Fourteen disabled people were killed, and eight more badly burnt in a fire and explosion around 2.00pm on November 26 that devastated a charity workshop in the Black Forest area of South West Germany.

The workshop was run by the Catholic charity Caritas and the tragedy was thought to have been caused by a faulty gas heater. More than 100 people were working in the workshop making Christmas toys and other items.

An investigation is currently being carried out.

Billions of pounds in aid money meant to help the people of Japan rebuild their lives after its tsunami and nuclear disasters have been wasted by Japan’s politicians on projects such as whaling, which Japan does under the guise of “research”

Other priorities the Japanese government has set for expenditure of the aid money include vital renovation of government offices in Tokyo.

Question for givers is whether governments of other disaster-hit countries would be more deserving.

Donations to charities have slumped by 20% because of the recession.

This is one of the findings of the annual survey by the Charities Aid Foundation and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, which found that donations to charities fell by by £2.3 billion last year to £9.3 billion, figures adjusted for inflation. The proportion of people giving to charity also fell – from 58% to 55% – and the average gift fell from £11 per month to £10 per month.

Meanwhile there have been calls for those not working actively for charity to not be considered for knighthoods, an aspect that would apply to more than 25% of the names on the last honours list. This would not of course have applied to Sir Jimmy Savile, whose unsuitability for the knighthood he was given was due to other factors.

As nearly 500 victims of abuse by disgraced BBC celebrity Sir Jimmy Savile have come forward a former BBC governor, Sir Roger Jones has told the Exposure Update documentary programme why he stopped appearances by Savile on the Children in Need TV charity appeal in 1999.

Jones, who was BBC governor from 1997 – 2003 claimed: “The body language of the staff when Jimmy Savile was mentioned was such that I could detect discomfort and I came to the view that they didn’t really want him involved, and I didn’t want him involved either”

Since the two Exposure programmes were aired the NSPCC has had a significant rise in calls on its helpline on aspects of sexual abuse. (0808 800 5000)

One friendly hotel we’ve found in the pretty town of Midhurst, West Sussex, in the centre of the South Downs National Park, is the Angel Hotel and Bentley’s Grill, a traditional old coaching inn, with rooms dating from the 17th century

This offers charities free use of its £150 per day meeting room for up to 70, formerly the magistrates courtroom till 1880 and still bearing the inscription: “I will not change until I die”, although whether this applied to the magistrates, or the criminals they tried here, is unknown. Charities are also offered discounts on food and beverage consumed. One former consumer here was H.G.Wells, who lodged a few doors away and used the hotel as a setting in some of his books. Continue reading →

The Fort Amherst Heritage Trust, which looks after the historic Amherst Fort in Chatham, Kent has outraged some of its management, trustees and volunteers by raising money, alleged to be £1,200, from allowing Playboy TV to make a pornographic film in the network of tunnels underneath the heritage site.

Some at the charity are claiming that donors have been put off by the booking, said to have been agreed by a member of the management team who has since left. Continue reading →

Does any charity shop, or group, issue vouchers that can be purchased, given as a gift and can only be spent in the issuing charity shop, or shops, to encourage spending and perhaps bring in new customers?

If not, why not?