Shop online and support MERU this Christmas!

If you're anything like me then much of your Christmas shopping will be done online - a great way to avoid the crowds and general stresses involved when it comes to hitting the shops at Christmas! But did you know that you can support MERU by shopping online? 

Sign up at www.thegivingmachine.co.uk and select MERU as your charity of choice, then when you buy anything from the hundreds of online retailers on the site (including Argos, Boots, Ebay, HMV etc) the retailer will give a percentage of the profits to MERU!

This is typically just 1% to 5% - but it's free to do so and even just 1% of the money spent at Christmas by all of MERU’s supporters would soon add up. So far we have received £105 in this way, which I’m sure we could beat this year!

So spread some festive cheer and support MERU this Christmas!

Hello to the national year of communication

Hello is the national year of communication – a campaign to increase understanding of how important it is for children and young people to develop good communication skills. The campaign is run by The Communication Trust, a coalition of over 35 leading voluntary sector organisations, in partnership with Jean Gross, the Government’s Communication Champion.

Hello aims to make communication for all children and young people a priority in homes and schools across the UK so that they can live life to the full. The campaign is backed by the Department for Education and supported by BT.

A child with a speech, language and communication need may struggle to get words out of their mouth or not understand words that are being used. They may have difficulties holding a conversation, have multiple difficulties or simply have a limited vocabulary. These barriers are often invisible to others, meaning their needs are often misrepresented, misdiagnosed or missed altogether.

Please visit www.hello.org.uk for information on how you can help improve the communication skills of children and young people and to sign up for regular updates. You can also follow the campaign on Twitter [LINK: http://twitter.com/Comm_nTrust] and facebook [LINK: http://on.fb.me/9yHIIZ].