With that in mind, I’m delighted to be able to announce the charity that the 12for12k Challenge will be supporting in January 2009 – War Child.

DONATE HERE.

War Child is an award-winning charity which provides opportunities and long term solutions for war-affected children, focusing on education, strengthening children’s rights, reducing poverty and fostering self reliance. War Child works in partnership with local people and organizations to build sustainable programming that empowers children and their communities. War Child currently provides support to communities in Afghanistan, Sudan (Darfur), Uganda, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Georgia.

War Child also generates awareness, support and action for children’s rights everywhere and has domestic outreach programs in schools and among youth across north America. I think we can all agree that this is a fantastic charity to start our challenge off with and one that needs our help. Any donations we raise in January will see much-needed aid go to Darfur as well as elsewhere.

So, now that the first charity has been chosen, what’s next?

• There is a dedicated 12for12k Challenge fund-raising page at War Child. You can visit it by clicking on the banner above or via the DONATE HERE links.
• All donations are applicable for a tax receipt, which you will receive via email after your donation has been processed.
• At the moment, it’s credit card only – I’m looking into Paypal options if anyone prefers this.
• Feel free to share the link with friends, family and work colleagues – our aim is to have 1200 people donate $10 each, but the more we have involved the more the chosen charities will benefit.

2009 promises to be a challenging year for many people worldwide – for some, it could be a matter of life and death. War Child offers hope and inspiration to many, and I hope you join us at the 12for12k Challenge in helping them meet their goals.

DONATE HERE.