Fred Mercaldo’s Post

Worth attending the below if for no other reason than to get more puns like the ones below...

Since joining Prosperity 24/7, I've come to realise that there's not much that brings us together like a good Love to Ride challenge. We managed to top our respective leaderboards in the recent May challenge, although Greener Kirkcaldy gave us an excellent run for our money. We got new people involved in the challenge, we saved an estimated 546lb CO2 through cycling instead of driving and as well as cheering on our usual stalwarts, I also discovered which colleagues will come through last thing on a Friday and undertake a round-the-island-cycle for the extra miles... Sure, winning is fun but what's really nice is to see the behaviour changes starting to take root in the segment of our company that aren't die-hard cyclists (and I include myself in that). Last September I noted that I'm a reluctant cyclist but I'm becoming less reluctant and more willing to do that commute by bicycle. I've also noticed our bike store becoming busier and less frequent cyclists populating the Love to Ride feed more often. That's no mean feat. As someone who deals with change while delivering projects, change isn't always easy to embed but I've always been a fan of gamification as motivation in the right settings. And one of those right settings will be Prosperity Day in September, when our colleagues and clients will compete for bragging rights but also for the much better reason of raising money for charity - this year, we're supporting Healing Waves UK and Jersey Hospice Care - two very deserving charities. So, if you want to do your part, why not sign up for or donate to the tenth Prosperity Day? https://lnkd.in/eFAaUGGf #Lovetoride #change #prosperityday #healingwaves #hospice #charity #cycling

The Maldon Car Show is raising money for The Maldon Mud Race charities by offering sponsorship opportunities to local businesses. By becoming event sponsors, businesses can contribute to the fundraising efforts for Maldon Mud Race charities while also gaining visibility and engagement with the community. This partnership allows businesses to support a charitable cause while also promoting their brand alongside classic cars at the event. Through sponsorship packages, businesses can drive their brand forward and be part of this iconic event in Maldon, creating a win-win situation for both the charities and the sponsors. Whether you’re a small business eager to hit the fast lane or a big brand looking to turbocharge your reach, sponsorship at the Maldon Car Show is your golden ticket. Think about it: thousands of car enthusiasts, all in one place, and guess who they’ll see? You! Don’t just sit there idling – go to CONTACT US on our website and let’s start this engine together. Trust us, you don’t want to miss out on this ride. 🏁 #carsofinstagram #automotivegram #localbusinesses #localbusiness #charitablecause #classiccars #smallbusiness #fastlane #bigbrand #maldon #raisingmoney #raisemoney #carshow #mudrace #sponsorshipopportunities #sponsorshipopportunity #eventsponsors #sponsorshippackages #carenthusiasts #maldonmudrace #charities #charity #sponsorship #maldonclassiccarshow #maldoncarshow

🧩✨ #AutismAwareness Top 36 Golf Course Rankings: Post 24 - Course #13⛳️ 🧩 💰 DONATE - Please help us get there by donating $36 today: https://lnkd.in/e4MFcQfd To represent the 1 in 36 kids affected by Autism in the US, I will be counting down my Top 36 Golf Courses that I have ever played with a short story/memory for each. If you could please consider donating $36 (or more) to Els for Autism via the link above, I would appreciate it ❤️ Golf Course #13 - Yeamans Hall Club Is it possible to capture the beauty, history, and vibe of an entire state into a single golf course? For the state of South Carolina, I believe Yeamans Hall does just that. Sitting just 12 miles from downtown Charleston and designed by one of my favorites, Seth Raynor, in 1924, Yeamans Hall sits on land that used to be the site of a 17th century plantation owned by the Yeamans family. When the country club was founded, it was built to attract wealthy northern financial men to Charleston in the fall and winter with 200-300 house sites. Today, it continues to be a successful private club with what I imagine to be one of the toughest waiting lists to add your name to in the country. What makes Yeamans Hall my favorite in South Carolina? People have asked me when making this list what criteria I’ve used, and it really comes down to three things: 1) The feeling you have when playing it, 2) How well you can remember each hole after the round, and 3) How badly you want to tee it up again on #1 after tapping in on #18. Maybe I’m biased because I grew up in SC, but for me, I’ve never played a course which puts me in a calmer/happier mental state and one where I want to tee it up again on #1 after I’m finished than Yeamans. It’s just such a fun course to play! If you have had the pleasure of playing it, I’m curious to hear if you enjoyed it as much as me ⛳️

https://lnkd.in/eEGxpyzb Ben Franklin's Investing to Give strategy can allow anyone to become a philanthropist. Here is the inspiring story of a Vermont janitor who donated a life-changing fortune to his local hospital and library, all thanks to long-term dividend growth investing. Week 19 of my vegan ultra experiment. Week 1: 61.1 miles Week 2: 61.7 miles Week 3: 62.3 miles Week 4: 62.9 miles Week 5: 63.5 miles Week 6: 64.1 miles Week 7: 64.7 miles Week 8: 65.3 miles Week 9: 65.9 miles Week 10: 66.5 miles Week 11: 67.1 miles Week 12: 67.7 miles Week 13: 90.2 miles (3.5 marathons) Week 14: 78.6 miles (3 marathons) Week 15: 72.6 miles (2.8 marathons) - 5.4 lb weighted vest Week 16 (Austin Marathon week): 81.1 miles (3 marathons) - 8.5 lb weighted vest Week 17 7.9 miles/52.4 miles (sick with Gastritis) - 11.6 lb weighted vest Week 18: 53.8/52.4 miles (2.1 marathons) - 14.7 lb weighted vest Week 19 (current week): 11.1 miles/56.7 miles - 17.8 lb weighted vest Total miles walked: 1,165 miles (44.5 marathons, New York, NY - Omaha, NE ) - 9.2 miles per day Total calories burned: 230,8000 (65.9 lbs of fat) Weight Loss: 106.9 Lbs in 33 weeks = 3.2 lbs per week average #charitablegiving #charity #investing #dividends #dividendinvesting

Donating to Charity is too easy...... according to Matthew Parris writing in the Spectator (April 26) In the context of the London Marathon and online donation platforms, Matthew Parris laments the loss of in person giving and worries that the digital ease of giving and ticking a GiftAid box makes donating to charity too easy and must be costing ‘HM Treasury dearly’. He also muses whether HMRC ever checks up on GiftAid claims. In fact: Research commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in January 2024 found that only 55% of donors claimed gift aid when they gave money to charity with as much as £560m a year in gift aid lost to charities. HMRC does conduct gift aid audits and can impose penalties if it is not claimed correctly. Regarding digital platforms, the issue is often BigTech not charities who typically have negligible negotiating powers with Facebook, Amazon and other platforms (Matthew is concerned with the 'voluntary' fee requested by some platforms). The cost of living crisis, collapse of local authorities and the exponential rise in the use of foodbanks means that while public services should be properly funded, charitable donations are needed and that giving should be encouraged. Recent CAF research has also shown that some of the least affluent areas are the most generous. Finally, I did write to the Spectator to correct some of the inaccuracies, particularly around GiftAid. No doubt the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) did as well. It is a shame that no corrections were made by the Spectator. #charities #Fundraising #Giving

Here is to 10 more great years

Life is incredible, but can be more fragile than we sometimes appreciate. This October, a team of 6 of us, will be taking on the CHX #MeetYourMountain Challenge 2024, in support of our chosen charity – The Millimetres 2 Mountains Foundation. This tiny charity, founded by Ed & Louis Jackson, after Ed Jackson (a professional rugby player at the time) suffered a life-changing and hugely traumatic spinal cord injury, leaving him paralysed from the shoulders down. Ed’s journey from hopelessness to climbing some of the highest mountains in the world, is our inspiration to go higher & further, and we hope you’ll take it with us! For those of you who know me, I am passionate about action sports and being out of my comfort zone where the risks are visible and obvious, as it can teach us our most valuable lessons. At the same time, so can charging down a hill with my little boys on their bikes. Life is incredibly special, but fragile to the same degree. Our life-circumstances can change in a heartbeat, in the midst of everyday life. That is why I am so passionate about this. Life-changing can be life-changing if we have the support to make it that way! We will be competing with 5 other teams (representing their own charities) over 2 days on the Mont Blanc massif, accumulating as many points as we can by covering as much distance, and gaining as much altitude as possible, raising as much fundraising for #M2M as we possibly can. We will be aiming for around 6km of altitude gain, equivalent to doing twice that of the British 3 peaks challenge, at twice the altitude, where the air is thinner and the summits are higher! We will endeavour to surpass 60km of distance and £12,000, aiming to get on the top step of the podium. We can of course go fast alone, but we can go further together. Please chuck what you can in our virtual bucket – know that you’re doing something awesome, and I’ll keep you up to date with training, teaming & achieving If you want to make a difference to someone, please hit the link: https://lnkd.in/ed2ZptC4 #ThankYou #Leadership #Purpose #Charity #M2M CHX Challenge Robbie Udberg Damien Stork Tim Welch Andrew Barlow Stuart Swaby Julien Leblanc Kelly McInenly Chemmy Alcott Rodolfo Goes Enrico Marchelli Toni Marshall Marc Grannum Matin Macdonald

Head Safe Football provides emotional and practical support, evidence-based knowledge and up to date research for footballers and their families. 𝗕𝘂𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁! CTE affects players, male and female, at all levels of the sport. Help us save anyone who has ever headed a football from a future life destroyed by brain disease. Save the players. Save the game. ⚽🐘 Fundraising is a great way to support a cause you're passionate about. Here are some ways you can raise funds for Head Safe Football: 1️⃣ Organise a sponsored sporting event, for example: cycle, swim, walk, run, golf day, dog walk or even a skydive (if you're feeling extra adventurous! 🪂) 2️⃣ Social fundraisers such as planning a charity ball/gala, hosting a dinner party or organising a music event are great ways to raise money and bring people together. 3️⃣ You can even fundraise from home by hosting a quiz night (this could be virtual!), organising a raffle/tombola or simply making a donation via the Head Safe Football website! If you're planning on fundraising for Head Safe Football, please drop us an email to let us know! 📩 hello@headsafefootball.org.uk #charity #northeastcharity #ukcharity #nonprofits #notforprofit #charitytuesday #Volunteer #donate

can you help