Charlie Elphicke, Oxfam, charities and politics

Today Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke is leading the debate, “The political independence of charities”, in Westminster Hall. Ahead of the debate he has told PoliticsHome why he thinks that political campaigning is ‘undermining’ the independence of charities. Rather than entirely regurgitate an article I recently wrote on Conor Burns and the same issue I thought […]

David Thorp waxes his legs for KickStart Ghana

This Friday, at the KickStart Ghana fundraiser with Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, David Thorp will wax his rather hairy legs in the name of charity. “Whilst other members of the board have put their bodies on the line with tests of endurance and perseverance in the name of KickStart Ghana fundraising, I have decided to put […]

Conor Burns, Oxfam, charities and politics

The argument between Conor Burns MP and Oxfam has rumbled on over the past few weeks in relation to, what he calls Oxfam’s “highly political advertising”, relating to the tweet below. Lifting the lid on austerity Britain reveals a perfect storm – and it’s forcing more and more people into poverty. pic.twitter.com/2MzzyMXcsU — Oxfam (@oxfamgb) June […]

The MoonWalk 2014

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited by The Tootsie Rollers back stage for the brilliant concert held for all of the inspirational fundraisers completing The MoonWalk 2014. The 20,000 people packed in a tent waiting to complete a 26.2 mile walk were treated to brilliant music and inspirational speeches, just in case they needed […]

What’s it like to be a woman in Ghana?

Originally posted on Steph in Ghana: Tales from a Development Volunteer:
Now, when I say ‘Ghanaian woman’, what do you think of? For the next three posts, I’d like to introduce you to some women I’ve met here. Firstly, Mirabelle: Who are you, what do you do and how do you know Stephanie? It’s 2014. I’m Mirabelle…

Why I’m proud of LSE students

As a truly epic Student Volunteering Week 2014 draws to a close it’s hard not to feel proud of the difference that LSE students make in the communities we live in. Since Monday, LSE students have completed a run with GoodGym, helping out at Camley Street Natural Park whilst getting fit. They raised almost £350 […]

Responsible volunteering at the World Travel Market

On 7th November I was invited to speak at the World Travel Market on the topic of overseas volunteering and how the sector can improve in this area. My speech focused on best practice when involving young (16-24 year olds) volunteers. You can view the slides and watch a recording of all the speeches and […]

Meeting the Hackney Pirates

“Welcome to our beach shack” is not what you normally hear when you visit a charity’s head offices, but this is exactly the welcome you get when you visit the Hackney Pirates. Having worked with the charity over the past year, and with them attending the last two LSE volunteering fairs, I was lucky enough […]

My Ghanaian summer

A few photos to show what I got up to during the summer of 2013. Best enjoyed listening to the song below:

Church at St Cecilia’s

On Sunday the whole KickStart Ghana Summer School team were invited to meet the community of the church that is connected to the school. We were all really honoured to be invited (even if 7am was a little early…) and were asked to introduce ourselves to the 300 people at the service. The Father also […]

Summer school, football coaching and a haircut

Apologies for the delay in the latest blog post, but since I last wrote seven new volunteers have arrived and five of those have left. They’ve been completing a large variety of work. Chris Minch has settled in well to the role of Assistant Volunteer Coordinator. His time has been taken up by airport pickups, […]

A busy two weeks

Two weeks already? Ghana has a fantastic way of making time go incredibly slow and fast at the same time. When you are waiting for a tro-tro (mini bus) to fill up, knocking back unwanted offers of meat on a stick, in the mid-day heat and humidity, it feels like the seconds are minutes and the minutes […]