Children in Need

Children in Need has just been broadcast but did you know that it first began in 1927? It was first a broadcast appeal for children that constituted a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day in 1927. The response was phenomenal and it raised £1,143 18s 3d which was split between 4 prominent children's charities. The first televised appeal was the 1955 'Children's Hour Christmas Appeal', presented by Sooty and Harry Corbett. The Christmas Day Appeals continued on TV and radio right up until 1979, raising a total of £625,836. In 1980 the appeal was broadcast on BBC One in a new telethon format, hosted by Terry with Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen for the first time. It has continued up to this day and has so far raised in excess of £600 million.

Pudsey has been the mascot since 1985 but he first appeared as a cuddly brown bear, he took on his more familiar appearance in 1986 when he became yellow with a spotted bandage and he stayed like that until he was revamped again in 2007 this was to made him brighter and more appealing.

Children in Need’s vision is that every child in the UK has a childhood which is:

· Safe
· Happy and Secure
· Allows them the chance to reach their potential

They provide grants to projects in the UK which focus on children and young people who are disadvantaged. They operate all throughout the UK and give grants to both small and large organisations four times a year. They help such a wide range of children and on their website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/ there are so many wonderful and tear jerking stories of how people’s money has gone to help those really in need.

So this year try and spare what you can or get involved in any way you are able to raise money for this fantastic Charity that does so much to help those who otherwise would be living without the things most of us take for granted.

Rachaels Comment

I have been making Hints and Tips for the StairSteady website but one particular one recently really struck a chord. Everyone at present seems to be having more money difficulties so I decided to do a piece on saving money. All of the hints and tips I put together in themselves were relatively simple but all together they could make a big difference to your monthly outgoings. Some of the tips were even fun to do!
The money saving tips I found can be broken down into three main themes: Food, Energy and Utilities and Activities. Food is a good one to start with as we all have to eat! I discovered that there are lots of things you can do to reduce your weekly bills. The first idea I came across is make a menu: this seems like quite a time consuming thing to do but once you get into the habit of it before you go shopping then you can save yourself lots of money and wastage. I started by making a list of the meals I regularly make, I was surprised how few dishes actually featured on my list, about 10 in total. I then broke the dishes down into ingredients, store cupboard essentials, fresh vegetables and meat/fish/dairy and bought the store cupboard essentials in larger bags to save money. By making double sized portions of some of the dishes like Bolognese sauce, curry, stews, pies etc and freezing them I was able to use them as my own ready meals when time is short, again saving lots of money. Another way of saving money is to use stores own brand store cupboard essentials such as tinned goods, rice, pasta etc, I found they are often just as good as expensive named brands and are a fraction of the cost, there are a few exceptions as no one in my house would eat home brand beans! Home baked cakes and biscuits also save money and it’s something I can involve my children in, they like to ‘help out’ with the stirring and decorating our treats.
Another fun way to save money on your food bills is to grow your own produce. You don’t need a large garden or big greenhouse to get started, tubs on a patio or window boxes and hanging baskets can still produce good crops of fruit and vegetables. This year we have tried tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, potatoes, beans, peppers, sweetcorn, cabbages and pumpkins. We also have raspberries, apples and plums growing quite happily outside in tubs. They always seem to taste nicer when you have grown them yourself! Salad leaves, herbs and chillies will all grow on a kitchen windowsill so you can have fresh all year around, if you manage to water them better than us!
Utilities are also a big drain on people’s finances, it is really worth shopping around and making sure you are getting the best deal possible. There are lots of independent sources to look at I tried Which? Online site (http://www.which.co.uk/switch/?m=home&cid=carousel). Often you can get a better deal for taking out multiple utilities with one company, I have got all of my electricity, gas, broadband and telephone with just one company and it seems to be much cheaper than when I had them apart.
Saving energy around the home can also cut down on the amount you spend. Simple measures such as swapping all your bulbs to energy savers can, I found, actually reduce your bills by quite a lot. Always make sure at you turn appliances off when you aren’t using them as leaving them on standby can actually use up to 80% of the energy they use when running. When you replace your white goods always make sure you go for the best energy rating product you can afford, some products now are A++ rated meaning you will save money on your bills, this isn’t always an option for some people though, me included! Another simple tip is to only boil as much water as you need in the kettle, completely filling it each time can waste energy.
I also found that by using vouchers and rewards you can save quite a lot of money on days out and other items. Lots of supermarkets offer a reward scheme for just doing your normal shopping, by using these tokens you can pay for days out, meals, hotels, holidays etc with money you have already spent in store. I have managed to take the whole family out on day trips to Zoo’s, aquariums, activity centres and the cinema for free with my vouchers. They also come in really handy at Christmas for presents! Local and National papers and tourist booklets also quite often have vouchers in making your trip out a little cheaper.
I hope that this will inspire you to just make some small changes to your daily routines and that it saves you money too!