Beauty From Pain Blog

Dear Beauty From Pain Blog readers,

Happy New Year! Here’s to a really great 2013 from me to you

We did something special in 2012 and here’s to continuing that in 2013. We even won an award this morning. (More about that will follow later).

I say ‘we’ because there would be no blog without you. If you didn’t read, comment, share, etc. there would be no Beauty from Pain Blog, so I am very, very grateful to every one of you. Thank you.

But I want to ask a special favour from you today. I promise I’m not asking a lot of you, but I would be really grateful if you would read on and help in any way you can.

I do a lot online – awareness raising, interacting, networking… whatever you might like to call it.

I interact with a lot of charities and a lot of individuals who have an interest in mental health.

There was one twitter account which I had some suspicions about – something just didn’t feel right about them. They said they were ‘John Whitworth Foundation’, and that they worked to stop bullying, and that one of their purposes was to send kids who had been bullied on trips.

But, like I said, something just didn’t feel right. Added to that, there was no information online about ‘John Whitworth Foundation’.

I then noticed that they were giving out a mobile number and were encouraging bullied kids / teenagers to call or text their ‘support service’. So I decided to google this mobile number. And, unfortunately, my suspicions about this account turned out to be right – a search for the mobile number they were using linked back to ‘this pair‘. (More info about them here, or alternatively search the internet for ‘David Bridgley).

So I revealed what I had discovered to others. But I was even more disappointed to read later that those behind this twitter account had told a young, single mum that they were sending her and her young daughter (who her mum refers to as ‘Little Miss’) on a trip to Disneyland Paris. Why? Because of the mum’s tireless voluntary work helping others who have experienced domestic abuse.

What was even more disgusting was when, after she tweeted about what I had told her, those behind ‘John Whitworth Foundation’ tweeted her with: ‘“There are lots of people that want a trip or a holiday and to be honest I would rather give your place to someone that deserves it”.’

It was so disappointing and simply heartbreaking to read her blog about how she now had to tell her little girl that the Disneyland trip would not be happening. She describes how: ‘

“As a single mum I had often made the promise to my gorgeous Little Miss that I would take her to Disneyland one day, but deep down I knew I was making a false promise to her.   There is no way I could ever afford to take Little Miss to Disneyland, but she at least deserved that little bit of excitement and magic in her life. “

and

“They told me that they take children who are bullied on day trips and holidays.  I was overwhelmed when they tweeted that they would like to offer me and Little Miss a trip to Disneyland Paris due to all the hard work I do. 

I blinked back the tears and with a huge ball in the back of my throat I repeatedly tweeted “Is this for real” they assured me it was! They kept tweeting on a regular basis how they couldn’t wait to meet me and Little Miss in 2013 and that the confirmation email would be sent to us in January.  I even inboxed them and asked how much deposit I would need to pay, they replied, no as we get funding for this, this is what we do.

So of course, I told Little Miss the amazing news and we danced and screamed on the bed with excitement; my little girl’s dream was going to come true.”

But now she had to break the news to Little Miss that the trip won’t be happening after all.

I don’t want this to happen.

And this is where I want to make a special request to you, my blog readers.

I believe that Little Miss’s trip should happen. I believe that her dream should come true. I believe that somebody nasty did something wrong to Little Miss and her mum, but that we, as an online community, can right that wrong.

I believe that we together can raise the funds to send Little Miss to Disneyland. 

I have set up this fundraising page and I am so grateful to the 17 people who together have raised £161 together. But I don’t want it to stop there. £161 will not send Little Miss to Disneyland, but if we each donate a pound or two together we can right this wrong and Little Miss will not be disappointed.

I know that money is very tight for many at the moment and I do not want you to donate any money that you can’t afford. But if you can afford even just a pound or two, please do help. I would appreciate it so much.

When I revealed to the little girl’s mum what I had found out she said: ‘I should’ve known, if something seems too good to be true, it usually is’.

But let’s restore her faith in humanity. Let’s right this wrong and show her that the good of people prevails over bad, and let’s make this little girl’s dream come true!

Filed under: mental health awareness