Doing our bit for charity, through the sale of children’s books
When largescale disaster strikes – whether that’s a natural disaster, like the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, or manmade, like Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – it will often bring out the best in people. While the effects of these terrible events unfold, goodness comes about and people across the world will donate money, time, clothing, food… anything that can assist.
Some will even go to the scene, as witnessed by those brave volunteer rescuers who have been picking through the rubble of buildings toppled by the earthquake, desperate to see if anyone is left alive. There are stories of hope among the tragedy. Others, as in Ukraine, will open their hearts and homes to refugees, who are building new lives away from their homeland, hoping one day to return.
We’re talking about this because, here at The Elephant’s Trunk, we’re as moved as anyone at these scenes unfolding on the news. It is so important for everyone to do what they can, however big or small. Together, we can make a difference.
As well as the headline grabbing events, though, we have to remember there are many, many charities and organisations out there all looking for help. Living, as we are, through a cost of living crisis and rising prices, they are struggling more than ever.
This is why, when we set up The Elephant’s Trunk, we wanted to make sure we went beyond our core work, of providing inclusive, personalised books for children, in particular those with different needs and abilities.
So, here’s what we did. We made a pledge to support three different charities, that reflect our book publishing business and causes close to the heart of our fantastic founders, Teresa and Derek Bellamy. For every book we sell, we make a donation, and little by little – every time a book is purchased – we are making a difference.
Here are the three charities we’ve chosen to support.
Via Work for Good, we support Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity. Work for Good is a platform that helps small businesses, like ours, support charities. Of course, we have chosen Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity, because we’re all about children and inclusivity, and the hospital puts children at the heart of everything it does.
Our next charity is the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, based here in the Republic of Ireland. It provides in-home nursing care and respite support for children up to the age of 6 with severe to profound cognitive delay. Again, supporting children with different needs is the charity’s mission, and we love the work it does.
And last but not least, we support Dundalk Dog rescue, based near to us in Ireland, which gives a second chance to dogs which might otherwise be put down. We love that they champion the (pardon the pun) underdog. We love dogs, it’s that simple.
We hope that, even as a small business, we can make a difference to these three wonderful charities. If you’re thinking of supporting them directly, that would be fantastic. Or, if you buy one of our books, you know you’ll be helping them indirectly. You can browse all our books here – books for children with different needs, putting them at the heart of the story; personalised children’s books that they will love.