If I’m really honest, I don’t like children very much. Shocking, I know. Not having any children of my own, I’m often irritated by the antics of small children in supermarkets and disapproving of their very presence in pubs and restaurants. I’ve been known to walk out of coffee shops full of buggies without even glancing at a menu and I love adults-only hotels. I don’t have anything against any individual child, it’s just that I quickly tire of the never-ending need for attention. Oh, and the noise!
Yes, I know that by not having children I have missed out on one of life’s great adventures. Yes, I understand that there is delight in being a parent as well as despair. Yes, I’ve been told ‘it’s different when they’re your own’. No, I don’t lose any sleep over it.
You may think I’m heartless or cold. That’s up to you. Please read on.
I know that for every child that causes me to mutter, ‘please shut up’ and every toddler that makes me wince at the sound of their shrieks that there are parents for whom that little darling is the centre of their world. I cannot begin to imagine the pain it must bring to know you’re going lose your baby.
That’s one of the reasons why I’m a huge supporter of Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice in Coventry. Zoe’s Place provides respite care for babies and children up to the age of five who have life-threatening and life-limiting conditions. Children so unwell that they need round-the-clock care. They cannot be left with grandparents for an afternoon while Mum and Dad go out to lunch or to the supermarket or to see their other child in the school play. They can only be entrusted to qualified nurses.
Zoë’s Place provides that. It’s a bright, cheerful home-from-home where these tiny tots can be looked after in total safety to give their parents a little respite. To visit, is to be uplifted and humbled all at once.
The problem is, it takes around £1.4m per year to keep the Baby Hospice open. Around 85% of that comes from charitable donations. The ‘Strictly Christmas’ event that I help to organise and dance in, is just one event that raises money for Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice.
Alongside ‘Strictly Christmas’ my friend James Sanders runs an annual Facebook auction. This year there are well over 100 lots and I provided one of them.
Brilliant Minds has a ‘New Client Package’ which includes profiling of team members, a diagnostic of the team’s strengths and culture and recommendations for the development of the team in line with the company strategy and values.
It normally costs £5000 + VAT.
I’ve put it in the auction with a reserve of £1000. Which means that you could get £5000 worth of my time to develop your team for only £1000! And at the same time you would know that you are supporting a very special place that touches many lives.
For more information and to bid, click here
Feel free to share with your friends and colleagues!
Oh, and you’re also very welcome to bid on the other lots.
