Squeegee® is one of the first apps of its kind - a business scheduling app that is actually designed for use on the go.

The creators of the app, Nexdynamic, have historically used their years of experience in development and consultation to build solutions for many different types of businesses big and small around the globe. Squeegee was designed and created in order to help streamline smaller businesses who often haven’t been able to access the best technology due to being priced out of the market. Squeegee was designed with the user in mind, especially those who are sole traders, just starting out or a part of a small company. It has a no-risk solution for those businesses providing a FREE app that covers all the essentials in work scheduling that takes the time and energy out of paper diaries or complicated excel spreadsheets.

Squeegee is growing exponentially and quickly becoming widely known for excellent customer service. The dedicated team worked in partnership with a group of beta testers who helped shape the app in the very beginning before public release - they asked for features, and Squeegee delivered, with the aim being to provide the best scheduling app for mobile service providers anywhere in the world. Beyond the initial release of the app, Nexdynamic have been constantly improving the user experience by listening to the customers and building in new state of the art features to make their jobs easier. There is generally a release to the stores every few weeks delivering just what the customers have asked for.

So what does Squeegee actually do to help you in your mobile service business? Well, the app itself has full functionality on your phone or tablet for use on the go unlike its competitors.

All of this is for free...what’s the catch?

The simple answer is the free version will always be free with no catches. It is here to stay but with ever improving features and user experience, users will never have to pay to save themselves from adverts cropping up on their screen and they will never be spammed to sign up to the pro version.

Like other solutions from Nexdynamic, Squeegee is built on a global infrastructure with redundant servers located in multiple geographical locations. Users can sit back safe in the knowledge that their data is well and truly protected and backed up securely.

For those wanting the app to do a little more, there is the option to upgrade to the pro and soon to be released, starter subscription. These offer features beyond the essentials at very competitive prices. The additional features include (but are not limited to):

Something that has just been released for all users, is a unique referral code assigned to each person. With each successful referral to Squeegee starter or pro, the referrer gets £1 off their own subscription if they have upgraded or credits on their account that can build up to be used against a subscription should they want to upgrade at a later date.

This isn’t the end of development for Squeegee, there’s lots more in the pipeline that will truly take the app to the front of the field. In addition to this, Squeegee is also available for much larger corporations as a platform for a bespoke solution.

"I love the app. Can’t imagine life without it."

- M Carbon, MAC Cleaning, UK

“Well done. This is a truly awesome app. It's incredibly easy to use and looks great too. Love the weather forecast... Your app is fantastic and has simplified my days so much it's ridiculous.”

- R Hazeldine, UK

“No more Sunday nights doing paperwork”

- Ricky James, Top Glass Window Cleaning

“Great app for Window Cleaners, it's great & free, can imagine the pro version covers every little aspect. Although the free version is perfectly usable I shall be upgrading to pro in the coming weeks.”- Vince Monte, Squeaky Cleanz

“Tap, swipe, scroll and click, Squeegee makes the your work day quick!”

Liam Askew, Ryeclean

“So easy to use and will save me hours of time”

Matthew Davies, On Board Window Cleaners

“The support is up with the best! It's certainly the quickest response I've ever had as a user of anything like this, with lots of easy to follow help - I can't fault it!”

Scott Walker, EcoCleanz and Perfect Touch Valeting

Squeegee, developed and managed by Nexdynamic - Big enough to cope, small enough to care.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squeegeeapp/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SqueegeeOnline

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squeeg.ee/

Youtube: https://squeeg.ee/youtube

Sign up today from the web: https://app.squeeg.ee/signup

Apple users: https://itunes.apple.com/app/squeegee/id1223407652?ls=1&mt=8

Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.squeegee&pcampaignid=MKT-Other-global-all-co-prtnr-py-PartBadge-Mar2515-1

Abject Gallery is pleased to present Aspirational Neuroses by Cody Sowerby.

In Aspirational Neuroses installation artist Cody Sowerby uses found images which have been enlarged and digitally manipulated exploring the presentation of the self in the digital realm. Sowerby is particularly interested in the abundance of material which deals with the explicitly corporal aspects of the self: spot popping, eating etc, and how these images are simultaneously repulsive and fascinating, communicating a paradoxical need for intimacy and distance.

Sowerby appropriates screen based images, which are magnified and distorted using both analogue and digital processes, these images are then combined with text, which disrupts the original image and opens up a host of conflicting meanings and interpretations. The images are chosen arbitrarily but thematic concerns such as the body, digital media and a sense of alienated existence run throughout. The relatively inane images begin to take on new meanings when de- contextualised; here Sowerby’s interest lies in the tension between the image, truth and interpretation.

Aspirational Neuroses expands upon this work further by playing with the scale of these images; turning mundane, forgettable fragments of digital culture into unsettling monuments. For Sowerby the gallery environment acts to consolidate ideas into a coherent, finished piece. The essence of Aspirational Neuroses is designed to evoke a feeling of image overload, a confusing space which mirrors online existence- an abundance of images to be consumed with a tenuous relationship to what they show and what they mean.

An important part of Sowerby’s practice is the continual production of zines, an experimental platform in which the artist can gather, and represent ideas or fragments of information which are then more sophistically and internally created into new works, or new moments in time.

Since graduating from Newcastle University in Fine Art in 2013, Sowerby has exhibited widely across the region. Notable exhibitions include: Middlesbrough Art Weekender, 2017, Nasty Women, Baker, 2017, School Disco, NewBridge Project 2016 and Teesside Goes Pop, Middlesbrough, 2016.

The preview for this exhibition takes place on Thursday 22nd February, and the exhibition continues 23rd February until 24th March, Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm. Entry is free.

More information is available at www.abject.gallery

Cody Sowerby: Aspirational Neuroses Preview Event: Thursday, 22nd February 2018, 5:00pm – 8:00pm Exhibition: 23rd February 2018 – 24th March 2018 Opening Times: Wed – Sat, 11:00am – 5:00pm Location: Abject 2 Gallery, 2nd Floor, Bamburgh House, Market Street (East), Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6BH

- ENDS -

Information for editors

For media enquiries contact Zoe Anderson on 0191 673 0098 or email info@breezecreatives.com.

Press image available at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/evzbic72u9dyw36/AAD27bJrPYBYMxUwFutUtkuHa?dl=0

Additional images can be emailed upon request.

About Breeze Creatives Breeze Creatives is a Community Interest Company based in Newcastle upon Tyne that specialises in arts and cultural projects around the North East of England. Creating opportunities for a diverse range of practitioners, Breeze Creatives fills the gap between the artist’s studio and the independent contemporary gallery. www.breezecreatives.com

About Abject Gallery

Abject Gallery, run by Breeze Creatives, is a new contemporary art gallery, in Newcastle city centre that exhibits a selection of national and international artists. Located on the 8th floor of the Bamburgh House arts centre on Market Street East, the gallery is also known for its stunning views of the Quayside including the Tyne Bridge, Sage and BALTIC. www.abject.gallery

Barnsley arts centre, The Civic today announces that it has secured leading online retailer ASOS as a corporate partner and the headline sponsor for a major exhibition this summer.

Curated in partnership with London’s Fashion and Textile Museum, the exhibition - The T-Shirt: Cult | Culture | Subversion – will run from 23 June to 27 September, following a three month run in the capital. From politics to punk, rock and roll to rebellion, it will chart the history, culture and subversion of one of the most affordable and popular items of clothing on the planet.

Helen Ball, CEO of The Civic, said: “Support from businesses like ASOS, the biggest private employer in Barnsley, is crucial to helping us fulfil our mission of providing the town with the world-class cultural opportunities it deserves.”

Louise McCabe, Director of Corporate Responsibility at ASOS added, “We’re very pleased to be supporting The Civic and sponsoring this important exhibition, which shows how fashion can be a powerful example of self-expression.”

The Civic has its own artistic residency programme supporting artists based in the North to develop and experiment with new ideas. The arts charity is also raising awareness for its £5m fundraising mission to re-open the dormant third of the building and return it to its former glory, with a vision to be a world-class centre for the arts by 2023 and be the ‘beating heart of Barnsley’.

The T Shirt: Cult | Culture | Subversion will open at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London from 9 February 2018 to 6 May 2018 and at The Civic, Barnsley from 23 June 2018 to 27 September 2018.

For more information and to book visit www.barnsleycivic.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01226 327000.

Lovers and sweethearts can celebrate Valentine’s Day with a special Italian night in Appetite, the restaurant at St Andrew’s Hospice in Grimsby.

For those looking for a romantic night with some fabulous entertainment, St Andrew’s Hospice is offering all this with a four-course Italian menu for just £25 per person.

The event takes place on Wednesday 14 February, starting at 7pm and is the latest offering from Appetite, the popular restaurant in the hospice that is open to the public daily.

St Andrew’s Hospice Italian Night comes off the back of a successful Pudding Club evening and Quiz Night in late-2017.

A four-course meal on offer includes a Crostini Sharing Platter to start, followed by a Creamy Tomato Soup with Croutons.

The main course is a choice of Calabrian Chicken, Tuscan Chicken or Vegetable Tagliatelle with stuffed onions and courgettes.

A delicious dessert will consist of Sicilian Lemon Cheesecake or Sorbet, with coffee to finish.

There will also be a range of beer, wine and soft drinks available to purchase on the evening, as well as some live entertainment to enjoy.

Tickets are available now, priced £25 per person and are available from Appetite at St Andrew’s Hospice or by calling the hospice reception on 01472 350 908.

WINCHESTER, HAMPSHIRE, UK – January 30th, 2018 –Intrinsic Executive Search, a leading Global Headhunting firm which works purely with Enterprise SAAS companies, today announced significant revenue growth across Europe and USA. The record-breaking year includes significant growth out of both its European and US offices with 50% year over year growth in revenues. The company’s impressive momentum is a result of its long-term vision and focus in helping high-growth, emerging SAAS firms source top senior commercial talent, often in new geographic markets as well as expanding its own global ecosystem of top-tier partners.

“We have noticed an uplift in demand for our International Executive Services over the last 12 months. Our ability to offer SAAS companies access to the top commercial performers, often in new geographies whilst providing a fast and highly customer centric approach appears to be paying dividends” said Ben Watkins, Director Europe of Intrinsic Executive Search.

Investing in USA

Over the past year, Intrinsic Executive Search increased its presence in the US via the merger of its US business with the Rosenstein Group led by SAAS Headhunter, Darrell Rosenstein. This new venture has already resulted in multiple US searches that include a Chief Marketing Officer, VP Enterprise Sales, Customer Success Director and many more. In addition, the US venture has subsequently resulted in the company's ability to offer European clients true global reach when expanding in North America.

"Our commitment to continued investment in the US is on-going. For instance, Intrinsic has decided to be a Silver level sponsor at the World's Biggest Customer Success Seminar - "Pulse", in San Mateo during April 2018. Further, in Europe, we will run another London Customer Success Seminar with Gainsight for SAAS firm Leaders this March", added Paul French, Director Intrinsic Executive Search.

Company highlights include:

Evolving the Intrinsic Suite

Intrinsic is also dedicated to continue in being a "Voice of the Market" in the SAAS Headhunting space. In 2017, the company once again carried out an extensive survey of over 445 SAAS company Leaders which it feeds back via Salary information and Market Reports. Copies can be obtained by contacting the company.

About Intrinsic Executive Search

Intrinsic Executive Search, with offices in the UK, USA and Germany, is a leading European Pan-European Headhunting firm helping high growth Enterprise SAAS firms with their key senior Commercial European & US hiring.

Contact

Ben WatkinsIntrinsic Executive Search+44 (0) 1962 828785

bew@intrinsicsearch.com

Intrinsic Engage 2016 v3 from Video2web on Vimeo.

Intrinsic Engage 2016 v3 from Video2web on Vimeo.

Westminster MP Caroline Flint has a spring in her step this January - thanks to a healthy Christmas present from her husband.

The MP for Don Valley was thrilled to unwrap a Boogie Bounce mini trampoline on Christmas morning.

Caroline, 56, mum to three grown up children, is now improving her fitness by starting each Parliamentary day with an obligatory bounce.

The Labour MP admits the gift wasn’t a complete surprise. “I’d read an article on Boogie Bounce and thought it sounded great – a mixture of cardio and dance which I’ve always loved – that I could do at home.”

“As I work long hours and split my time between Doncaster and London it can be difficult to fit in going to a gym or fitness classes on a regular basis.

“So I asked Phil if he could buy me this for Christmas. I think he was relieved I had something in mind as I’m not a great person to buy presents for.

“The trampoline is in my London flat so I can use it whenever I have a spare few minutes,” says Caroline, who has held the same seat for 20 years.

“It’s very easy to set up, doesn’t take up too much room, and is light and easy to move around. Fortunately, my flat is on the ground floor so I’m not bouncing above somebody’s head which would probably annoy them!

“The T-bar handle is really helpful and gives you confidence. The music and routines on the accompanying home kit DVD are great. I’m pretty flexible as I used to dance when I was younger,” she adds.

The low impact nature of the exercise has been particularly beneficial in helping her to overcome a knee injury, she says.

“I fell over a month or so ago and have been left with an aching left knee so the bouncing is really good for that.

“It was a stupid fall – I was coming down the stairs at home, missed the last step and ended up banging my knee on my tiled hallway. I’ve been stretching it and it’s just about worn off but you don’t want to aggravate it. I’m in my 50s and you have to think about these things a little bit more!”

Caroline is hopeful that bouncing may fill the gap left by the demise of Division Belles – the Parliamentary tap dancing troupe she founded in 2004.

“It was a group of women of all shapes and sizes – both MPs and wives of MPs and we had that going for quite a few years. We were led by a qualified teacher; your focus is purely on the steps and what you are doing and listening to the music.

“When you work in a situation which can be quite stressful and tiring doing something that stops you thinking about work and jobs to do is great – and that was one of the good things about tap dancing.

“We did routines to songs from Chicago and Cabaret and a couple of charity performances but, sadly, MPs stepped down or moved on to ministerial posts, and it’s no longer going.”

“For me exercise is about enjoyment. I’m old enough to remember Jane Fonda and her fitness videos and it was all about ‘feel the burn’. Obviously, you have to develop exercise and build up so that it stretches you but fun is an important part of it.

“It’s just having that time where you can focus on what you are doing by bouncing, following the movements and listening to the music.

“So far, it’s been great. I’ve been pacing myself and increasing the time I’m spending on the trampoline - managing 10-15 minutes of pure bouncing each morning before heading into Westminster. That’s the good thing about it. You can do bite size chunks and make sure you’re getting the moves right and build up to the full routines when you feel more confident.”

Bouncing is more strenuous than it looks, she admits. “You don’t realise how much it’s working you until you do it,” she says. “But it’s quite tiring. You certainly feel you have done something afterwards.”

Caroline now has a second Boogie Bounce kit set up at home in Doncaster so she can continue bouncing over the weekends – and is encouraging the rest of her family to take up bouncing, too. “My daughter think it’s great and says ‘make sure you carry on with it, Mum’.

“My husband, Phil, is also my constituency manager and I keep saying to him ‘you should get on this, too.’

“When Parliament isn’t sitting, and I’m confident on my home ‘set up’ I’d love to attend some classes,” she said. “But for now it’s far easier for me to do my own thing when I can – which is why the home kit is so great.”

Notes to editor

Boogie Bounce is an exclusive low-impact exercise programme offering cardiovascular, toning, fat burning and strengthening benefits. NASA agrees that ‘bouncing is the most efficient and effective exercise yet devised by man’ – while studies by NASA scientists have shown that bouncing is 68 per cent more effective than jogging but requires less effort.

For more details or to arrange an interview with founder Jenny Belcher please contact Claire Nicholls at Boogie Bounce marketing on 0121 354 1190 or claire@boogiebounce.co.uk

Greater Lincolnshire’s wide and varied landscapes offer the perfect setting to lead the charge with green energy within the Low Carbon industry. The region’s extensive coastline offers excellent conditions for offshore wind farms, and the rural agriculture areas offer the creation of energy from waste wood, energy crops, straw, poultry waste, and Anaerobic Digestion.

The sector employs over 3,100 people in Greater Lincolnshire which includes business development in low carbon construction and in low energy homes technology too. Of all the counties in the region the County of Lincolnshire has the highest potential for low carbon electricity production and so offers exciting career prospects within the industry.

Current estimates suggest that around 3,100 people and 150 companies across Greater Lincolnshire work or are engaged in this sector (often referred to as low carbon or environmental technologies) across a wide range of activities, from installers of solar PV panels, to plastics recycling and manufacturers of electric car batteries. However, due to the fact that many activities taking place within this sector are relatively new, or form part of other activities (such as agriculture, engineering, transport, or construction), this reflects a very small proportion of the overall activity that is currently taking place and it is expected to grow rapidly.

To the north, Immingham and Grimsby are fast becoming the centre of excellence for operations and maintenance activities for offshore wind farms in the North Sea with the potential to serve others across the UK.

At least 5GW of offshore wind additional capacity is forecast to be installed off the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire coasts. Centrica, EON, Siemens, RES and Dong Energy are already developing operations and maintenance facilities at the Port of Grimsby, whilst there are proposals for a Marine Energy Park at Killingholme which will provide the facilities for the manufacture, storage, assembly, and deployment of offshore wind turbines.

There is also a broad corridor of low carbon energy activity taking place between the ports at Grimsby/Immingham and the coal-fired power stations at Drax and Ferrybridge (in Yorkshire). This is based around the use of biomass which is mixed with coal to reduce carbon emissions and use of fossil fuels. Both the coal and biomass are imported at Grimsby and Immingham and transported by rail, but there is potential for growers in Lincolnshire to feed into this energy corridor.

Of all the counties in the region the County of Lincolnshire has the highest potential for low carbon electricity production, based mainly on the potential of onshore wind energy. Furthermore, and particularly in the more rural agricultural areas, there is significant potential for the creation of energy from waste wood, energy crops, straw, poultry waste, and Anaerobic Digestion.

The scale of housing to be brought forward in Greater Lincolnshire (see the Housing page for more information) offers opportunities for business development in low carbon construction and in low energy homes technology.

The World of Work is an online hub for information and resources about employment opportunities across the county. There are so many exciting industries and employers in the Greater Lincolnshire region; it’s hard to know where to start looking when it comes to work. Luckily, you can now delve into the World of Work at www.theworldofwork.co.uk and find information about your local area.

The Greater Lincolnshire region is filled with amazing career opportunities with national and local businesses within varied industries that you might never have thought of, from manufacturing and low carbon to ports, logistics and technology companies. With case studies from top employers, key facts and resources, industry information and specific local information, the World of Work has something for everyone in Lincolnshire.

The sectors covered by the web site, showing stats, information and case studies include:

Employers who have contributed to the site include Siemens, British Steel, Lindum, Gelder Group, Spaldings, Rilmac Group, Branston, Mirclean, Butlins, The Woodland Trust, Hales Group, The Orders of StJohn Care Trust, Cooperative Group, Associated British Ports, Denby Transport, Dynex.

The World of Work web site was built by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP with the help from Social Enterprise GetMyFirstJob.

Tom Kitchin's leading Edinburgh restaurants are seeing an investment boost along with the potential opening of a new restaurant. The current restaurants under The Kitchin Group; The Kitchin, Scran & Scallie and Castle Terrace, are said to be receiving investment for refurbishments. The news comes with the prospect of the group opening a new restaurant on the Southside of the city.

The Kitchin have refreshed their interior design, recently launching a brand new series of bespoke menu covers and bill presenters designed by Smart Hospitality Supplies. The set is a matching collection of Smart's London Buckram covers which continues the group's ethos of "From Nature to Plate" - using fresh, local and sustainable ingredients. The 100% cotton material which has been used in bookmaking for centuries maintains the same authenticity that the restaurant considers essential. The interior design and personalised menu covers grasp the same warm colour sets as the Scottish Highlands.

Along with the boost to The Kitchin, the other sites are set to see a similar investment to maintain their luxurious interiors. The group's investment is said to be a precursor to the opening of a brand new restaurant in Edinburgh's Bruntsfield District. The opening is likely to be in the summer of 2018 following a total redevelopment and refurbishment of the two storey site at 14-17 Bruntsfield Place. “We’ve been searching for a venue in the Southside of the city for a long time now and are pleased to have found the ideal location on Bruntsfield Place. We aim to create a space with a genuine neighbourhood feel that locals will want to visit, time and again." Confirmed the Group's founder, Tom Kitchin.

Continuing investment into the restaurants is just one reason that The Kitchin Group have seen such success with each of their openings. The Kitchin received its first Michelin Star within 6 months of opening and has received awards for Best UK Restaurant and Best Restaurant in Scotland since. When asked about the new concept, Tom explained: “Like our other restaurants, the new venue will be a different concept which we’re really excited about. From day one, we’ve set out to really push the boundaries and continue to challenge ourselves, our team and our cooking, and the new restaurant will signal another exciting chapter in our journey.”

The namesake and founder of the group, Tom Kitchin, honed his culinary skills working under Pierre Koffmann in his 3-Michelin Starred restaurant "La Tante Claire". His endeavours have seen him become one of the most highly rated chefs in the UK and a regular face on specialist cookery shows like The Great British Menu. He earned his first Michelin Star at aged 29, at the time, making him the youngest recipient of a Star in the world. The new venue is sure to continue the Kitchin Group's success with the same injection of passion and inspiration always seen from this much loved chef.

Vice Chairman of Global Strategic Advisory for Guy Carpenter & Company Ltd, Vicky Carter, has joined the board of trustees at The Sick Children’s Trust, which runs free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation for families with critically ill children in hospital.

Vicky Carter, who has worked within the reinsurance industry for 38 years, will join 12 other trustees to ensure the efficient running of the charity which provides support for families with children undergoing lifesaving treatment in hospital, and help achieve its aim to support 5,000 families a year by 2021.

As the first female to establish an intermediary at Lloyds of London, Vicky has plenty of experience in leadership, and has held a number of senior executive positions, founding her own company Dunn & Carter Ltd in 1992. She also has extensive third sector involvement having launched the Young Professionals Global Forum in 2012 to give young professionals within the reinsurance industry the opportunity to learn how their work impacts on society, and awareness to the challenges the industry faces whilst also raising substantial funds for the year’s chosen charities.

The Sick Children’s Trust, which runs ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country, will benefit from Vicky’s extensive experience within business leadership and the charity sector. Vicky, who recently visited one of the charity’s ‘Homes from Home’, Stevenson House, based at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, says:

“When I was introduced to The Sick Children’s Trust, I knew that it was a charity I wanted to get involved with. This was then strengthened when I visited Stevenson House and had the honour of meeting the team that work so hard to alleviate some of the practical, emotional and financial stresses that come with having a seriously ill child in hospital.

“I also had the opportunity to meet families who the charity supports. They told me about their agonising experiences which had been made easier because of The Sick Children’s Trust’s ‘Home from Home’.

“I really enjoy and value being able to help with charity work and I admire The Sick Children’s Trust. I am honoured and delighted to be welcomed on to the board of trustees for the charity and am very much looking forward to working with the team to help raise awareness of the invaluable work it does. I hope in my own way I can offer help to families who are faced with the challenges of having a desperately ill child. I feel this is the very least I can do.”

The Sick Children’s Trust is working to a future where every family with a seriously ill child in hospital will be able to stay together, just minutes from their child’s bedside. Its trustee board is instrumental in achieving this vision. Jane Featherstone, Chief Executive of The Sick Children’s Trust, says:

“We are delighted to welcome Vicky on to our board of trustees. Since joining the charity, Vicky has been supporting us in discussions around upcoming projects and partnerships, as well as special events, advising on how we can expand our network of supporters. “Vicky has a clear passion for helping others and brings this passion to the board. On behalf of all the families we support, I would like to say a huge thank you to Vicky for giving her time to The Sick Children’s Trust as a trustee. The team and I are looking forward to working with you further.”

For further information about The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit http://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/

The Sunbed Association today welcomed the publication of a review of available medical data that concluded no proven causal relationship exists between moderate commercial sunbed use and an increased melanoma risk. The results of the studies have been published in two articles in the scientific journal Anticancer Research (Vol 38). Very importantly, the review refutes recent reports from the EU and the World Health Organisation.

Chairman of The Sunbed Association, Gary Lipman said “This careful review of studies confirms what we have long known to be true but authorities and other vested organisations have repeatedly refused to acknowledge and accept; responsible UV exposure on a sunbed by those able to tan does not cause melanoma. The publication of this scientific review identifies and highlights many flaws in the studies that have been used to determine public policy, campaigns, legislation and public scaremongering regarding sunbed use. It is quite frankly a disgrace that even when challenged at the highest level, these bodies have refused to acknowledge and consider the available science; these studies have not followed research protocols and the result is that skewed information has been repeatedly published that has led to what can only be described as the demonization of our industry.

“We will be demanding an urgent review by all public and charitable organisations who have published information claiming, stating or even suggesting a link between sunbed use and melanoma.“ continued Lipman “Our industry has been an easy commercial target for the anti-tanning lobby for many years and this has to stop.

“Members of The Sunbed Association are professional operators who ensure responsible tanning by those who are able to tan. This has always been our commitment to the consumer and through education and customer screening, our members ensure over-exposure and burning is avoided as is use by anyone with any contraindications to tanning. Bottom line using a sunbed in one of our member salons is the best way to ensure responsible tanning and our member locations are available via the Salon Locator on our website: www.sunbedassociation.org.uk”

Journal References:

http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/current

http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/2/1111.abstract

http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/2/1111.full.pdf+html

http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/2/1187.abstract

Jen Blackwell and Becky Rich are the best of friends. They share a passion for dance and spend many hours enjoying each other's company. But they are not just the best of friends, they are a force for good, challenging perceptions and trying to make the world a better place, using dance as their weapon of choice!

Jen and Becky were brought together through inclusive dance charity DanceSyndrome. The charity was founded by Jen and her mum Sue Blackwell in 2009 after 10 years of unsuccessfully searching for suitable training to enable Jen to become a community Dance Leader. Jen, who happens to have Down's syndrome, had attended mainstream school but could not find mainstream dance training that could accommodate a person with a learning disability. During the search for training, Jen and Sue had met many other people with disabilities in similar situations and they were inspired to do something to make the world of community dance more accessible.

In 2010 Jen advertised for dancers and got over 100 enquiries! She selected 14 dancers to work with, half of whom had learning disabilities. Together they have grown into a dedicated, inclusive group of learning-disabled Dance Leaders and performers.

If you ask Jen why she started DanceSyndrome, the answer is simple “I live for dance, it's my passion and my life. I have a right to a life of my choosing. My future lies in dance. I've always wanted to share my passion for dance with others and to get everybody dancing.”

Essentially, that is what DanceSyndrome does; in addition to performing on stage at events and conferences, the charity now provides five community workshops that are all fully inclusive, allowing anyone, regardless of age, race, gender or disability, to come along and join in at a pace that suits them in a supportive environment. The workshops are designed and co-led by a learning-disabled Dance Leader and a supporting Dance Artist and many participants have described it as inspirational to see a dance activity that is led by a person with a disability.

It was at one of these weekly workshops that Becky started her journey with DanceSyndrome in 2014. She loved the sessions so much she went on to complete DanceSyndrome’s unique ‘Dance by Example’ leadership training course, which gives people with and without disabilities the skills to lead community dance workshops. Becky's confidence grew enormously thanks to the training. This increase in confidence, combined with her improved dancing and leadership skills, enabled Becky to independently take on the role of Dance Leader at a local day centre, separate from DanceSyndrome.

Jen and Becky have recently worked together on a number of different projects and they are both truly following their dreams of having successful careers in dance. Along with 12 other dancers they helped to choreograph and perform DanceSyndrome's performance piece "Orbit" which is an hour long celebration of the dancers' connections to nature and the universe. After performing the piece in venues across Lancashire and Greater Manchester in early 2017 and getting amazing audience responses, the charity ran a fundraising campaign to take the show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2017. The Fringe Festival experience was a huge confidence boost for everyone involved, but Becky especially excelled at promoting the shows and was thrilled to be interviewed on the Royal Mile by a journalist from Humans of the Fringe.

Both Jen and Becky are both confident public speakers and they are both passionate about disability rights. In 2017 they travelled to many high profile events across the UK to talk about how DanceSyndrome has empowered them and how they want to challenge perceptions of disabled people and see more opportunities for inclusion. Their speeches combined with emotional dance performances have a huge impact on audience members. Seeing is believing and Jen and Becky both demonstrate that disability doesn't have to be a barrier; people of all ages and abilities can follow their dreams with the right support.

Jen often says “I am changing people's lives through dance”, and she is 100% correct! Research with participants in DanceSyndrome workshops showed that they report many improvements in their lives after a workshop, including feeling physically fitter, having improved mental health, feeling that they have a better social life, having a sense of belonging and being included, being more able to communicate and ultimately just feeling happier. They are also inspired to see someone with a disability succeeding in living a life of their choosing.

But it goes deeper than that. Jen and Becky have a true, heartfelt friendship. They share their passion for dance and have shared aspirations and it has given them a genuine connection to each other that they would never have found if not for DanceSyndrome.

As Jen's mum, Sue, explains "Up until Jen was 28 she thought she had friends because she interacted with people so she assumed she had friends, but what she had was acquaintances. She had never experienced what friendship was all about. She had nobody who valued her for who she was and wanted to be around her for who she was. She only started to enjoy the joy of friendship when DanceSyndrome got going."

In the last three years, DanceSyndrome has gone from strength to strength. Jen won Inspirational Woman of the Year at the 2015 EVA Awards. The Dance Leader team won the Sporting Choice Award at the 2016 Learning Disability and Autism Awards. Becky won Volunteer of the Year at the 2016 Lancashire County Council Pride Awards. DanceSyndrome was chosen as Not-for-Profit of the Year at the 2017 Red Rose Awards. Significant funding has come in to the charity from Spirit of 2012, Big Lottery Fund, Natwest Skills and Opportunities Fund, Arts Council England and many other local funding bodies.

All of this is vital to the future success of the charity from a business point of view, but if you ask Jen and Becky what the is the most important thing to come from DanceSyndrome's work, there is no doubt they will tell you that it is their wonderful friendship!

If you would like to know more about the life-changing work that DanceSyndrome does, you can visit www.dancesyndrome.co.uk or email info@dancesyndrome.co.uk

Since September 2017, Localgiving has awarded £100,000 in grants to 205 local charities across 59 counties through its Magic Little Grants Programme.

The Magic Little Grants programme distributes small grants on behalf of grant makers to local charities and community groups to support their essential work. With its simple 10 minute application process, the scheme reduces the work required for grassroots organisations to access the funding they need to launch or strengthen their services.

This round of grants were distributed in association with the Postcode Community Trust, a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. These grants, of £250 and £500, were specifically aimed at projects that seek to increase participation in exercise and healthy activities. A wide variety of groups have been supported ranging from exercise classes for stroke survivors to outdoor, adventure activities for disadvantaged young people.

Applicants had to have an annual income under £50,000 or be in their first year of operation. Preference was given to projects that encouraged social cohesion and helped vulnerable people to overcome barriers to participation in physical activities.

The feedback from grant awardees has been hugely positive. LEGS (London Exercise Group for Stroke) said "We are so grateful for the funding we have received and it was such a smooth process with great communication from you at all stages". The 2000 Club, a disability focussed sports group in Heston added "Everything that [Localgiving] promised to do from applying to receiving the funds went through smoothly”.

On top of their grant, all successful organisations receive access to Localgiving’s online fundraising platform, numerous fundraising resources and regular match fund campaigns.

Ceri Mugford, Charity Membership & Support Executive at Localgiving said:

"We are thrilled at the success of our Magic Little Grants programme. Our research has shown that finding suitable, accessible funding can be a real challenge for grassroots organisations. This scheme was designed to address this issue - making the application process as simple and intuitive as possible, and making the grants unrestricted – therefore enabling awardees to use their funding for core costs. We look forward to expanding the programme in the future and exploring new opportunities to support the local voluntary sector.

Callum Munro, Senior Community Programmes Officer at People’s Postcode Lottery said:

“We’re delighted that these Magic Little Grants are allowing our players to support grass-roots wellbeing and sports activities, making a fantastic contribution to the health and recreation of communities across England, Scotland and Wales”

To find out more: https://localgiving.org/what-we-do/magic-little-grants/

For more information please visit Localgiving.org, email help@localgiving.org or call 0300 111 2340.

- ENDS-

For more information please contact:

Lewis Garland, Communications Manager - lewis.garland@localgiving.org

About Localgiving

Localgiving is the UK’s leading membership and support network for local charities and community groups. It aims to empower grassroots organisations to fundraise online, connect with supporters and take control of their financial future. In addition, it provides advocacy for the local voluntary sector and works to secure third party funding for its members. It provides free training opportunities, fundraising resources and regular incentivised giving campaigns to help groups raise funds online.

About People’s Postcode Lottery

SITU8ED solves major regulatory issues for mobile application publishers, increasing the value of their advertising inventory whilst bringing Ad Networks and DSPs into full compliance with GDPR and associated legislation.

Created in 2016 by experts in mobile advertising (ex. Google and Criteo) and context aware computing (from France’s national research centre for AI, INRIA), SITU8ED has developed a portfolio of products that intelligently interpret data for location, motion and the environment from mobile phone sensors, locally on the phone, and in real time.

SITU8ED’s products transform personal data such as location coordinates into semantically rich information that both improves location based targeting and is categorised as anonymous by the legislation. Their solution conforms to GDPR, to the 2017 updates to the ePrivacy directive, and to the 2017 UK Data Protection Act.

Publishers can increase the value of their inventory by enriching it with behavioural data without any risk of personal data leakage. Ad Networks and DSPs benefit from precise geo-targeting for advertising and fine grained geo-fencing for geo-tracking and attribution, all in compliance with the legislation.

SITU8ED has received seed funding of £800K from French VCs (IT Translation and Le B612) and financial institutions (BPI France, BNP Paribas and Banque Populaire) to launch their products in the UK and France.

‘One of the major challenges for Ad Tech in 2018 will be regulatory change and particularly GDPR. Our products provide an efficient and simple to deploy solution to compliance to this new legislation with more precise targeting and higher conversion rates for location based advertising.’ - Nicolas Defranoux, CTO of SITU8ED.

‘The Ad Tech eco-system will be forced to change as GDPR comes into force. The risks associated with disseminating location coordinates and other personal data will likely outweigh the gains for many publishers and the mobile Ad Tech companies. SITU8ED offers them a solution, both for those publishers that tag inventory with location coordinates and for Ad Tech companies that use location in proximity marketing, drive to store campaigns and other forms of geo-targeting.’ - Rodric Bark, CEO of SITU8ED.

‘The Ad Tech market is going to undergo significant changes with GDPR, which opens up opportunities for companies like SITU8ED. This seed funding provides them with the means to realise their potential.’ - Daniel Pilaud, Managing Director of IT-Translation.

About SITU8ED

SITU8ED (www.SITU8ED.com, info@SITU8ED.com) provides embedded smartphone solutions for behavioural analysis: routines, habits, and needs that increase the value of mobile advertising inventory, while ensuring only anonymous data is exported from users’ phones.

Our solutions are designed and built to comply with GDPR, the UK 2017 DP act, and the e-Privacy Directive.

Contact: Rodric Bark, + 33 6 72 99 13 36

About IT-Translation

IT-Translation (www.it-translation.fr, contact@it-translation.fr) is an investor and co-founder of "deep-tech" start-ups from French public or private research in digital technology.

About B612

The B612 (www.b612.com, contact@b612.com) is the incubator of the Caisse d'Épargne Rhône Alpes. The B612 supports start-ups in the creation and acceleration phases, for digital transformation in Fin Tech and neighbouring domains.

Chris Patterson of Daventry, Northamptonshire, is to compete in52 marathons in 52 weeks in 2018. His ’52 in 52’ campaign is aiming to raise at least £12,000 in aid of international children’s charity Hope for Children.

Chris, a long-time supporter of the charity, has already completed the London Marathon (2017) and ultra-marathon, Marathon des Sables (2016) – commonly referred to as the ‘Toughest Footrace on Earth’ – in recent years, but this challenge will push his physical and mental strength to new extremes.

Throughout 2018, he will be taking part in events all over the world including marathons in Edinburgh, Barcelona and China. So far, Chris has already completed the Endurance Life Marathon in Anglesey, the Gran Canaria Marathon and the Holly Challenge in Telford.

Whilst most races will take place over long weekends, next week Chris will be attempting 5 marathons in 5 days all over Kent between 10th to 14th February, ending with the Valentines Day Marathon. When he has completed his challenge, Chris will have run over 1,362 miles, roughly the distance between Hemel Hempstead (where the charity is based) and the coast of Africa, the continent where many of the charity’s projects have an impact.

Chris Patterson said: “I first became aware of Hope for Children when I ran the Marathon des Sables (MdS) for them in 2016. One of the first thigs that attracted me to Hope was the fact they were one of the smaller charities and I felt money raised would make a real difference. Having completed the MdS I had a “gap year” and felt I needed a new challenge for 2018.....and came up with 52 in 52. People kept telling me I‘ve lost the plot and now I’ve done the first three, I realise they were right. No matter how difficult it gets, its important I remember the work that Hope are doing and how we are helping to improve the lives of others. It’s been great to get involved with Hope’s “Head Held High appeal” and I regularly read the updates/stories on the Hope website for motivation! Any extra support you can give me and Hope is very welcome.”

Murielle Maupoint, CEO of Hope for Children, said: “When Chris first came to us with this idea last year, we weren’t sure if this was even possible. But once, he took us through his training and race plans, and most importantly showed his desire and passion to raise funds for our life-changing work, we got fully behind him. To complete 1 marathon is huge achievement; to complete 52 is extraordinary. Chris is a true Hope Hero.”

Funds raised by Chris will support the charity’s work all over the world to enable vulnerable children, particularly orphans and children living in extreme poverty, to experience a happy, healthy and positive childhood. Their projectsimprove children’saccess to education and healthcare, and empower their families to support themselves whilst developing their confidence and self-esteem.

To support Chris, donate online at his fundraising page at https://h4c.everydayhero.com/uk/52-marathons-in-52-weeks or send cheques made payable to Hope for Children, 6 Progression Centre, Mark Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7DW and include reference to Chris Patterson 5252

For media enquiries or morei nformation on Hope for Children, contact Ed Fletcher at ef@hope4c.org or 01442 234561

As a pioneer of distance learning, the National Extension College (NEC) is committed to providing a high-quality learning experience for students. The College has developed a unique Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system to robustly evaluate assessment and tutor feedback across its course portfolio.

The results of the IQA process indicate that the College has a professional team of Tutors, who provide accurate marking, with constructive feedback. Key findings of the 2017 process include:

Currently in its third year, the NEC IQA process is carried out by Lead Tutors, who work independently. Taking a wide sample of student work, Lead Tutors consider if they agree with the overall grades awarded. This replicates how assessment is monitored within a school environment. They also evaluate the quality of feedback given to students.

Comments from the report indicate the standard of quality required: “The mark awarded reflects the Tutor's thorough understanding of the assessment criteria. Marks have been provided at the end of each question to enable the student to gain a secure understanding of areas requiring further improvement.”

The IQA system is part of a cycle of continual improvement at the College. Following the 2017 report, a new online CPD module for NEC Tutors has been introduced, which will support the ongoing delivery of constructive feedback to students.

Alison Edwards, Education and Quality Manager at the NEC, reflects on the additional positive impact of the IQA system: “We have evidence that the process of IQA has a motivating effect, encouraging positive communication both between Lead Tutor and Tutor as well with NEC staff.”

Dr Ros Morpeth, CEO of the NEC comments: “At the NEC we are committed to quality in both our learning materials and assessment. Our unique IQA system enables us to continually improve on assessment and feedback – two key aspects of a student’s learning experience. Ultimately, by delivering accurate assessment and constructive feedback, we aim to offer our students the very best opportunity to achieve their full future potential.”

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:

About the National Extension College (NEC)

The National Extension College (NEC) transforms lives through learning. It opens up futures for people of all ages, from diverse backgrounds and cultures by offering access to flexible distance learning courses across the UK and beyond.

Over the past 50 years, the NEC has forged a reputation for quality and innovation in learning, alongside a deep commitment to offering each student an exceptional level of support in achieving their future ambitions.

Contact

w: www.nec.ac.uk

t: 0800 389 2839

e: jeanette.ariano@nec.ac.uk

National Extension College

The Michael Young Centre

School House

Homerton Gardens

Cambridge

CB2 8EB

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00.01 GMT 2 February 2018

Thoughtonomy Recruits New Partners to Drive Continued Global Growth

International Focus for fast growth Intelligent Automation Leader

London 2 February 2018: Thoughtonomy, the Intelligent Automation company, is launching a new Partner Program and plans to recruit a significant number of new partners to support the continued expansion of the business, both in the UK and internationally.

Thoughtonomy’s strategic growth plan is focused on increasing its channel business from around 45% of current transactions to over 90% within the next 12 months. “As a hyper-growth company leading in an innovative market, we are keen to partner with other like-minded organizations, particularly in the United States where the benefits of Intelligent Automation provide opportunities”, said Terry Walby, CEO & Founder Thoughtonomy. The extent of these opportunities is confirmed by analyst firms such as Forrester, which has predicted: “The RPA market will reach $2.9 billion by 2021; while large, it is only a subset of the $48.5 billion broader AI spend addressable by Thoughtonomy.”

This news comes after a period of impressive growth; UK based Thoughtonomy has consistently reported Year on Year growth over 300%, with growth of 316% reported in 2017. Last year the company expanded internationally with offices in New York and Austin and earlier this month announced the launch of an R&D hub in Manchester, UK.

“For us to achieve our growth targets we need the right channel partners to help us scale across the globe. Our continued expansion in North America is of immediate priority, but we are firmly committed to operating in an international marketplace”, stated Thoughtonomy CCO, Dean Chapman.

Network of Partners

Thoughtonomy has a network of strategic partners which helps it ensure local representation and skilled resources in over 150 countries worldwide. Current partners include Microsoft, Atos, Ultima, and Unite BT.

“We started working with Thoughtonomy on an internal project which doubled the growth potential of our managed services businesses.” explained Scott Dodds, CEO of Ultima Business Solutions. “We were so impressed that we have begun piloting Thoughtonomy’s Intelligent Automation technology among our client base”.

Unite BT is currently working with Thoughtonomy in Turkey. “We currently have over 200 RPA processes running on this environment over twenty-one enterprises across Turkey. All of those processes have generated a positive ROI within the first month of going online”, commented Malkoc Sualp – CEO, Unite BT.

A new Partner Portal will also be introduced, which highlights Thoughtonomy’s commitment to its partner community. The Partner Portal is designed to enable partners by providing valuable technical and marketing resources and share best practice.

For further information about the Thoughtonomy Partner Programme please contact Dean Chapman at partnerdesk@thoughtonomy.com.

About Thoughtonomy

Thoughtonomy was founded in the UK in 2013 and now works with over 150 clients in 27 countries and has offices in London and Manchester in the UK, New York and Austin in the US.

Thoughtonomy’s technology combines the principles of Cloud Computing, Software Robotics and Artificial Intelligence to provide a platform for the digitization and automation of office work. Once taught, Virtual Workers simulate the actions of a human worker – using and interacting with business applications without any changes to those applications. The Workers use information to make the same decisions as a person would, and after being taught a process, can execute it without error, 24 hours a day and at machine speed. And as they do, they learn, and use that learning to continually improve and optimize their work.

For further information on Thoughtonomy please see http://thoughtonomy.com/

Notes to editors

[1] https://www.forrester.com/report/The+RPA+Market+Will+Reach+29+Billion+By+2021/-/E-RES137229

For further information contact: Caroline Randle,

Mobile: 07796 140461. Email: carolinerandle@btinternet.com

Family of baby born with bowels on outside of body hold fundraiser to thank charity that kept them together

The parents of a baby girl, who underwent lifesaving surgery at a hospital miles away from home, when she was just a few hours old, are on a fundraising mission to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust, the charity which supported them with free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation.

Daisy Baldwin, 25, and Will Wakefield, 26, from Leigh-on-Sea, are organising a fundraiser at Barru Bar and Kitchen on Saturday 10 February to thank the charity for keeping them by their daughter’s hospital bedside when she required major surgery at The Royal London Children’s Hospital.

When Daisy and Will went for their 12 week scan they were devastated to find out there was something wrong with their baby, Nelly. Doctors at Southend University Hospital told the worried parents that Nelly had developed a condition known as gastroschisis, a developmental defect where the abdominal wall does not develop completely so the intestines develop outside of the body. They were sent to King’s College Hospital in London for further tests and Nelly was closely monitored over the months that followed. Mum, Daisy, who works for global consulting firm North Highland, says:

“It was devastating to find out that there was something wrong with Nelly and so worrying to know that she would need an operation as soon as she was born. But the doctors reassured Will and me that there were no other complications and that Nelly would be delivered at King’s College Hospital so she could receive the necessary care.

“However, Nelly decided she wanted to come early and at 34 weeks my waters broke without me realising. By the time we arrived at my local hospital in Southend there was no choice but to deliver her there. Nelly was born by caesarean on 5 August in the middle of the night and she was only the second baby in over 20 years that the midwife had seen with gastroschisis.

“After she was born, the doctors covered her intestines in cling film to protect them and plans were made to get her transferred urgently to King’s College Hospital. But because Nelly’s arrival was a surprise, there were no cots free so she was rushed to The Royal London Hospital. It was all very quick, but what I remember mostly was Will and I comforting each other as we were just so upset that we hadn’t even held our new baby because she was so seriously ill.”

“Within 12 hours of being born, thanks to the amazing team at The Royal London Hospital, Nelly’s intestines were put back inside her body and she was placed on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The hospital was so far from our home and the thought of being separated from Nelly during a huge time of uncertainty was very scary, but the wonderful nurses on NICU put us in touch with The Sick Children’s Trust. The charity runs a place called Stevenson House which was located just minutes from Nelly’s bedside and we were told we could have a room there.”

The Sick Children’s Trust runs ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country, supporting families like Nelly’s with free accommodation whilst their child is being treated in hospital. Daisy continues:

“Stevenson House was nothing short of amazing. With a direct line to the ward in our room we were just a phone call away from Nelly at all times and could be by her side in minutes if needed. It also gave us a sense of normality when we needed to rest, sleep or eat. This extraordinary place also provided a feeling of unity between families who had been thrown together in such unfortunate circumstances.

“As first time parents, the experience of having our baby in hospital was a lot to deal with and during some very painful and emotional times with our brave little Nelly, we were always grateful for the support provided by The Sick Children’s Trust. Stevenson House made a massive difference to us – it’s almost impossible to find the words to express our thanks and gratitude to all the staff that supported us during our stay. We are truly thankful and Stevenson House will always hold a special place in our hearts.”

Over the weeks that followed, Nelly started to feed and recover from her lifesaving operation and all the while her parents were by her side because of Stevenson House. They stayed at Stevenson House for six weeks until Nelly was transferred back to the special care baby unit at Southend Hospital and to their joy, she was discharged home the following day. Nelly is now thriving and to celebrate her speedy recovery and thank The Sick Children’s Trust, next month her parents will hold a fundraiser in aid of the charity.

The couple have already raised over £2000 but hope to raise more and are selling tickets at £7 each. Daisy, who has appealed to local businesses for donations towards a charity raffle, says:

“We have a brilliant local DJ, Dan Barnes, playing all evening and my stepdad’s company, Windowfix in Leigh-on-sea, are generously providing food on the night. We have also had some pretty good contributions for the raffle, including a signed photograph of footballer Ronaldo, afternoon tea at a local restaurant and a voucher from a local hairdressing salon. We will also have some donation buckets to collect for The Sick Children’s Trust on the night. And Nelly will of course make a star appearance. I am really hoping we will raise a lot more money for the charity that looked after Will and me when we needed it most.”

The Sick Children’s Trust relies entirely on voluntary donations and it costs the charity £30 to support a family for one night. Irma Cambron, Assistant House Manager at Stevenson House, says:

“It was lovely to see Daisy and Will recently when Nelly had an appointment at The Royal London Hospital. They all looked so well and Daisy told me about their plans for the fundraiser. It is just so important for parents to have the support of the charity when they are going through such a hard time with a seriously ill child.

“Fortunately Nelly has now been given the all clear, but their fundraising efforts will help us to support other families who have a seriously ill child in hospital. I hope the fundraiser goes really well, and I’d like to thank Nelly’s family for spreading the word about the vital work The Sick Children’s Trust carries out.”

To support Nelly’s family on their fundraising mission, please visit the Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/daisy-baldwin1

For further information about The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit: http://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/

02 - February, 2018 - Stellar Lumens, unique digital assets, make their way to easier accessibility with the launch of XLM trading on a London-based cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO. From now on, the users of CEX.IO are able to trade Lumens at a favourable rate and with a preferred currency, which is USD, EUR and BTC so far. The platform also allows depositing and withdrawing XLM to the user accounts. Due to specific features of the Stellar network, the users are to indicate their memo ID for the XLM transactions to be processed smoothly.

XLM has been showing a steady growth throughout its history, and recent XLM to USD price fluctuations indicate that the asset is in heavy demand among users. The ever-increasing interest from the public prompts the cryptocurrency community to spread the trading of XLM across more platforms.

CEX.IO is one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges that has Stellar Lumens (XLM) listed for trading. When it comes to adding new cryptocurrencies to the platform, CEX.IO has proven to be highly selective - it focuses on the most promising and unique options for their users. This is evidenced by the customer trust and loyalty, which the exchange has been earning since 2013.

Stellar Lumens introduced the community to the new era of multi-currency payments and are heading towards wider acceptance. With the addition of Stellar Lumens to CEX.IO, the users from 99% of the world will have a chance to benefit from fast seamless international transactions and micropayments with low fees. Besides, XLM serves as an attractive investment from both short-term and long-term perspectives, and now can be easily bought and securely held by CEX.IO customers for future purposes.

About Stellar:

Stellar acts as a decentralized open-source payment network supporting international multi-currency transactions. The key feature of the network is that the value exchange is executed almost instantly and with a very low fee.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) are digital assets circulating within the network and powering it. XLM is designed to be tradeable and act as a cryptocurrency. Stellar Lumens are constantly growing in popularity, and the asset takes firm position among the top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of the market capitalization.

About CEX.IO:

CEX.IO started its activity in 2013 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Since then it has grown into the world-recognized cryptocurrency exchange that provides services to more than 2 000 000 customers. CEX.IO was registered as Money Services Business in FinCEN and is legally empowered to operate in 24 states of the USA.

CEX.IO offers instant buy and sell options for a variety of cryptocurrencies as well as cross-platform trading opportunities for high-liquidity pairs. CEX.IO users are allowed to make credit card and bank transfer deposits and withdrawals, which is a distinctive feature of the platform.

At CEX.IO each customer is ensured of transparent operations, favourable trading conditions and 24/7 support on any issue arisen.

[February 2018, London, UK] DONATE’s™ contactless donation technology raises £4,302.41 for the Mayor’s Fund for London over 5 days

Background

Community barber’s salon Barber Streisand, located in Exmouth Market, partnered with the Mayor’s Fund for London to donate one week of takings to the London specific charity raising funds to provide healthy food to children through their Kitchen Social campaign. With most customers paying for their haircuts and beard trims by contactless card it was imperative that donations were made using similar technology.

Tap+DONATE

DONATE™ provided Barber Streisand with a contactless tap+DONATE™ donation box so that customers could make a donation of the price of the cut. The contactless donation box removed the necessity to book the sales and provided a direct route for the donations to reach the Mayor’s Fund for London.

Explanatory material was made available to customers explaining the initiative and how their donations would provide an immediate benefit to the local community.

Results

A total of £4302.41 was donated over the five days at an average donation of £25. £3716 was made in contactless donations (£86% of total raised) and £586.41 in cash donations

Comments

Speaking about the initiative, Ellie Pamphilon, owner of Barber Streisand said:

“We wanted to give back to the community and the Mayor’s Fund for London provided us with a charity that would resonate with our customers. All but two customers donated their haircut to the Fund and without contactless, the preferred method of payment, we would not have collected a quarter of this amount.

The tap+DONATE™ solution and customer service has been brilliant. They’ve provided us with a 360 solution and we will definitely work with them again.”

And her customer, Ian Watts, said:

"I don't usually carry much cash and always pay for my haircuts on card, so having the card machine available made this a really simple and convenient way to donate the full price of my haircut to the Mayors Fund."

Patzi Shepperson, Head of Development at the Mayor’s Fund for London said: “This has been a huge success for us. We’ve been looking to develop a community fundraising drive for Kitchen Social and the combination of Barber Streisand’s initiative and the tap+DONATE™ service has made this a highly successful trial. We fully intend to roll out the service and look forward to replicating the model with other London retailers in order to support young Londoners who struggle for food and face isolation during the school holidays.”

About the Mayor’s Fund for London

The Mayor’s Fund for London is a social mobility charity.

We empower young Londoners from disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire the skills and opportunities they need to secure employment, climb the career ladder and escape the threat of poverty. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is our patron.

Our charitable activities focus on wellbeing, skills, employment and enterprise. We help children and young people play a greater part in the future of London. In 2016, we supported 31,574 young Londoners across all 33 boroughs working in partnership with 325 schools, 220 employers and 78 charities, social enterprises, and local authorities.

www.mayorsfundforlondon.org.uk

T: 020 7983 4051 @mayorsfund #KitchenSocial

About Barber Streisand

Barber Streisand is a small independent barbers on Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell, providing great cuts and friendly service at sensible prices.

www.barberstreisand.com

45, Exmouth Market

London EC1R 4QL

T: 020 7278 6524 @barberstreisand #barberstreisand

About the National Funding Scheme

The National Funding Scheme (NFS), operating under the DONATE™ brand, provides a range of free mobile fundraising tools to maximise fundraising campaigns.

Launched in 2013, DONATE™ (www.easydonate.org) is a platform that allows the UK public to conveniently and effortlessly donate via contactless, SMS text or online. It is so simple to use that case studies show increases of 17x the amount raised. As a charity itself, all NFS’s costs are covered by the Government's Gift Aid scheme. When no Gift Aid is available NFS charges 4.5% to cover transaction and administration costs.

Organisations wishing to register with DONATE™ should go to http://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/become-a-partner-organisation/ or for further information see www.nationalfundingscheme.org/faqs-about-donate/ for full terms and fees.

Contact:

William Makower, Founder Trustee

William.makower@nationalfundingscheme.org

www.nationalfundingscheme.org

020 3174 2276

Hundreds of families in North West Glasgow have benefited from a funding boost to a grassroots charity project.

Funding from People’s Postcode Lottery to children & families charity 3D Drumchapel will allow the organisation to continue and to expand its Baby Basics & Toddler Togs programme, which recirculates baby and children’s clothes, toys and equipment to families in need.

The project has received a grant £12500 to help ensure this work continues, and to further develop the service.

In the last 9 months 3D Drumchapel has had almost 200 referrals to its clothing and equipment bank, redistributing items from winter jumpers to cots, babygrows to children’s toys, to families in North West Glasgow.

The service covers Drumchapel, Yoker and Knightswood, areas with significantly reduced outcomes for education, health, wellbeing and employment. According to the most recent Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, these areas are among the 1% most deprived in Scotland.

The bank, which takes donations of clothing, toys and equipment to be recirculated in the community, is run by volunteers who have been parents who have accessed the family engagement services at 3D Drumchapel. As well as providing a valuable service to families in the community, the funding will help support parents involved in this initiative to develop their own skills and transform the service into an ongoing and sustainable social enterprise.

Sharon Colvin, Project Manager at 3D Drumchapel, said: “This funding from People’s Postcode Lottery provides a vital boost in resources to allow this invaluable service to continue and grow. It is a win-win for everyone as it provides children’s clothing and goods to families who need it as well as giving families the opportunity to give something back. I am also excited to see our own parents grow in confidence as they engage in new learning opportunities and take ownership of this initiative. I can’t wait to see how where they take it over the coming year.”

Carol Monaghan, MP for Glasgow North West said, “I am delighted that 3D Drumchapel has received £12,500 in funding from People’s Postcode Lottery for their Baby Basics & Toddler Togs programme.

“With almost 200 referrals in 9 months, it is clear how invaluable their work is to the local community, lending a helping hand to those who need it most.

“3D Drumchapel recently celebrated 20 years of supporting hundreds of children and families in Glasgow North West, and I know this grant will provide a great boost for this project. I look forward to hearing about their continued success.”

The funding will pay for one day a week of dedicated staff time, and means that the volunteers can continue providing the free service while developing a business model. They will engage in training including team-building, planning, budgeting, marketing, leadership and people skills and will also earn a unit of a college course 'Developing a Social Enterprise'. By expanding the scope and geographical reach of the service, it will be able to help and support many more vulnerable families across Glasgow.

The service is currently searching for more suitable premises to run the clothing bank from, and 3D Drumchapel would be grateful for any help offered in this regard.

Contacts:

Sharon Colvin, Project Manager, 07483121262

Niall Henderson & Rosalyn Goodfellow, Communications Officers, 0141 944 5740