Disney Memories Mean £1m for Children's Charity

Disney has pledged to donate £1m to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity if one million individuals /families share their first Disney memory via the campaign specific Facebook page; http://www.facebook.com/disneyjunioruk

The campaign came to fruition after research revealed to Disney that 92% of UK parents and grandparents believed that memories of Disney characters stay with you for life. People have currently 'donated' 2,433 memories and with a list of A-list celebrities including Sir Michael Caine, Edith Bowman & Sophie Ellis-Bextor joining in this number is likely to rocket in the coming days and weeks. 

Currently the campaign is being promoted socially via Twitter & Facebook with support on the Disney Junior TV channel. 

This campaign is an excellent example of a strong corporate partnership between a company and a charity, with the public being asked to donate memories instead of money it is likely to be popular. The Disney effect will appeal to adults and children and the monetisation of Facebook interaction is particularly impressive. 

What Made Them Feel This Way?

This is the title of Macmillan's short film which will be released on Monday August 1st. The film shows 6 different people affected by cancer and their reactions to what they are reading on screen. The purpose of the video is to drive people directly to http://www.biggestthankyou.org.uk

The Biggest Thank You was launched at the beginning of 2011 to mark the charities centenary and it gives people the opportunity to thank the people who helped them through their cancer experience. The site produces a mosaic of everyone's profile and allows visitors to interact with and read through all the thank you messages posted by users. 

A very touching concept, it would be difficult to finfd someone that this campaign wouldn't resonate strongly with. The site not only allows users to thank someone but a donation function and social sharing tool is also available. It will be interesting to see if the site will explode with content after the video release on Monday. 

Shelter Scotland’s Foursquare special

A really interesting insight into how a charity is embracing location based social networking in an attempt to interact with a new audience via a medium they hadn't previously explored. 

Albert Kennedy Trust enlists celebrity support in hard-hitting new ad

The Albert Kennedy Trust, the homeless charity founded in 1989 to help homeless gay people, have enlisted a roster of celebrities in a hard-hitting new advertisement. Entitled "What Might Have Been", the ad focuses on what the lives of these celebrities could have been like if they had come out and had no support.

This is a great example of a lesser-known charity creating fame by enlisting celebrity support - the ad has already  gained PR through the media wanting to interview one of its stars, Sir Ian McKellen.

Watch the ad and behind-the-scenes footage here

Donations to Charity Fall by £70m

Donations to charities are down £70m on last year with the recession and a squeeze on household incomes blamed. 

Researchers from the Cass Business School say that charities specialising in foreign aid were among the hardest hit.

The British Heart Foundation has replaced Oxfam as the UK's second largest fund-raising charity. Cancer Research UK remains top; it raised £379m from donors

Source; Independent 070711

Charity Restaurant Coming 2012

Jay-Z & Ashley Cole are teaming up to launch the rappers restaurant franchise in London next year. The venture will give first option on jobs to talented, long term unemployed young people and each month a percentage of profits will go to local youth charities for music and sport projects in deprived communities. 


Another interesting way that charities can benefit out with the realms of general donation driving. With the launch next year set to play host to some of the world's biggest celebrities the restaurant will certainly land in London with a bang and the concept could be something other restaurant ventures try to get involved with. 

Keep A Breast with MacBeth

American clothing brand 'MacBeth' partners with 'The Keep a Breast Foundation' to help them raise money and awareness for breast cancer among young people in a slightly more artistic way!

A nice twist on the wrist bands of the early 2000's.

A Million Smiles for £100,000

'Keep Britain Smiling' is Colgate's newly launched social and outdoor campaign for Barnardo's Children's Charity.

Colgate are collecting 'smiles' via a Facebook page for the campaign (http://www.facebook.com/ColgateKeepingBritainSmiling) with different levels of interaction earning different numbers of smiles.

Uploading your smile to the wall = 10 smiles.
Posting a comment on the wall about what makes you smile = 2 smiles
Liking the page = 1 smile

With just under 700,000 smiles in the bank at the moment Colgate aren't far from their target which will see them pay Barnardo's £100,000.

A great example that giving doesn't always have to be monetary and people can help a charity through as little as a 'Like'

Coppafeel recreate Hello Boys

Coppafeel, the breast cancer charity, have recreated the Wonderbra "Hello Boys" campaign made famous by Eva Herzigova in 1994 in a bid to encourage women to check their breasts for lumps. As eye-catching as the original, this new iteration is a fantastic example of a charity using a disrupt strategy to cut through in a cluttered market.