#DialaSmile for National Childhood Cancer Month

Did you know that September marks national childhood cancer month??

No?

Neither did I until Bravery Boxes contacted me recently asking if I would help spread the word.

Bravery Boxes are actually a small charity that make boxes filled with small gifts, aimed to distract children from any painful or upsetting procedures that they have to endure, a way of putting a smile on their faces during those tough times.

However just like any charity, they need our help to raise funds to keep these boxes bring made.

As a mother, how could I not try and raise awareness.

So this month Bravery Boxes would love for as many people as possible to 'Dial a Smile'

Make-A-Wish Kids Drawing Competition

London Designer Outlet are celebrating the launch of their play park in a big way.  They have teamed up with top charity, Make-A-Wish foundation UK and they are on the look out for talented little artists to send them drawings of their dream play park.

London Designer Outlet will be donating £1 per entry received to Male-A-Wish so not only will you have a chance of winning a fantastic prize, you will also be helping to raise money for a fantastic cause.

Help #EmmasArmy In The Fight Against Cancer

Emma from Crazy With Twins is a very brave mummy who has fought a battle against thyroid cancer, I'm pleased to say she is one of the fortunate ones, who for now is winning the battle. This courageous lady wants to help others in the fight against cancer so she is building an army of lovely people to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Their first mission is to walk the national trail known as The Cotswold Way, that's a massive 104 miles long!!

This will take place between the 15th - 24th May 2014. You can see the full route plans, distances and dates here.

Here is where you lovely readers come in.

Emma doesn't want to do this walk alone, oh no, she wants to build #EmmasArmy and walk together with others for a great cause.

There will be fun things to do along the way, including little games and challenges and of course there will be a big celebration on the last day when the end is reached!!

Raising money for a good cause

In 2014 lovely writers of twinmummyanddaddy are being very selfless and have decided to take part in a series of events in order to raise money for two great charities, Cancer Research UK and for Bliss.

Their very first event will be a skydive, something I don't think I would be brave enough to do! 

Now here is where you lovely readers come in. Twin Mummy and Daddy would really like to raise £2000 for each charity, but they can't do it without your help.

Their first fundraising event is an amazing Fabulous Charity Raffle which is open right now!

Here Is What You Could Win

• £50 Experience Gift Voucher to spend at Experience Days 
• £15 iTunes voucher courtesy of Twin Mummy and Daddy
• £10 iTunes Voucher courtesy of Twin Mummy and Daddy 
• £25 voucher to spend at Bunnie Knitwear
• A personalised word art print of your choice from Baby Cakes Treasures

• 2 x Forest Jump vouchers at the Celtic Manor Resort (worth £18 each) courtesy of Giggle Giggle Activities
• A5 plain brown men's leather monsieur notebook courtesy of Ink Thistle worth £12.50

• Miller heart pendant and Bubba Bangle from GumiGem worth £21.90 (colour may vary)

• 5 gift vouchers (5 winners) to spend at Personal Planner
• Dancing Fairy Cushion from Little Ragamuffin LTD worth £13.95

• £50 voucher to spend at Teeny Beanies
• A personalised bib from The Early Years Boutique worth £6.00
• Make your own sock money kit from Presents for Men worth £6.99

• Bottle Starter Set from MAM worth £30.00
• £20 Voucher to spend at Little Gems Boutique
• Pourty Potty and Flexi Fit Trainer Seat from Pourty worth £24.90
• Pink Snoob Scarf from Snoob worth £25.00
• Resusable Nappy from Baba+Boo worth £9.25
• Mama Bear and Papa Bear Soft Toy from Little Bird Told Me worth £30.00

How can you enter?

Each ticket costs just £1 and you can enter by any of the following methods

By Text Message

• (Cancer Research UK) Text TMAD47 to 70070 with the amount you would like to donate, e.g: if you would like to buy one ticket simply text TMAD47 £1 to 70070, if you would like to buy two tickets simply text TMAD47 £2 to 70070, if you would like to buy three tickets simply text TMAD47 £3 to 70070 and so on

• (Bliss) Text TMDB60 to 70070 with the amount you would like to donate, e.g: if you would like to buy one ticket simply text TMDB60 £1 to 70070, if you would like to buy two tickets simply text TMDB60 £2 to 70070, if you would like to buy three tickets simply text TMDB60 £3 to 70070 and so on

Online

• Click here to donate to our Just Giving Cancer Research UK page. If you would like to buy one ticket, simply donate £1, for two tickets donate £2, for three tickets donate £3 and so on.

• Click here to donate to our Just Giving Bliss page. If you would like to buy one ticket, simply donate £1, for two tickets donate £2, for three tickets donate £3 and so on.

REMEMBER - Once you have donated either online or by text message YOU MUST email:twinmumanddad@virginmedia.com with your FULL NAME, TELEPHONE NUMBER and THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE DONATED. This is to allow us to confirm your donation and so that we can contact you if you win.

Terms and Conditions

• This raffle is open to individuals resident in Great Britain aged 16 years or over. Any person found to be under 16 years of age automatically forfeits the right to any prize. Proof of identitiy may be requested
• Tickets cost £1 each
• Monies raised by the raffle will go to the work of CRUK which is a regisitered charity in Englad and Wales (1089464) and in Scotland (SCO41666) and also to the work of Bliss which is a registered charity in England and Wales (1002973) and in Scotland (SCO40878)
• Payment for participation in the Raffle can be made by debit card via our Just Giving pages or via text message
• We take no liability for entries from which the prize winner cannot be identified
• The closing date is 25th December 2013. Tickets after this date will not be entered into the draw and monies will be treated as a donation
• The Raffle draw will take place on 4th January 2014 at Twin Mummy and Daddys residence
• The winners will be the drawn at random from all entries received by the closing date and prizes will be awarded in order of selection
• The results of the raffle draw are final and communication about them will not be entered into
• Winners will be notified by email or telephone no later than 11th January 2014
• Prizes are shown above
• All prizes are also subject to the terms and conditions of the prize provider
• By entering the raffle, entrants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions (which may be amended at any time by Twin Mummy (aka Emily Higgins). Any entries not complying with these terms and conditions will not be valid
• If you have any queries or complaints please email twinmumanddad@virginmedia.com
• We reserve the right to award any prizes not claimed after three months to an alternative winner
• A list of the surnames of the winners will be available on this page by 31st January 2014
• We reserve the right to reject any entry (and award any prize to an alternative winner) if we have grounds to believe the entrant has breached any of these terms conditions, acted fraudulently or illegally or on other reasonable grounds

Usquibble Review

With four girls I have a lot of clothes to buy and I do like them to wear things a bit different to the norm.

I was recently contacted by Usquibble, now this company not only produce some funky t-shirts, they themselves are also a bit different to most other companies.

This company was created from one simple idea, encourage kids to support other kids from around the world who are more vulnerable than them.I really love this idea, a simple concept but with a big outcome.

Now this isn't the only thing that makes Usquibble stand out, oh no, what they do is really lovely, your children are encouraged to get involved by joining in competitions held by Usquibble, your kids get the chance to create their own designs and then of course if they win, seeing these designs come to life on the t-shirts sold by Usquibble.

I was kindly sent two t-shirts, one for Gracie and one for Freya.

Your t-shirts come packaged in recycled or eco friendly materials.

What I really loved was that they sent the girsl their t-shirts in separate packages so that they each got the enjoyment of unwrapping them.

Each package included :

* a t-shirt
* a letter thanking them for their purchase
* a tee template so that they could get creative

The letter was a wonderful personal touch and again really includes your child in the whole process and helps them understand exactly what they have done to help when buying the t-shirt.

The t-shirts themselves are available in sizes 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8. Each t-shirt is made from 100% certified organic fabrics and water based inks. The girls loved them, vibrant colours that are suitable for both boys and girls. The material is super soft and they fit beautifully.

Atleast 25% of the profits of each t-shirt sold will be donated to charities which support children who are less fortunated around the world. It means that by purchasing just one t-shirt, you are helping to support a child in Africa for five whole days, providing them with basic things like food, shelter and education.

I have nothing but positive things to say about Usquibble and their t-shirts. Not only do the t-shirts look fantastic, you are you doing your bit for the environment when purchasing them and giving back as well. The t-shirts are price at £16.99 each, maybe a bit more expensive than most t-shirts but just remember, you won't find these t-shirts anywhere else and also remember just where the profits are going to.

Gracie has been very busy designing her own t-shirt ready for when the next competition opens up!!! You can follow Usquibble on facebook and twitter so you know just when their competitions are coming up.

So what design would your child create for their own t-shirt??

xxxx

Disclaimer : These t-shirts were sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Red Nose Day

I'm sure you all know that today is Red Nose Day.

I have to admit I am a bit rubbish when it comes fundraising but I always donate a bit of money to this cause.

Today the kids have to take in a £1 each to school and in exchange they get to wear their own clothes as long as they wear something red.

Here is what they chose to put on :

Little Gracie joined in, even though she doesn't go to school, bless her.

And tonight as with every red nose day, I am going to try my hardest to stay up and watch all of it, this could be the year I finally manage to keep my eyes open past midnight ;)

What are everyone elses plans for today, have you done any fundraising? I would love to know.

xxxx

All for Charity

I was contacted recently about a single that is being released for the charity Nordoff Robbins by a pre school music group called Monkey music so I thought I would help in spreading the word as it is a very worthy cause.

Nordoff Robbins is a national specialist music charity, delivering 50,000 music therapy sessions a year to a broad range of people in schools, hospitals and care homes across the UK. Their qualified music therapists specifically help people with a range of challenges including autism, dementia, mental health problems, stroke, brain injury, learning difficulties, depression and in some cases clients have threatening or terminal illness, such as cancer.


Monkey music is the UK's premium music school for pre school children and from now until the end of May they will be teaching the charity single in their classes to the children.

I have had a listen to it myself and have to say it is very good. It tells the story of running a race and it has what they are calling a sporty interlude which allows everyone to have a good old dance and stretch whilst enjoying the music, I let my kids have a listen and they were joining in straight away.

The charity single is called "The Day is Here" and is being released on the 18th of May. The song is being performed by their 7, 8 and 9 year olds. It will be available to download from Monkey musics official site http://www.monkeymusic.co.uk/

I hope you will join me in helping raise money for this charity and help raise awareness at the same time.

xxx