Trying to make a difference

LJ’s founder, Leesa Sharpe has always had a large place in her heart for charitable causes. Having previously ran a local charity ‘Pride of the Isle’ she understands the tireless work involved.
Since covid and the recent ‘cost of living’ crisis, charities are struggling more and more to generate funds to keep providing the services they do.
Leesa believes deeply that it is important to give back as much as you can. For this reason, each year she chooses a new charity to support.

Choosing Eves Trust

In May 2022, Leesa approached the ‘Eves Trust’ a Doncaster based charity whose main goal is to create memories and dreams for terminally or seriously ill cancer patients in the area.
The LJ’s team got together and put together a plan as to how they were going to raise the funds. The first being a sponsored sky dive.
Leesa and John bravely dropped from a plane at the Hibaldstow Sky Dive centre, on what was one of the hottest days of the year. Certainly, a brave thing to do, but the focus was on raising funds and generating awareness for the charity. It was worth facing those fears.
The dive was completed in the summer and was the beginning of a number of fundraising events planned to raise funds for the charity.

Extending the support

Leesa never anticipated that at the end of the summer she would need to call on the charity. One of the LJ’s boutique regular customers was diagnosed with terminal cancer and the whole team were saddened by the news. Clynton from Eve’s Trust spoke with Leesa and together they discussed creating some memories for the lady and her family.
Shortly after, Leesa pledged that the LJ’s team would continue to support Eves Trust for a further year and a target of £5000 was set.

Sending stars

Facebook stars is a feature that allows a channel to monetize their video and audio content.
Because LJ’s Boutique hosts many live streams on the Facebook platform, this became another way that funds could be raised effortlessly.
Viewers can buy stars and send them when watching a live or past live video that has stars enabled. For every star received, Facebook pays around $0.01 US.
LJ’s, therefore, decided to donate any ‘stars’ sent by watchers to the charity. Thus, adding to the ‘Eves Trust Kitty’.

The Santa Dash

In December 2022, LJ’s team members Natalie and Claire decided to take part in the Santa Dash organised by the Eves Trust charity at the Doncaster Toll Bar Rugby Club.
As non-runners, the 5K was a challenge for the pair, however, they decided to not only race but to also compete in fancy dress.
With a ‘Christmas theme’ in mind, the girls made their own costumes out of cardboard boxes they’d found in the back of the warehouse. When mixed with an array of wrapping paper, bows and tinsel they soon became complete ‘Christmas presents’.
The plan was, that anyone who donated £5 could have a Christmas Tag with a message for a loved one (past or present) glued to their costumes.
Running the course was treacherous on the day, with ice and winter temperatures in the minuses.
However, with the goal of raising vital funds on the horizon, Claire and Natalie completed the course in around 45 minutes – raising a grand total of £300 for the charity pot.
The morning was ‘topped off’ by them also winning a medal for the best fancy dress.
They’re already planning their costumes for next years’ event….

Future charity plans

With such a large goal pledged, the LJ’s team will be thinking and working through various charitable events throughout the year. Please follow the socials to be kept updated.
If you’d like to learn more about the Eve’s Trust you can visit their website here.

To donate to the kitty, here’s the direct link to the LJ’s pot.