Another Charity Headshave: What prompt me to do this again and more about my charity work

So glad to be back...

Hi everyone! I am so happy to be sharing another post with you all finally. It has been far too long and I appreciate everyone's patience. I have had a lot going on (all will be explained in blog posts to come) but now I am back and hoping to post at least once every two weeks, once a week if I can manage. I have so much I want to share with all my readers from mental health and vegan recipes to toddler life and mummy posts, all will come soon and I cannot wait to receive some feedback from all of you. Thank you again for the continued support despite my lack of posting and for all the post ideas I have been sent, they are all jotted down in my notebook I promise and hopefully I will get round to typing up every one of those ideas into a post. LauraJaneLife blog is back and I am so happy about it! So let's just jump straight into today's topic... my newly shaved head! 

Previous Charity work and why I think it is important to give back...

I have done some charity work in the past and want to do so much more in the future! Since a young age my aim in life has always been to help people and make the world a better place. Sounds cheesy I know, a cliche that you hear people say all the time but that is the honest truth. I found it difficult to choose in what way I wanted to help people/change the world, I have been through many job possibilities in my head; mental health nurse, midwife, prime minister, M.P., author, psychologist, working in the criminal justice system, army nurse, police officer.. the list goes on. All these jobs I still think would be amazing to do and who knows maybe in the future I will pursue one of them (fun fact- I did get into university for Mental Health nursing and also a course that would of helped me to become a certified counsellor but it did not feel right for me at the time so I did not accept, but who knows maybe I could go back to this in the future). I could never decide what exactly I wanted to do career wise, I did know I wanted to help others however and that has driven me throughout my life. This being the reason any job I have ever had has been caring based- a children's party host, a nursery support worker, a learning disabilities care worker, elderly carer- I just want to help out and make a difference. Being a Mother was also something I always wanted to do and I would say is one of the biggest ways to change the world and impact the future because you are literally raising the next generation. Through being pregnant I also then re-discovered my childhood passion of writing leading to the moderate success of my blog, being employed as a writer for two online parenting websites and the starts of a self-published book (still a LONG way to go with that one). In all these ways I have become more passionate about making the world a better place and impacting the world positively with my time here. I am so grateful to of touched so many people with my writing, making people feel not alone when it comes to things such as mental health or motherhood. Receiving messages saying that I have made people feel accepted with my open-minded attitude or that I have made them re-think their lifestyle habits through my animal rights and environmental posts. It may be a small impact but an impact none the less and I hope to continue this. So yes through my life so far I have tried my best to find ways to help others and other than career paths there is charity work, here are some of the things I have done previously. 

-Donated to Foodbank every month
-Bought food for the homeless

-Coffee mornings for macmillan cancer support 

-Headshave for macmillan cancer support 

-Volunteering for Childline

- Fundraising for Rosie's Cafe (Mental Health Charity) 

The first headshave...

The first time I shaved my head, as I said, was for Macmillan Cancer Support. It was around 3 years ago I did it and raised £300. Still to this day I get letters (telling me of what work they are doing/have done with the money I raised) and little rewards you could say from Macmillan (such as Christmas cards, tags for presents, postcards etc) which I think is really sweet. I originally wanted to shave my head because around this time my hair was SO damaged from the amount of dying I had put it through in a very short amount of time, but then I began to think that instead of just shaving it I could shave it for a cause which as I have explained is something I am very passionate about. So I went for it, here is a picture from that first head shave. (Side note: I did not donate my hair because of the damage and the length was too short). 

Second headshave and why...

People- including family and friends- thought I was crazy to do this again! Why would you shave your head after growing it all back? Well the answer is simple.. because I can. It is just hair at the end of the day and if I can help a very worthy cause just by shaving my head then why wouldn't I? For me there was no answer to this question and thus I shaved my head. There were of course other reasons apart from 'just because I can'. I was always planning on doing this again, I just wasn't sure when or what charity to do it for and then I heard that the wonderful Willows Animal Sanctuary were really struggling with donations and were not sure if they could continue to look after their animals through the winter months and this gave me that final push to set up the just giving page. As you readers will know since I had my daughter I became vegan and through this I have found a whole new love and respect for animals so this cause was close to my heart. I also think Willows is so one of a kind to be a sanctuary that saves animals not only from abuse and neglect but from slaughter! In Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire anyways I don't think there is any other place like this that does not profit from the animals or exploit them but simply care for them, save them and try to spread the message that choosing a plant-based lifestyle is best for your health, environment and of course, the animals. I honestly adore this place and could not sit by and let such a wonderful place close. I want to take my daughter and any other children we may have to visit here a lot in the future to teach them all the values Willows upholds so they can use them through their life. So as I have said anything I could do to help I was most definitely going to do that! Aside from this I have noticed, as a woman, a lot of your beauty is defined by hair? If I was a man shaving my head it would be no big deal but as a woman, your crazy?! I have been called brave for shaving my head 'as a woman', I have been called of course 'crazy!' and one man said to me recently "why would you do that to yourself, your a woman?" and when I replied saying it was for charity it was then "That's okay then because it was for charity". I am not saying people who think this way are bad of course not, our society conditions us to think in these gender stereotypes but I would like to be an individual that challenges these and opens the minds of others who may think a woman's beauty is based upon her hair or looks alone. Not going to lie, last time I shaved my head I hid it all the time under wigs to make myself more 'feminine', this was 3 years ago when I was a lot more self-conscious although looking back I did not need to be, no one does. Where as this time around- I don't know if its the fact I am a Mother now and do not have the time to put a wig on every day, that I am a lot more chilled about looks as it is not important in my eyes or both but I am rocking this shaved head look and loving it. Embracing the funny looks I get in the street as compliments or at least I stand out? Mainly I want to be a role model to Ella-Grace in all aspects of life and show her that her beauty does not depend on her hair or her looks, it does not matter what anyone else thinks and that as long as you are confident yourself that is what matters. I cannot stress enough to anyone reading this that at the end of the day looks do not matter! Yes of course people like to look there best or get dolled up for special occasions but that does not make you beautiful or not. I put on make up not because I think I need it but because I enjoy it and I like the way it looks that does not mean I look worse without it or I am not beautiful, because I am and everyone is. Once you live in this mindset you feel so much happier and free and make others feel the same because you are not judging anyone on looks. So yes, sorry for the word vomit, I was very confident in my choice to shave my head for Willows and 'beauty' never crossed my mind nor did bravery for that matter. I did not and do not consider myself as brave for shaving my head although many have said I was, bravery is people saving lives, bravery is people fighting for their lives, I just don't see this as brave although I do appreciate the supportive messages and comments from people who do think that. I just saw this as me doing a good deed for a good cause and I have a new hair style at the end of it. That's all. In the end I raised £210 for Willows Animal Sanctuary. 

How I pick what charities I fundraise for...

I by no means am the fundraising or charity work champion, far from it in fact I wish I had the time and money to do more for good causes and organise more events. I have always said I would love to run a marathon or organise a charity ball, hopefully this will be in the future at some point. Any ways I may not be the fundraising champ but I do have specific charities that in the future I do plan to help and these are for many reasons. Someone messaged me and asked me to go through the charities/causes I think are important and I personally would want to raise money/awareness for. This list could be a blog post in itself so here I will put my top 3 at the moment. 

Mental Health Charities 

As many of you know I have struggled with mental illness through most of my life, still do now and always will. Anxiety, panic attacks and self harm are all subjects that I have personal experience in and really touch my heart. I do think these things are still very stigmatised which is very wrong. When I was going through my darkest times all I wanted was help and for someone to tell me that what I was feeling will pass and there is help. Unfortunately so many people of all ages do not get this support and often get met with negative responses when they try to open up, sometimes even bullying. On many occasions unfortunately people struggling mentally feel their is no way out and take their lives because of this. I have been in that dark place where you feel so alone and that no one can help you and now being in a totally different mindset yet having that empathy for others who have experienced mental illness/ are experiencing, I would love to help. Charities I have strongly considered volunteering/fundraising for have been Samaritains, Mind, SAMH and many more. I have previously contacted Samaritans but unfortunately the timing just was not right and I was not able to volunteer but it is still something I am very open to in the future. Mental health is just as important as Physical health, I am a firm believer of this FACT.

Rape and Sexual Assault Victims 

I don't really know where to start when talking about this topic. I have written in the past that I myself have experienced sexual assault and sadly many of my friends have been victim to sexual assault and/or rape. In fact pretty much every woman I know has an experience of some sort of injustice that has been done to them when it comes to sexual harassment, assault, attempted rape or rape, it is a very sad fact that to this day it is a very scary place for women and I feel very strongly that something needs to be done about this. From improvements in the criminal justice system to changes in society's attitude (for example victim blaming is such a big problem), there are many things in my opinion that can be done to support these victims and potentially stop other assaults occurring. No one asks to be raped. Of course this is not just a female problem, there are many men that are also a victim to sexual assault and rape, I am in full support of them also when I say I wish to help these victims and survivors. Although I do think that women are more at risk of this, men and women a like should not be treated any differently when it comes to support after a sexual assault or rape, all cases should be taken seriously. I hope that all made sense, I get a bit overwhelmed when talking about something I am passionate about. 

So, having some horrid experiences myself and knowing many people who have, not to mention seeing first hand victim blaming (for example I know someone who got raped walking home, by two men and many around her said 'Well she shouldn't of been walking home alone?' NO the men should not have raped her!). All of this makes me very passionate about helping rape and sexual assault survivors and even more so since I have had my little girl. I am already teaching her about consent when it comes to giving hugs, she does not have to hug anyone if she does not want to nor can she make someone hug her. These little steps I think are very important. I would love to volunteer for rape and sexual assault support groups, help fundraise for charities that support such survivors and maybe, if the opportunity came up, I would love to speak to schools about consent because that I think is a very blurred subject and it is time those lines were made clear especially for young adults. This is truly one of the most horrific things that could happen to you and more often than not unfortunately, people get away with their actions or incidents go unreported out of fear or shame, this NEEDS to change and I want to be a part of that change. I could go on and on about this but just as an end note I would like to say if anyone needs to talk about a situation they are going through regarding sexual assault or rape I would be more than happy to speak to anyone, also if anyone knows of any volunteering, fundraising, awareness raising or school speaking opportunities in this area I would love to know about them. 

Animal Rights Charities 

Going to keep this one short just because I have spoke about it already in this post and A LOT in other posts. Obviously I am very passionate about animals and helping them in any way I can. Humans are so destructive and animals are the opposite, what is sad is that they really don't have a voice. If they did maybe as human beings we would not do the evil things that we do to them. This lack of voice that the animals of this world have makes me feel that I need to be that voice. I need to speak up about the cruelty of farming, how we are ruining their homes, vile hunting, animal testing, exploitation of animals for entertainment, the list really does go on and on and the sad thing is that many people don't even know these things are cruel and willingly take part. That makes me so sad but also grateful that my eyes have been opened to what is really happening behind the scenes to the beautiful creatures of this planet. For some reason what I have just said will be deemed 'controversial' to some but it is the honest truth and with out change animals will continue to suffer, go extinct and our environment as well as theirs will deteriorate, fast! Again, I could go on and on! I hope to do more fundraising for Willows animal sanctuary and other charities that benefit the animals. I plan to purchase some Go Vegan Scotland merchandise  for myself and Ella-Grace this Christmas and I am very excited about that and the cause my money will go towards. 

Summary and Thank you for reading...

In conclusion (haven't wrote that since I was writing English or Philosophy essays in school haha), I am very passionate about charity work and living my life to change the lives of others and the world around us in positive ways. There are specific areas that I gravitate towards helping but really there are endless lists of worthy causes and amazing charities I am sure people could fundraise for, donate to, volunteer etc. I am proud of what I have done this year and in the future hope to do much more as I have said. I want Ella-Grace to grow up seeing her Mummy helping others and hopefully she will be proud or even better want to get involved with me. 
That is the end of this weeks post, thank you so much for reading! Sorry if the post is a bit all over the place it has been a while and I have had to type this out quite fast in the short space of time I have while Reece baths Ella-Grace (that's the life of a work from home mum). As always however I wrote from the heart, I wrote this post honestly and although it may  be all over the place and I am sure full of spelling and grammar errors, it is me and I like to think of my blog as an online diary and you are all here reading my inner thoughts. Quite a scary thing to share with the world but I feel it has a place here and may influence others positively. Rambling on again, seriously need someone to stop me haha. Thanks again for reading. Till the next post- I have many more unfiltered posts to come from motherhood to mental health, I have a lot to talk about! And as I always end my posts...

Stay Happy Everyone! :)