A healthy community is great for business. Companies who take action in the local community receive a wide range of benefits, including making a difference, reaching new customers, building a positive image and creating new long term relationships across sectors. To help promote these benefits for businesses in the local area we are launching a competition to find the companies who have taken big steps this year towards being involved in helping their communities or are interested in getting involved in the local community.

Nine elderly people an hour died of the cold last winter. Please doante and support the Surviving Winter Appeal. Surviving Winter Appeal is a UK-wide campaign to encourage individuals to make donations to help older and vulnerable people affected by the cold winter. The campaign is inspired by individuals who wanted to recycle their Winter Fuel Payment to support those less fortunate than themselves.

What questions should have been asked of James Murdock and do you feel he answered any of the questions that were asked sufficiently? Have your say here or support the campaign for media law reforms to stop media moguls gaining excessive unmonitored power.

This account of Cheltenham’s Pittville Gates has been written to support the restoration campaign run by the Friends of Pittville.

Friends of Pittville are facing an uphill struggle to raise £350,000 for the restoration of the Pittville gates.

This half-term Cainscross Parish Council will be holding a fun youth consultation event in partnership with Stroud District Youth Council.

Stroud FM is in need of donations to keep running as a result of a financial crisis at the organisation.

Last September, Stroud News and Journal launched a campaign to plug a gap in the Stroud and District Citizens Advice Bureau funds. So far a grand total of £4,566 has been raised but they are in need more. This years deficit stands at £15,000.

The Nailsworth Parking Residents Action Group (NPRAG) is an action group set up by the resident of Nailsworth to campaign against the introduction of Car Parking Charges by the Stroud District Council in the market town of Nailsworth.

Free parking is under threat in the Stroud district area, with Nailsworth protesting against plans to introduce parking charges in the town.

Stroud against the cuts is a community orientated, and community led group of concerned citizens who are protesting proposed cuts from the government.

Offer a message of support to Rebecca Leighton, the woman wrongly accused of the deaths at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport.

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2011 threatens to be the biggest to date - with over 500 events and 600 speakers, not to mention the plethora guest directors and free activities for all the family.

Pilion Trust working with homeless vulnerable people in London

David sets off for the final morning of Walliams vs The Thames. As the river gets wider, and he approaches the strong tidal currents, can David make the final stretch of his epic 140 mile journey? To follow David's progress visit http://www.sportrelief.com/walliams and to sponsor him visit http://www.sportrelief.com/swim

The High Street Fund is a national charity, working to help small businesses in England damaged by the riots.

addmysupport.com is helping to raise support for local riot-hit shops as they struggle to reopen in the aftermath of the riots that swept across the UK. By supporting this page you can help make a stand against the few indidividuals that caused so much destruction. Imagine what a difference 100 people turning up on the first day a shop reopens could make. Or if you are looking to help a specific business owner or shop you can search your local shop here.

addmysupport is campaigning to get Martin McCann, the man who registered the Amy Winehouse Foundation before Mitch Winehouse was able, to hand over the domain name and company address. All your messages will be sent directly to Martin McCann as soon as we reach our support target. Please keep your messages polite and refrain from swearing; those messages found to breach the addmysupport ethos will be removed.

As of May 2011, the world population is clocking just over 6.96 billion people and counting. Due to the significant improvement in health care in the developed world and continued research in the eradication of fatal diseases, mortality has significantly decreased. Life expectancy has improved from 30 in the 1800 to 67 in 2005. People are living longer in developed countries while there is very little population control in developing and least developed countries. This leads to many people fearing that there won’t be enough resources to feed everybody in the future. Counting the world’s population is vital in ensuring that everyone are fed, educated and cared for. To highlight the importance of population issues and finding the solutions to the issues, 11th of July is designated as a day to observe World Population Day.

Volunteering is rewarding, especially if you are helping to make the life of other people better. 96% of volunteers interviewed said that they genuinely enjoy being a volunteer. Additionally, 87% of employers believe that volunteering can improve your career prospects. With 71% of England’s adult population having volunteered at some point in their lives, it is estimated that volunteers have contributed £18 billion to the UK economy in 2010 alone. To acknowledge the importance and celebrate the contributions of volunteers in the community, the first week of June is appointed as Volunteers’ Week.

Recycling is the best option to minimise the amount of rubbish we send to landfills. It also helps our environment by preventing toxic materials from contaminating the land. To raise more awareness and encourage consumers to recycle more, the Waste and Resources Action Program or WRAP has selected 20th to 26th of June as Recycle Now Week. The purpose of the event is to provide appropriate information on how to recycle and what can be recycled. The campaign will also highlight how to make recycling more useful and profitable.

There are many volunteering opportunities around the UK, which can vary from caring to gardening. But many people avoid taking up these opportunities as they are unsure on how to get started. This article will offer some guidance in the matter.

Every business has a responsibility to the public, its shareholders and the world within which it works. Corporate responsibility covers social, ethical and environmentally responsible practices, ensuring that a business does not just operate within a community, but for the benefit of that community.

Arrr! Why talk like a pirate? Is there any point to this, me hearties? (Sorry, “arrr” and “me hearties” are the only content of my pirate slang vocabulary, but I’m learning at 88 knots per hour.) Anyway, to answer the question as to whether there is any point to, the simple answer is “no”, there’s no point to it, but it’s silly and it’s fun. That’s reason enough for me and for the many who celebrate it. As its founders said: “silliness is its selling point.” “Talk like a Pirate day” is a spoof holiday founded in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers from Oregon. The 19th of September was chosen as a date for the event for no other reason than it’s Mark Summers’ ex-wife’s birthday and the only date he can think of. The event doesn’t in any way shape or form aim to glamourize pirates as real pirates aren’t very nice at all.