International Day of Charity with Bags of Ethics

Saturday 5^th September is a day first declared by The United Nations in 2012 to help incentivize and mobilize people, NGOs, and stakeholders all around the world to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities. The date of 5 September was chosen in order to commemorate the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 “for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace.”

At Bags of Ethics we celebrate and support charity all year round, but want to take today to highlight the impact that the money we have raised has had. Most recently we were part of a project which saw us partner with The British Fashion Council to create a range of reusable face coverings which feature the designs of 6 British fashion designers whilst profits aimed to raise £1million for 3 different charities: NHS Together Charities, BFC Fashion Foundation and The Wings of Hope Children’s Charity. We want to take this day to highlight the good work that these 3 charities do, and show how the money raised from the sale of our face coverings is helping to make a difference.

NHS Charities Together

There are more than 240 NHS charities across the UK and most of them focus on helping our hospitals do more. Collectively these charities give £1 million every day to the NHS so that people can stay well for longer and get better faster. In recent years NHS charities have funded major capital projects, pioneering research and medical equipment at our hospitals, helping patients access the best possible care when they need it most. During the pandemic, money was directed to the COVID-19 urgent appeal, a fund that aims to help NHS staff and volunteers impacted by the virus. NHS charities together says:

“The money raised is being used right now by NHS charities to support staff, volunteers and patients as they combat the virus. 

The initial wave of funding has been used to meet the immediate and urgent needs of staff, volunteers and patients – providing somewhere comfortable so they can take a break, nutritious food and drink, use of electronic-tablets so patients, staff and volunteers can stay in contact with loved ones, counselling support to protect mental health and help staff and volunteers process what they are dealing with. 

The virus is having a profound impact on every aspect of our communities and NHS charities are widening the scope of the support they are providing, to help vital partnerships outside hospitals, such as hospices, community healthcare and social care, making sure patients returning home have access to the care they need to recover.   

We are also working with our members to identify where additional support is most urgently needed by NHS staff, volunteers and patients in their area, with a particular focus on support for people who are disproportionately affected by the Covid crisis, such as patients and staff from the BAME communities and high-risk groups like those living with disabilities. 

In the longer term the money we have raised will also fund programmes to help staff and families recover fully once the crisis has abated, reducing the long-term impact on them and the people they care about.”

The BFC Foundation Fashion Fund

The BFC Foundation Fashion Fund was established to help support creative fashion businesses and individuals to survive the coronavirus crisis. This aims to help through emergency funding with the majority supporting designer businesses and with a portion of funds also allocated to students, underpinning the future generation of creative talent. The BFC says:

“In May the BFC announced the first round of recipients of the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund, with financial support given to 37 British designer businesses, with grants taken from the £1,000,000 emergency funds available, allocated to viable businesses depending on their urgency and capability to come through and thrive post crisis. 

Recipients of the first round of the Fund were:

Alighieri (VDFF 2020), 16Arlington, Ahluwalia, Aries, ART SCHOOL, Bethany Williams, BIANCA SAUNDERS, Chalayan, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY (VDFF 2020), Chopova Lowena, CRAIG GREEN, David Koma (VDFF 2020), E. Tautz, E.L.V. DENIM, Edeline Lee, EFTYCHIA, Halpern (VDFF 2020), King & Tuckfield, Kwaidan Editions, Liam Hodges, Matty Bovan, Metier (VDFF 2020), Nabil Nayal, NEOUS, Nicholas Daley, palmer//harding, PAPER LONDON, paria /FARZANEH, PER GOTESSON, Phoebe English, RAEBURN, Rejina Pyo (VDFF 2020), Richard Malone, RICHARD QUINN, ROKSANDA, Stefan Cooke, Toogood.” 

The Wings of Hope Children’s Charity

WOHAA is a nationally recognised social enterprise programme created in 2005.

Students in years 9-13 work in small teams (6 or less) to run fundraising projects for the Wings of Hope Children’s Charity which helps children in India and Malawi to gain a free education. Students gain valuable skills from close mentoring and workshops from our corporate partners, allowing them to kickstart their career development with events such as Speed Mentoring and be inspired by speakers at Back to School Day. Through this national programme, teams are in with a chance to be selected for the semi-finals which are held at the Houses of Parliament.

UK students have the freedom to think outside the box and come up with event ideas which are entirely unique to them, and the freedom to run these events as they choose – an element which is specific to the WOHAA programme. We consider this freedom very important as it allows students to get a taste of real-world experiences whilst being guided through our mentoring.

Money raised helps to fund the events and projects in the UK which in turn helps students from a range of backgrounds in this country, raise money for those from less fortunate backgrounds in India and Malawi.

We are committed to helping charitable causes all year round. To stay up to date with what we are doing follow @bagsofethics on Instagram, or to help support these charities yourself, purchase some of our masks here https://bagsofethics.org/shop/.