The Terrence Higgins Trust has launched the #TossOff fundraising campaign while Cancer Research UK is urging people to give up alcohol. Elsewhere the National Deaf Children’s Society is all over Star Wars with videos showing how key phrases could be signed.

THT #TossOff

It may feel as if Christmas is only just over, but his week the Terrence Higgins Trust launched its Pancake Day fundraiser, which it has bravely called Toss Off. It is asking people to throw pancake parties to raise money to support people affected by HIV.

The sexual health charity has created a Facebook event and is urging people to publicly commit to taking part using #TossOff.

Sonya Trivedy, fundraising director at the charity, said: “Toss Off is a cheeky play on words, encouraging people to host pancake tossing parties and support the UK’s largest HIV and sexual health charity at the same time.
 
“It’s a new, fun and easy way to raise money for Terrence Higgins Trust, so register today to host your pancake party and get tossing for charity.”
 
She has also helped to kick off the Twitter activity by sharing the picture below.

 

CRUK Dryathlon

Cancer Research UK is just one of the many charities urging people to give up alcohol for January, but CRUK’s upbeat animated advert showing the different kinds of fun ‘Dryathletes’ can have while resisting temptation, stands out from the crowd this year.

The charity has also created a online quiz to test people willpower, try it if you dare, and a calculator that tells you how much money and how many calories you could save by cutting out alcohol, to encourage people to sign up.  

NDCS ‘Welcome to the Dark Side’

WIth the latest Star Wars film being just about the only thing that people were talking about over the festive break, the team at the National Deaf Children’s Society created their own YouTube videos suggesting ways popular phrases could be signed and asked supporters to suggest alternatives.  

On YouTube the charity explained: “We’re really excited about the new Star Wars film and wanted to know how to sign our favourite quotes and character names. Sadly, we could only find two instructional videos – on the whole of the internet! So, we asked some our lovely staff members to help us make our own BSL videos.

“We realise our videos maybe slightly wrong or you might not agree with our interpretation. We just wanted to get the ball rolling, so if you already know what the BSL sign is, or you have a better idea we would LOVE to see it. Film yourself (preferably in character but it’s not a must ;-) and post them using on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #StarWarsSigns.”

NCDS also promoted a text-to-donate number giving people the opportunity to donate £5 by texting “YODA15”, which is a nice touch.