Paris Hilton

Jimmy  Darts

Flavor Flav

SB Mowing

Kalina Silverman / @makebigtalk on Instagram

The Dogist

Patriotic Kenny Foundation

Pattie Gonia

Little Miss Flint

Carlos Eduardo Espina

Samuel Weidenhofer

Ben Saunders - Flawless Cleaning

Peter Bond

That Good News Girl

Ask Uncle Jack

Amy Jandrisevits

FowlMouthFarmer

Tess Bohne

Latonja and Taylor Richardson

Officer Richard Craig

<div>Hiya!
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<div>(UPDATE - CHECK EDIT BELOW )
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<div>Im Calliope. I’m predominantly housebound due to multiple chronic illnesses, chronic pain and fatigue and disabilities to do with a genetic disorder.
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<div><em>thank you for showing an interest.</em>
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<div><em>please only donate what you can afford. With that even just the littlest amount</em>
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<div><em> helps! And if you can’t donate please share the word! </em>We made target for my chair and I am so so so so grateful! The rest is now covering the cost for a second chair to give away FOR FREE to someone in need!! Thankyou for all your support. You have changed and will change SO MANY LIVES
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<div><strong>The funds will provide a Wheelchair. Having an electric wheelchair means:</strong>
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<li>have more access to outdoor spaces that helps with my mental and physical health.
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<li>More independence- less reliant on taxis (which sometimes are traumatic/unreliable/unpleasant) also saving a lot of money not taxi-ing everywhere I go
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<li>less reliant on carers and can do my own tasks, getting groceries, going to appointments etc
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<li>able to recover, heal and contribute back to the community more, work and continue doing my dream of performing and sharing my art ✨
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<div>Disability aids improve lives. They give freedom, pain relief, independence. Each aid of mine has allowed a better experience of life but since my last electric chair broke I’ve been stuck inside, moving less, sleeping worse and generally mentally and physically doing a lot worse as I am cooped up, unable to go to events, see friends or be in nature. Any time I do leave the house I’ve had to get taxis directly there and back. Am limited to not going to a second location and spending a fortune on taxis that are often unreliable, can be really mean or scary, or just aren’t available at all!
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<div>Id love to fund this independently, however the average disabled household faces around £975 in extra costs! (Source:the disability price tag 2023) which benefits <em>dont</em> cover. When budgeting with my support worker we found £500 way over my PIP allowance on JUST disability based expenses. And that’s on the bare minimum not including a new wheelchair, necessary therapies and treatments, taxi costs now after a broken chair etc. So I must reach out to the generosity of you all if I am to gain back freedom and autonomy.
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<div>If I go over my goal I want to fix my old broken wheelchair and give it away to someone in need for free. I was told it was so broken it wasn’t worth fixing as I brought it second hand from someone and it’s over a decade old. It makes more sense for me to get a new one and isn’t worth selling, but I for one know how desperately needed any disability aids are and how hard they are to access so would love to give back to the community and pass on the help and support I receive.
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<div>EDIT:
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<div>I have been told my old wheelchair is <em>beyond</em> repair! But a local mobility aids business and I are collaborating and have found a good condition second hand chair, I have changed the target to cover the cost of that ones which will be donated to someone in need. Searching for, saving up, doing the admin to purchase a chair is all so difficult and extensive and with all the love and support I’ve received, I want to use that to support someone else and make their life easier!)
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<div>thank you for showing an interest.
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<div>please only donate what you can afford. With that even just the littlest amount helps! And if you can’t donate please share the word!
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<div>So much love and gratitude to you all
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New Wheelchair!! . NOW RAISING FUNDS FOR FRIENDS WHEELCHAIR

<div>Hey, thank you so much for making it to this fundraiser! I’m Sofia Akel, founder of the Free Books Campaign, a non-profit community campaign that gets books by authors of colour into the hands of readers, who have barriers to access. We operate across the UK and Ireland and every book we provide is completely free of charge to those who can’t afford or access them.
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<div>It was here back in 2020, that I set up our first fundraiser for the campaign, which began to help tackle the widening gap in education and access to literature. Since 2012 over 800 libraries have been permanently closed due to austerity - a number which is likely higher since the pandemic.
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<div>Since then, our campaign, and I say our because none of this would have been possible without all of you - has grown into an incredible community of people across the UK &amp; Ireland. In 2021 we officially became a Community Interest Company, meaning that all our resources go back into funding our campaign, with the sole aim of having a positive impact on our communities.
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<div>In just four years we’ve donated over 8,000 brand new books to our service users, partnered with Marcus Rashford’s Bookclub, have built an online community of over 7.5k people and started our annual entirely-free literature festival. This July, we’re holding our biggest entirely-free literature festival to date.
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<div>Each year our festival travels to different areas of London where there are high rates of deprivation - this year we’re hosting our Free Books Festival at BSix Sixth Form College in Hackney. An area in which:
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<li>43% of children are living in poverty - worse than the average London Borough
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<li>16.7% of people earning below the living wage in 2023
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<li>High rates of premature death compared to other London Boroughs
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<div>The funds we raised back in 2020, have carried us throughout the years. However, as our community grows, so does our demand to support more people. We do this through connecting readers with books, creating career and networking opportunities for local people, working together with local organisations and residents’ associations to understand the needs of local communities and more.
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<div>In 2021, we started our Free Books Festival expecting only a couple of hundred attendees. By the end of the weekend, we had welcomed over 1,300 people through our doors - showing a huge need for entirely-free, community-centered events that put people at the heart of it all. This year, we expect that number to double, if not triple, but we urgently need your help to make this happen!
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<div>Held over three days - Friday 19th - Sunday 21st July - the Free Books Campaign festival programme will focus on storytelling in all of its forms - from visual arts to movement, literature to anime, gaming to music and more, our aim is to challenge the traditional format of literature festivals to engage a wider audience and create more readers from all walks of life. We are working with a number of grassroots organisations, bookclubs, agencies, brands and publishers who are all volunteering to ensure that we can create a vivid, exciting, engaging and accessible programme for everyone who walks through our doors - whether or not you consider yourself a reader, there’s a home for you here.
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<div>The funds will be spent on covering essential festival costs that help us remove financial barriers to access for our attendees. This includes:
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<li>Our entirely-free bookstore - where you can browse and take home a brand new book at no cost
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<li>Complimentary food &amp; refreshments for all attendees, volunteers and guests over 3-days
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<li>Marketing &amp; PR materials to ensure we reach as many local people as possible
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<li>Free daycare/creche for parents who can't afford childcare
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<li>Travel expenses for those who need support
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<li>Event resources and operational costs
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<li>BSL Sign-Language interpreters / tech for accessibility
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<div>And much more…
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<div>Over four years I've been using my savings and income from my freelance work to fund my work here at the Free Books Campaign - having never paid myself. I share this to say that this has been a real labour of love and something I continue to be passionate and excited about.
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<div>Although I may be one person, i've always felt the power of community through my work which has filled me with joy, but now I need to ask for help and I'm calling on you for support! Please consider making a financial contribution to our fundraiser if you are able to do so. We understand how challenging things are today, so if you cannot contribute financially, I’d ask that you please also share this widely with your friends, family, networks, and any companies or brands who you think might be interested in supporting us. Every donation counts and every penny we raise goes directly into making our festival a reality and allows the campaign to continue operating.
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<div>Thank you so much for your time and continuous support - what started as a fundraiser back in 2020, has turned into a beautiful community and that’s due to people like you.
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<div>I hope to see you there in July!
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<div>With love,
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<div>Sofia Akel
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<div>Founder &amp; Director Free Books Campaign
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<div>*<a href="https://tfl.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/documents/Hackney_PdKZ9bt.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://tfl.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/documents/Hackney_PdKZ9bt.pdf" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://tfl.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/documents/Hackney_PdKZ9bt.pdf</a></a>
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Calliope X

Calliope X

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New Wheelchair!! . NOW RAISING FUNDS FOR FRIENDS WHEELCHAIR

Help us to fund our entirely-free annual books festival!

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