This week a social media call-out leads to an unexpected windfall for St Gemma’s Hospice, Plan UK launch #JustATampon selfie campaign with Jon Snow and Out of the Blue launch their latest fundraising single.

St Gemma’s Hospice use social media to track down generous wedding dress donor

Earlier this week St Gemma’s Hospice launched a social media appeal to track down the man who had donated his late wife’s wedding dress, complete with a touching note for the future owner, to one of their charity shops.

The charity said they wanted to thank him properly, and they found him.

After the charity shared pictures of the dress being modelled by a member of staff (pictured), as well as a picture of the note, on Facebook and Twitter, the story was picked up by local and national media.

Yesterday the charity posted on its Facebook page: “We have found the kind gentleman who donated the beautiful vintage wedding dress to St Gemma’s Hospice this week. He is over the moon that we are giving somebody the opportunity to buy the gorgeous gown on eBay.

“He is a big fan of St Gemma’s Hospice and is overwhelmed with the international attention that his late wife’s dress is generating. He is so happy and proud that the Hospice will benefit from funds raised by the auction of the dress. He wishes to remain anonymous and we fully respect his decision but he is watching the media frenzy with interest and thinks it is wonderful.

“We have thanked him so much for his kindness and he would like to thank everyone for their support.”

The highest bid for the dress so far is £7,000, with the auction not closing until next Friday.

St Gemma's is also encouraging people to share photos of their wedding dresses on social media and send a £3 donation by texting WEDD01 to 70070. 

Why we love it: news like this demonstrates just how powerful social media sites can be for storytelling and inspiring people - and how thanking donors properly can work wonders.

Plan UK launch #JustATampon selfie campaign

This week international aid charity Plan UK launched its ‘Just a Tampon’ on Monday with the support of Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow.

Snow is one of a number of public figures who have appeared in YouTube videos as part of the charity’s partnership with V Point News to highlight the campaign. He has also shared a photo with his 600,000 followers on Twitter and his tweet has so far been retweeted more than 1,000 times.

Plan UK suggest people take a selfie with a tampon, and text Tampon to 70007 to donate £3, and then share it on Facebook and Twitter using #JustATampon.

On its Facebook page it also shared an infographic highlighting some myths about periods that exist in the developing world to explain why it’s important to break the taboo. It has been shared more than 400 times this week.

Why we love it: although the selife/text-to-donate is now a well-rehearsed fundraising method, Plan UK has built plenty of other content around it so that the campaign still grabs people’s attention.

Out of the Blue raising money for hospice charity

Spy’s favourite student a capella group, Out of Blue, have turned their musical talents to Lady Marmalade from Moulin Rouge for their latest charity single.

It is their fourth charity single raising money for the Oxford–based Helen and Douglas House hospice which provides care for children and young adults. The video has been viewed nearly 100,000 times on YouTube, shared almost 200 times on Facebook and been featured on social news site Buzzfeed.

Their Christmas fundraising single, a cover of Mariah Carey’s All I want for Christmas raised £7,500 for the charity.

Why we love it: it’s impossible to watch the video without smiling.