Post Pals
Firstly, can I start by saying that I have not been asked to post this by the charity. It is a project I have taken part in for the past three years and I find it incredibly rewarding, albeit very emotional.
I first became aware of Post Pals when Fearne Cotton tweeted about the charity a few years ago. It was something I was interested in and so I signed up straight away. The idea is simple, you send gifts to children who are sick, to brighten up their day and give them something to look forward to.
You probably don't want to hear this, but Christmas is fast approaching. Post Pals run a fabulous 'Elf' project where you are assigned a child to send a Christmas present to. I have done this for the past three years and will admit initially, to being incredibly emotional about the illnesses children I was assigned suffered from. It is, however, incredibly rewarding. You really feel that you are doing something nice for someone who is having a pretty tough time. There is usually a price limit on the gift(s) but I have definitely gone over before so I would say it is more of a guideline.
The woman who set up Post Pals knows first hand how tough life can be when you are suffering from an illness, and that was her inspiration for the charity. They run projects every month of the year with different themes to suit the various ages of children.
In terms of safety, the 'pals' addresses are never given out, you send your parcel to a 'safe address', friends or family of the pal, so you never know their personal address.
If you are interested, their website is http://www.postpals.co.uk
