Pay-It-Forward networking is now online. Originally a face to face networking group, Pay-it-Forward networking makes its return online. In conjunction with the Charitable CIC organisation, Networking for Good, PIF is back. It's fortnightly, it's 1 hour long, and it's still free, only this time, from the comfort of your own home or office. Enjoy a relaxing lunch with a 3 course meal of directory networking, a 7-minute speakers (guest talk), and some 1-2-1 speed networking to help you get to meet lots of very interesting people.With 2 brief 30 second adverts from our sponsors, NfG and Aurora to digest with your lunch, it's a great time to meet others, and make great connections. With our fundamental principle of Paying-It-Forward, and not selling to the room, think how you can benefit the others that you will meet, so they want to follow up, to find our more about you, and how you can help one another. Tickets for these events, starting July 6th, can be ordered through EventBrite - Link coming soon. Follow us on Facebook & Don't miss the bus!   In the meanwhile, help others find you! Add your business to Aurora's FREE business & charity directory: Name Contact Email Enterprise Name Business Charity Non-profit/CIC Club                         List your enterprise now, and help connect with other businesses across the UK and the globe!

With all media attention focused on a World War of man vs microbe, raging at our front door, Charities are under greater than ever pressure, unable to raise funds to support the cause that drove them into existence. With so many worthwhile charities out there struggle to be known and recognised in a 'normal' world, but at the present time, this challenge is almost insurmountable, with many unable to proceed without the help from the volunteer workforce, estaimated at over 20 million each year, in the UK alone. As fun as the videos, jokes, & entertaining commentary may be on social media (and some of it is truly very funny), the world outside our 4 wall is crumbling. Many of us could spare a few hours to help support the charities we believe in, whether local, national, or international, and do something truly worthwhile, in our time of isolation. It doesn't mean giving up on Tea & Netflix. It doesn't mean giving away money either! Volunteering can be as simple as helping share the stories from the charities we believe in. It could be as simple as making contact with people who need to be listened to. It could be through making things to sell online for the cause, or trying to create a viral video and tagging the charity to help raise their profile.   There are countless ways to help good causes. We've recognised the strain that worthwhile charities have been under for some time. In the UK alone, there are over 200,000 registered charities. Needless to say we can't support them all, but we can select those that are able to make a real difference. We are asking ALL charities to register on our free Charity directory to help people know what you do, why, what you most need (volunteers, money, or whatever it may be), & the quantifiable benefits a donation will bring, putting it into terms of achievement, & not in terms of cold figures. i.e. exactly what the money being spend will achieve e.g. £20 will look after one rescue donkey for a week, or £5 will feed 3 homeless people per day, or £10 will save 3 injured penguins. The directory is completely free, and has no hidden costs. We do this because we want to make a difference. Being able to look in the mirror & know the good we've all done is truly priceless. If you are a charity, add yourself to the directory, including all links to your social media and website (so people can easily find you, & find out about you, & go to you directly). Use it to tell people how they could spend a bit of their time to #VolunteerInIsolation, that would really make a positive difference. You never know, they may find it a lot more engaging and rewarding than being #BoredAtHome There's no harm in asking!   So register today, and help us build a network of volunteers to help us get through this together.    

ICE SmartBands can save lives. We want to do "our bit". So we're giving away 100 Medical ID wristbands (including postage) to people in need. Although as a small business we can't afford to just give away free products every day, at times like this, if it saves just one extra life, it'll be more than worth it. Corona has turned the world upside down, with people being rushed into hospital, unaccompanied, all alone. With the NHS and other health services globally under excessive stress, mistakes are easy to make. It is important to make sure that ICE information (standing for In Case of Emergency), such as allergies, medical conditions, and contact details for people that understand your needs, is both easily accessible, but also kept up to date. We believe in our ICE Smartbands, and how they can make a real difference, save lives, and bring peace of mind to loved ones. If we can together help save just ONE life, give peace of mind for loved ones, or help someone vulnerable to be able to live a better life, it'll be worth it.   What we are asking: To help us find people in need, visit us on Facebook or Twitter share this post (and please like and follow us). Tag friends who might spread the word. You know. The ones who always ask you to like pages. Now it's your turn to ask! If you know of someone who many benefit, add a comment. Tell us how it might help/affect their life. If you comment is popular, we'll contact you, and send you/them one. We will even help you get it set up over the phone so that it arrives ready to use! No strings. No catch. If you're a lucky recipient, you could always show your appreciation by spreading the word on social media & tagging us so we can see too, sending us a photo of them with their new shiny ICE Smartband, writing a testimonial, or simply telling others about it. No obligation, but it would be nice!   Want To Get One Now? If you want to guarantee that someone you love will receive one, buy a limited edition ICE Smartband (Corona Support Edition) for just £12.99. Enter discount code corona for free shipping too!For every item you buy using this code, we'll donate £5 to either support the NHS, or support a charity you choose! Please help us spread the word, by sharing this article on all of your social media platforms!!! Click for a demo In brief, what are ICE Smartbands, and how can they save lives? Having up-to-date health/medical and contact information on hand is so important. Our Medical ID ICE Smart wristbands are easy to use, convenient to carry, lightweight, durable and affordable. They provide quick and easy access to important health/medical & contact information, using well proven NFC technology. They are also available as key fobs, buttons, badges, and many other designs too. How Medical ID ICE Smart Wristbands can save lives: Helps make your ICE (medical & contact) information quickly and easily accessible to first responders. Medical wristbands and wearables are one of the first things paramedics & first aiders are trained to look for Simple to access by over 95% of today’s smartphones, and no Special App is needed! Keep your ICE information up-to-date. Setup takes under a minute. Change it any time No Batteries, means no Charging. Guaranteed to work! Works Worldwide Automatically send a location alert to selected contacts/carers when read with an NFC/data enabled smartphone (*) 100% Waterproof / Washproof, with many of our products also being fully laundry proof Affordable one off price with no subscription costs or hidden extras A wide range of extra benefits for owners/wearers too! Find out more at ICEsmartbands.com or see our brochure below!   Please help us spread the word, & spread the importance of ICE and ICE smartbands in saving lives !!! Stay Safe, Carry ICE !!! * 95% of today's smartphones have a feature called NFC, allowing them to read tags around 1cm away. You ether know of NFc or you don't, but it's been around for quite a while, and is in passports, driving licences, hotel keycards, and many more places you've probably never even realised. Most phones have NFC working straight out of the box, iPhones (X and up), most Android phones e.g. Samsung, Huawei, Sony LG, etc. For iPhone models 7 & 8 you may need to download an NFC reader app, with many free to choose from on the App store. This means almost everyone with a smartphone can offer help in an emergency! 

We all know people whose first question to you will be 'have you made an New Year Resolutions'. Rather than go for the standard ones, I've pulled together a whole bunch to have a play with!   Waiting until the end of the year to make plans for the following year. It’s a tradition that in many ways makes little sense. Making a NY resolution is often treated like making a wish, with many making promises which is almost impossible to keep. Many people ‘wish’ to lose weight, but are more likely to lose their car keys. Generally not the best way to look at it, when people hate losing things, yet this is often one of the most common resolutions, next to becoming super-fit and ready for entering the Olympics. The common top New Years Resolutions are well known as including losing weight, gaining a new skill, learning a language, quiting smoking, giving up alcohol, or getting super-fit. Often people dont have any real deep intention to prioritise the resolution, so the promises despite being well intended, don't last. In 2020, it seems that many people will become temporary vegans, with some already sounding quite militant, as they tuck into their last chicken nibbles at the Christmas buffet before implementing their life choice. Because of how passionate many people are about their beliefs, it gave us a few ideas for some conversation changers and stoppers meant for amusement only. Starting off tame, and getting more adventurous, why not see just how far you can go! (Also, please don't take any of these too seriously, and use at your own risk!) To only wear trainers when I’m exercising To spend more time on my Smartphone To become an Instagram influencer using nothing but pictures of guinea pigs To become a professional hand model To get away with doing graffiti by pretending to be Banksy To Write a book (Here’s some suggested titles for something suitably ‘amusing') “How to torment a vegan" “The dangers of eating roadkill" (remembering to rub your stomach too) “How to photograph your friends & neighbours while they are not looking”, along with a book on “Making your own camouflage" To learn to compliment people without grinning (followed by telling them their hair is nice….. with a really wide grin!) To become a psychic To find out how many types of body fluids I can sell To pretend to listen to people more To drink less, specifying only 1 litre of water a day, without getting dehydrated To not shave all year - anywhere (focus on saying the anywhere with enthusiasm!) To become more assertive if nobody minds To combine religion and eating, and have the same BMI as Buddha Do a stand-up comedy set (said in a really monotone voice) To put off procrastinating, starting tomorrow To maybe become more decisive To better remember to take my anti-psychotic medication To not argue with as many purple dragons (see above) To learn to act more naturally, and avoid sudden movements To not talk about "life on my home planet" in public To stop telling people “I used to be your age once” (especially if they are older) To stop telling people "When I grow up…” (especially if you are older) To stop telling people “I used to be your sex once" To stop arguing with my (imaginary) friend as much To find a way to get into the Guinness book of records with just a toothpick To train to be a body double for Santa To not appear passive aggressive …. by using dots and exclamation marks in texts! To not be thrown off a ski run for writing my name in the snow (by writing someone else’s name) To spend a week using a daily horoscope as a set of instructions To invent a new shape To try to show more interest in what other people say at me To try to see what’s the funniest thing to make that I can actually sell on eBay To invent a new dance that everyone is going to want to do To meet up with everyone I am connected to on Facebook, making particular reference to commuting to visit the ones in India, Nigeria, and Nicaragua To spend more time wearing pants (my own) To not get tired running for the train…. by not running To try Rohypnol, and see if I can remember having it To try to wave at more strangers while driving, without causing quite as many accidents To invent a new word, and try to get other people to use it. (Try not to squijin too much about this one) To use mixers more when drinking pints of spirits Learn a party trick that I’m 'allowed to do in public' (focusing on the ' ' !) Brush my teeth at least daily To save up writing all my Trip Advisor reviews for when I'm drunk To beat the average 8% success rate on new years resolutions by only doing something that I already do To stop relying on my GPS (I would have been here ages ago, but…. moving on…) Stop spontaneously breakdancing, and doing ’the robot'' To stop being 'turned on' talking to strangers (remembering to wink too!) Learn how to spell discombobulate (and learn what it means the year after) To talk less (and then don’t say anything - at all, and move your eyes, left, right, up etc.) We hope you found some of the above 50 as amusing, and hope that it makes your New Year conversations more memorable!   So if you go to a New Years party, (but not necessarily when you're back at work) why not throw a few of these in, and then start counting to see how long before the person finds an excuse to walk off. (Preferably count in your head, although out loud may alter the reaction!)   #FunnyNewYearResolutions #HappyNewYear #2020Vision   If you enjoyed this, please share, and remember to follow, like, or comment!

The world is full of lots of important causes in need. Whether a global challenge, such as curing the thousands and thousands of different types of cancers, or introduce mechanisms for plastic and toxin extraction from the marine ecosystem, or local causes such as improved hospice facilities to give those beyond medical intervention to give them the care they need and the environment to pass away with dignity, there appears to be no end to the number of ways that we can provide help, and no end to the number of places hoping to receive. With over 200,000 registered charities in the UK, let alone the many non-profit organisations, and countless individual fund-raising drives, this means the number of voices calling for your hard earned money has escalated from a loud noise, to beyond a deafening roar. With their tactics often turning to more and more graphic imagery, using extremes of guilt and emotional pressure, we are bombarded with these cause, and often give in to these pressures to contribute what little we can. But we can each only stretch so thin, and give so much. When being 'pounced upon' to donate, we often just get to hear the 'cover story' and pitch from the collector about how bad the problem is, but just how many of us look at how well the money is used to achieve the promise for a solution.   With us always meeting many charities and other causes, we get to prod deeper. Understanding the charity model, the legal limitations (such as the capping of salaries), and how some of these rules are 'worked around'. We look at the charity structure, business model (as all charities have to be like a business and balance their books), and the benefits they bring. We don't focus on criticising what the money is spent on, for example focusing on the costs of hosting a gala dinner to help build supporters which may have a high cost but might lead to great publicity and far more money to the cause. Instead we at Aurora focus on promises, and compare the money they receive with the promise of the good they will do with it. As an example, using a fictitious example charity "Save the Penguin", we want charities to explain te benefits that are generated for every £10 received, and just how this equates to the number of penguins rescued, rehabilitated and released. If we know, as donors, that donating £10 will save 3 penguins, it gives us, the donor, a greater connection with the good we do, rather than putting it into what otherwise may seem like an unknown unrewarding black hole. Charities want our money. Isn't it only fair that they should make these accountability promises, and then feed back on just how well they did against them? Won't this show the good and the bad charities by the deeds they do, as opposed to the words they say?  

Have you ever wondered why some mobiles have an In Case of Emergency (ICE) setting available to show on the home screen? If you are involved in an accident, and your phone isn't damaged or flat, if you've set an ICE message, first responders may get to see it. Although you wouldn't necessarily advertise your medical conditions on there, it's a great way for people to know who to contact, and to help identify you. Also, as part of the campaign, setting your loved ones to a contact called ICE, means that anyone with your phone will know who to speak with In Case of an Emergency.   Today, I met the man behind ICE, who created this campaign, still globally growing, even more than 13 years later.   For many years, Bob worked as a paramedic, for both the Air Ambulance, and on the ground. During this time, he focused mainly on the body, and providing first aid in the moment. After he retired, he moved more into providing first aid for people’s minds, through a psychology technique called Mindfulness, designed to help provide mental first aid for trauma, stress and overwhelm, as well as counselling, and performance coaching.   Prior to meeting Bob, after seeing his photos, I found everything pointing to a laid back and insightful character, and wondered how Bob could somehow become involved with Aurora. After all, anyone who puts helping others at the heart of everything he does, is good in my books!   From our first contact, before we met, I found Bob both polite & respectful, with a strong air of genuine caring. Everything about him on the internet is humbling, and so I was wondering whether face to face he would meet up with this image I had built. Quite frankly, he was even nicer than I had imagined.   Bob and I discussed Aurora, the Deals for Donations site, and just how the SmartBands interacted to generate donations for good causes, but mainly, of no surprise, Bob was extremely impressed with Aurora's Smart-Technology and the ICE capabilities, requiring no special app, and just an NFC enabled Smartphone with an internet connection.   Bob, who runs a successful Mindfulness business, provides training courses, and often speaks publicly about ICE, and his time as a paramedic, with the importance of having key information immediately available, knows first hand what it is like to wake up in hospital without loved ones around, from an accident  in his early teenage days, and this, coupled with his impressive career caring for people within the NHS, led him to launch ICE in the early 2000's.   We are pleased to have such a great testimonial feedback from Bob, whose enthusiasm for what we are doing could clearly be seen during our 3 hours together, and am sure that his valued input will not stop there, as he accepted our offer to become an Ambassador for Aurora, and our ICE products.

How Can these Smart Cards Tackle Homelessness?   ICE SmartBands & Aurora have got together on a mission to help provide swift and effectiive long term recovery for the homeless.   The Situation:  Homeless ‘Bob’ is down on his luck. (insert name of any of the many tens of thousands of men & women in the UK alone)   Imagine Bob comes up to you, & asks you for money. How will you truly respond? Give him money, & perhaps risk prolonging the problem, worried about whether it will be used to fund a drug, or alcohol habit, for example? Ignore 'Bob' & continue walking? Perhaps you’ll tell him to get a job... Maybe you’ll feel obligated to buy him lunch, or a drink. The hard truth is that none of these things will help to get 'Bob' off the streets?   Now imagine Bob comes up to you. He doesn't ask for money. Instead, he simply asks you to learn about his efforts to get off the streets. He show you his unique Donation SmartCard (such as in the picture), & you choose to scan it with your mobile (using either NFC or QR code)   You can then read all about him, learn why he’s on the streets, about his skills, perhaps covering what he did for a living before his life turned, & read about his recovery plan, such as how he can find a home, to get & keep respectable work, & how else he intends to contribute to society in a more meaningful way. You can (under no pressure or obligation) choose to follow Bob’s story (by adding his 'campaign' to your favourites), perhaps even reading Bob’s personal blog, allowing you to track his progress, with ‘live’ updates on progress on his Recovery Plan. You can spread the word, sharing his story with others, who perhaps may be the very ones who could change his life, You can then make an unpressured decision of whether to help in a range of other ways, such as donating DIRECTLY to the Charity that 'manages' his spending (who make sure this money is allocated towards a balance of funds for his daily needs, & the rest goes towards truly getting him off the streets, in the form of rent, professional clothing, training, & whatever will make the change permanent. You can choose to donate with the rewards you receive from buying some of the deals on Aurora from local businesses (more coming soon). After all, if you’ve got a great deal on afternoon tea, isn’t it a good option to use the donation you are rewarded with, to help make a difference for someone like Bob? And whether you donate or not, you can help Bob further by spreading the word, e.g. by social media, helping give him an opportunity, perhaps otherwise difficult to find.   Between us all, we can make a difference in so many ways. We are already starting to work with a range of Homeless Charities in Beds and Bucks, but if you know any other Homeless Charity, tell them about us, and to contact us, so they can take advantage of the work we've already done, which we are very happy to share! Whatever your enterprise, from parrot rescues to pizza shops, or from night shelters to nursing homes, why not contact us, to see how we can help revolutionise what you do. Why wait....Let us change the world together, TODAY!     A note for the sceptics: We make our money from selling our Smart Devices (such as our Medical Information SmartTech keyfob that could EASILY save a life for just a one off cost of just £5), and through offering on Aurora some great deals (min. 20% discount) from local merchants. We truly want to make a difference, and believe there is so much more to be gained by working with, rather than taking advantage of worthwhile charities. All registered Charities can sign up to our platform for FREE, list campaigns for FREE, write blogs for FREE, and to avoid us becoming a bottleneck or extra overhead, we don't even get involved in direct donations either!   Contact us for more details of how we can help your charity. An idea is no good, if no-one knows about it. So (please) spread the word...!!   (Search 'Homeless Bob' on the website, to read more about the DEMO campaign)