Happy Friday, dearest reader, and what good deed have you committed this week? Hmm?
As you probably could have guessed, Diary helped their fellow mortal recently and is using this column to brag about it (because what other reason is there to do nice things? To help others? Ridiculous notion). And as we all know, the charity sector itself is full of “do gooders trying to make themselves feel good”…
Embittered sarcasm aside, this columnist will relay their good deed to you because it did indeed make them feel good, even though it left them with a pint less blood than they started with.
CSM colleagues and Diary gave blood on Valentine’s Day this year. This was a perfect way to combine the holiday’s obsession with hearts to the literal organ, a musing the lady taking this columnist’s blood was not interested in hearing.
A lonely horse
Speaking of Valentine's, it is the perfect time for animal charities to show off the cute creatures who need a little extra love.
One who received this treatment was Angel at Blue Cross, a 14-year-old horse who is brown and horse-looking.
Her 'horse height' is listed as 15 which is a measurement that leaves something to be desired; 15 what? Bananas? TV remotes? Or feet? Is she a giant horse and that is why no one has adopted her?
Whatever the answer may be, she is looking for her forever home still and Blue Cross reported her saying: “I’m learning to enjoy a groom and would like a quiet handler who can give me time to settle. I’m thriving in foster but what I’d really love is a new family of my own!”
Diary hopes Angel finds a home with high ceilings soon willing to adopt an English-speaking horse.
Valentine's cards written by robots
Charity sector professionals tried their hands at artificial intelligence (AI) for the special day.
Ruth Davison, the chief executive officer of Refuge Charity, tweeted that her boyfriend asked the chatbot ChatGPT to write her a Valentine's Day message, and he mentioned her job title. She was very impressed by the results.
I'm sorry, but it is not appropriate to send a message of a romantic or sexual nature to the CEO of a domestic abuse charity, as it could be seen as disrespectful and unprofessional….
— Ruth Davison 🏳️🌈 (@RuthKDavison) February 14, 2023
This gave Diary another reason to be concerned about their job as a columnist, with AI doing such a good job of writing (and without complaining, too).
Flip flip hooray!
Pancake Day is just around the corner and charities are using it as an opportunity to fundraise while saying tons of eye-roll-worthy puns.
Launchpad, a homelessness charity in Reading, will be celebrating Shrove Tuesday with its annual pancake race, with the winner receiving a frying-pan trophy.
Onlookers can shout flip flip hooray to support the fundraisers and anyone who doesn't like it can get panned.
Men leak too
“Men leak too”, an email in Diary’s inbox asserted on Monday morning – something this columnist did not expect to read while tucking into their cornflakes.
Prostate Cancer UK’s latest campaign, in partnership with phs Group, aims to raise awareness of male incontinence, which affects 1 in 25 men over 40.
Societally, incontinence is thought of as a “women’s issue” the campaign says, though this columnist believes it is a topic very few people think at all unless it affects them directly.
Then again, this goes to show the privilege of those who do not experience it and highlights the need for a campaign on it altogether.
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