get too caught up in definitions.

This evening at The Brewery in Chiswell Street those carefully selected champions of finance will be going head to head for honour, glory, black eyes and a chance to raise money for their chosen worthy charities. There are 16 fighters in all and some of the evening’s featured pugilists are:
Tony Stenning and Mark Canham, BlackRock
Rob Page, Liontrust Investment Funds
Dan Giddings, AXA Investment Managers
Bruno Macari, Legal & General Investment Management
Matthew Nesbit, Aviva Investors
Will Fletcher-Roberts, AEGON Asset Management
James Henderson, Henderson Global Investors
Rob Sanders, Aberdeen Asset Managers

Action from the 2008 Square up In The City event

The event, organised by Investment Week, came into being five years ago as an idea springing from the response to the tsunami disaster of December 2004 and in its first year the proceeds went to supporting charities in Darfur. Last year the event raised over £90,000 for charity and hopefully this year’s figure will be even higher and if you want to support the chosen charities but haven’t got tickets to get in this evening then contact the Square Up In The City organisers through their website.

Square Up In The City
http://www.squareupinthecity.com/

“Win A London Pad” in Liverpool Street Station

WinALondonPad.com is a competition with a few twists. Here’s how it works: You buy an entry into the competition for £50, and you get a portable MP4 player for that. Then, each entry will be entered into a prize draw to win a block of serviced apartments in London, offering financial freedom for life.  Proceeds from the competition will goto Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

So it’s a win/win scenario and it helps a great cause. There’s only three weeks to go to the draw, and the organisers are planning a big push tomorrow (Friday 13th) by giving out free prizes at five London train stations, including Liverpool Street in the City.

Look out for people wearing a “Win A London Pad” T-Shirt at the station between 08.30 and 09.30 tomorrow morning and collect your codeword. Visit the website tomorrow before 19.30 and the first 10,000 to do so will claim a free prize. In total, £300,000 worth of prizes will be given away tomorrow.

And if you commute in via Waterlook, you may bump into former Big Brother contestant Chanelle Hayes handing out prizes. Chanelle? Was that the sound of a barrel being scraped? Oh well, shouldn’t be too harsh, it’s all for a good cause.