LIFE CAN BE BETTER - IF EACH OF US DO WHAT WE CAN

It's our view that for many modern society can seem pretty cynical and selfish at times.  We feel the world would be a better place if people worried less about themselves and made more of an effort to help others and be nice to one another. 

 In recent years The Social Group has supported...

• The Monkey Sanctuary
• M.E.N.D.
• Cancer Research UK
• Paignton Zoo Tiger Conservation
• Help The Bees
• Arthritis Research UK
• Help For Heroes
• Children's Hospice South West
• The Alzheimer's Society

Obviously, as a social enterprise, we are set up to help people be less lonely and enjoy a better social life, and over the years our efforts and dedication has helped countless thousands of people to make new friends, bringing our community closer together.  As the people who thought up, named, and developed modern style 'social networking', we've been at the heart of this idea of enabling people to connect and come together to have fun and lead better lives.

In addition, we do a great deal to offer help and advice to anyone who asks.  Some people call us, just needing to chat to someone, never joining the group but grateful for someone to listen.  Behind the scenes we do a lot to help people who are bereaved, recovering from serious illness, or trying to make a new life after separation or divorce.  We also try to offer extra assistance to people who are far from home and new to the area, doing our best to point them in the right direction of whatever they might need.

In the past we offered assistance to helping organise a team of volunteers with the decoration of accommodation for students, creating a wildlife pond for a local school, and encouraging local councils not to use so many herbicides and pesticides, and to plant out more areas of wild flowers.  

Each winter, we do what we can via our network of Twitter pages and local contacts to co-ordinate information during heavy snow, acting like an additional Emergency Service, making sure no-one is left isolated or cut off and in danger in the cold and passing on useful travel updates.

We also do our bit to advise sufferers, relatives of sufferers, and doctors about M.E. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, trying to promote a greater understanding of how serious this horrible illness actually is and how difficult this makes life for people when they cannot use any muscles without severe pain. Also, campaigning for proper understanding that M.E. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is the result of chemical poisoning, and for some serious research to be done to find treatments and hopefully a cure. 

Earlier this year, we started and encouraged a campaign on Twitter to ask people to pop next door and offer help to their blue badge neighbours.  We know from personal experience that, if you look okay, very few people ever think to help you.  You hear lots of people bragging how many hours they put in at the gym or how far they ran or cycled, who never think to put just some of that energy to better use in offering to mow the lawn or paint a ceiling of someone next door who is less fortunate with their health and who finds it difficult to even stand up. 

We also do what we can to support environmental campaigns.  After the 2011 revolution in Egypt, our backing of Camel Dive School helped persuade the new authorities to secure protection for the beautiful Ras Mohammed Marine National Park coral reefs along the Red Sea coast, which some of our members will know from previous Social Group Holidays to Sharm-El-Sheikh. We also support all the good work done by Reef Relief in Florida. And we are also involved in campaigning for the protection of the unspoilt Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.

Recently we were asked to give talks on social networking and helping others to a local primary school, doing our best to make it interesting to the children by telling them about our visit around the world to Exmouth Australia with The Social Group.

Fully behind the ideas of a Big Society, it's our view that whatever you can do all contributes to making the world a better place.

ALL DONATIONS TO HELP SUPPORT THE GOOD WORK WE DO ARE APPRECIATED. MANY THANKS.