Sarasota, Florida December 22nd, 2009 –The Sarasota Auction House

Jeff Carlson, Auctioneer and owner of the Sarasota Auction will be holding a special, 2-day Firehouse-Memorabilia Benefit Auction on Friday, January 15th and Saturday 16th at 5pm with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to the Nokomis Fire Department. “It’s hard to sit back and not do anything! I mean, we’ve all been hit hard by the recession and so we felt—given the season and all—that it was time to give something back to the community.” Jeff said in a telephone interview.

The Nokomis Fire Department—just down the street from the Sarasota Auction House—has been serving the community for over 60 years, is staffed 24 hours a day by EMT-trained volunteers, and is solely supported by donations.

“Times like these can feel overwhelming; and certainly everyone is feeling the pinch in their wallets, but what is a community without the recognition and support of these vital services? Call it ‘Christmas Spirit’, but it feels really good knowing that you are helping…even if just a little…to ward of the effects of the recession. It’s nice to rediscover what this season is really about, and we hope that everyone who comes in to the event leaves with the feeling that they, too, have helped to support this vital service in our community.”

This auction will feature collectible, Fireman/Firehouse related toys and items. To find out more about this event, you can call (941)-485-3141, or visit the Sarasota Auction’s Website.

The research by the leading Child Trust Fund provider illustrates the finances that can be needed to realise an adult child’s ambitions and The Children’s Mutual is encouraging parents of today’s younger children to consider saving now if they want to be able to afford both these and their own retirement dreams.

Many parents of today’s 20 something’s have had to raid their own savings or sacrifice their retirement goals in order to help their adult children fulfil theirs. After spending years saving to fulfil their long-standing future plans, parents are finding that when the time comes the funds won’t cover the aspirations of both generations.

28%** of today’s 25 year-olds have financial support from their parents towards education, 23%*** towards their rent and 19%*** have financial support from their parents towards holidays and trips abroad.

David White, Chief Executive, The Children’s Mutual, commented, “We are highlighting to parents of younger children that by starting to save for their child’s future now, they can help avoid the struggles faced by the baby-boomer generation who regularly sacrifice their own dreams for those of their children.”

Research from The Children’s Mutual shows that 80%** of today’s 18 to 25 year-olds believe they can be ‘financially independent’ while still receiving financial support from their parents and 66%*** of those who are ‘completely financially independent’ still get some form of financial support from parents.

Starting to save small amounts regularly over the long-term into Child Trust Funds, is one way parents of today’s children could stand a better chance of fulfilling their own desires alongside being able to provide for their children as they enter adulthood.

David White continued; “Making the step into adulthood is often a strain financially. But from 2020 all 18 year-olds will be receiving their Child Trust Fund and those whose families have managed to save the maximum amount of £1,200 each year will have a fund that could be worth £37,100**** upon maturity. Those who save the average amount amongst our customers of £24 a month could have a fund worth £9,750 (based on investing £24 a month) when they reach age 18.”

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Notes to editors
* 6,309,156 (UK 18-25 year olds – source: statistics.gov.uk) / 100 x 87.2 (18-25 year olds who have had financial help from their parents according to The Children’s Mutual’s Financial Independence Report 2009) = 5,501,584
** Financial Independence Report commissioned by The Children’s Mutual February 2009
*** ibid
**** Projection includes monthly investment (plus £250 government vouchers at birth and age 7) for 18 years in a stakeholder CTF account. Assumed investment return – 7% a year, with charges of 1.5% of the CTF account value each year. Projected values cannot be guaranteed as shares can go up or down. Final payout could be more or less than this.

About The Children’s Mutual – Home of the Child Trust Fund
The Children’s Mutual’s mission is to help parents, grandparents, family and friends fulfil their hopes for today’s children. The Children’s Mutual is the only UK company that specialises in long term savings for children and is now the choice of 1 in 4 parents for their child’s Child Trust Fund, with more than 650,000 accounts.

The Children’s Mutual has won the The Moneyfacts Award for Best Child Trust Fund Provider every year since its 2006 launch.

This expertise has led several financial institutions and family-focused high street retailers to choose The Children’s Mutual as their CTF partner including ASDA, Boots, The Co-operative, Lloyds TSB, Mothercare and regional bank and building societies across the UK.

Katie Donlan
Consolidated PR
22 Endell Street,
London
WC2H 9AD
020 7781 2376
www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk

Graduates from npower’s power station in Aberthaw adopted a stretch of coast and spent a day carrying out a beach clean, working to guidelines provided by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which is a UK charity dedicated to the protection of seas, shores and wildlife.

The group scaled the beach with a litter picking mission, helping to protect wildlife in the area and supporting the MCS’s campaign for cleaner seas, by providing campaigners with information about the litter found on the shoreline.

The Graduate Volunteers Day saw npower graduates support seven projects near to its operations across the UK. As a Volunteering England initiative in support of Volunteers’ Week (1 – 7 June) it is the latest drive from the organisation to encourage staff to support projects in their local community through its employee volunteering scheme.

Niall Moroney, team leader from npower, said: “Taking care of our shoreline is essential to the health of our seas and impacts greatly on marine life.

“The MCS has shown us that we can all do our part in protecting our beaches. Our work today mirrors our commitment to caring for the environment, keeping our beaches clean and safe for the next generation.”

Sue Kinsey from the MCS said: “We are delighted that this beautiful piece of coast has been adopted by the team. The results of their litter sweep will be essential in helping us determine the next step in conserving the area, and is a vital indication of the state of our oceans.”

In total 60 npower graduates volunteered on 4 June at projects in Swindon, Birmingham, Leeds, Didcot, Worcester and Aberthaw.

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About npower:
RWE npower has been awarded the prestigious Community Mark from Business in the Community (BitC). npower is the only utility business, amongst 21 other companies in the UK, to receive this accolade. The Community Mark is a new BitC standard, created to recognise companies that are good investors in local communities and who have brought about real and positive changes.

npower is one of Britain’s largest electricity suppliers and provides gas, electricity and related services to 6.6 million customers across the UK. npower is a market leader in renewable energy and sources green energy directly from renewable sources, at no extra cost.

npower sponsors the 2009 Ashes Test Match Series in England, Women’s Test Series, the Twenty20 Cup and the Village Cup organised by the Wisden Cricketer.

Issued by Freshwater UK on behalf of npower

For further media information please contact:
Vicci Mace
Freshwater Midlands UK
Latham House
33-34 Paradise Street
Birmingham
B1 2BJ
0121 633 7775

The mobile phones were collected by 3,800 LV= employees across 28 LV= sites around the UK, and will be recycled or refurbished for re-use. All the money raised by recycling the mobile phones will go to the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital ‘Kiss It Better’ Appeal. This national charity raises money to help children with cancer.

LV= also announced a further boost for the appeal as it stated that LV= will be matching pound for pound all of the money raised by the recycling or reuse of these the mobile phones.

The certificate confirming the achievements was gratefully received by LV= Group Chief Executive Mike Rogers on behalf of all the employees, and was presented by the Guinness World Records’ Adjudicator Frank Chambers.

Mike Rogers, LV= Group Chief Executive, said: “This initiative has really captured the imagination of our employees. The spirit they have shown in rummaging around at home for all their old mobiles, to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, has been outstanding. One person alone brought in 15 old mobiles. Of course it’s great to be a Guinness World Record holder, but it is far more rewarding to know that the efforts of our employees will significantly help Great Ormond Street’s ‘Kiss It Better’ Appeal and make a difference to those children who need it most.”

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About LV=
LV= is a trademark of Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Limited (LVFS) and LV= is a trading style of the Liverpool Victoria group of companies. The new LV= brand identity was launched in March 2007.

LV= insurance and investment group employs around 3,400 people, serves around 3.5 million customers and members, and manages around £7 billion on their behalf. We are also the UK’s largest friendly society (Association of Friendly Societies Key Statistics 2008, Total Net Assets) and a leading mutual financial services provider.

Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and entered on the Financial Services Authority Register No. 110035. LVFS is a member of the ABI, AMI, AFS and ILAG. Registered address: County Gates, Bournemouth BH1 2NF.

For further media information please contact:
Lucy Pope
Media Relations Manager
Press Office
LV=
County Gates
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH1 2NF
United Kingdom
01202 502 204
www.lv.com

People love to use search engines, social networking sites, job search sites, dating sites, blogs, and personals, so Olmstead created a place for them to do those things and at the same time benefit charities and worthy causes. Businesses and people who donate are given recognition, and help Olmstead’s goal of creating the largest donation list in the world on one website.

The announcement of http://www.Kajoobles.com is good news for the more than 100 charities that will benefit from the new web community. There are free services for everyone to use, such as the search engine, reading other members profiles, games, and shopping. The more people that use http://www.kajoobles.com, the more the charities will benefit – even if people just use the free services.

Olmstead has a passion for helping the world through charitable causes, and created http://www.kajoobles.com to enable people and businesses to do help charities earn money while people just use the services they enjoy.

People love to interact with others in web communities and social networking sites, and advertisers regard such sites as an ideal place to advertise. That is what happens at Kajoobles, and more than 95 percent of the money spent by individuals and 50 percent spent by businesses on advertising goes directly to the charities they select from a list of more than 100.

“Businesses are paying too much to advertise online. I want to change that and stay away from the quick advertising fads, such as the pixel pages. Kajoobles will be here for years to come because it is modified advertising that has proven successful. Now companies can pay a minimal price of $15 a month and be recognized for giving to charities, with more recognition for donating more,” Olmstead explained.

Company Name : kajoobles
Owner Name : David Olmstead
Email: kajooweb@yahoo.comThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
web site : http://www.kajoobles.com
Phone 1-763-442-5188
Address:
7736 Everest Court North Maple Grove, MN 55311