charity – Najmah Writes

Crimestoppers Cycle Theft Campaign

July 9, 2013October 31, 2017 Najmah

Hey hey!

As I stated in my previous post, I’m currently volunteering with the charity Crimestoppers, which is the UK’s only independent crime fighting charity and this year they are marking 25 years of fighting crime.

Working on an ad-hoc basis, I write media appeals to raise awareness of crime in the Peterborough (Cambridgeshire) area. Alongside this, a group of us are working on the Cycle Theft Campaign, in which we are trying to prevent cycles from being stolen.

There are two aspects to the campaign:

1) The prevention of cycle theft – what you can do to prevent cycle,

2) Encouraging the reporting of cycle theft: How to encourage people to report cycle theft.

The main message that needs to be put across is anonymity – that people can give information to Crimestoppers on cycle theft anonymously, and that there are two ways they can do this, one via the Crimestoppers website and two, ringing there 0800 number. People can also claim rewards, up to £1,000 if the information given leads to one or more people being arrested and charged.

So we had a meeting on July 5 and as the campaign is still in its planning stages, this will be a short update – don’t want you guys getting bored.

Overview:

Bicycle theft is seen as a common problem internationally. Generally it refers to the theft of the entire bike however, this can include component parts and accessories being stolen. Statistics in 2012, have shown that the cycle thefts in Peterborough peak between the months of July – Oct, where people are out and about. Research shows that offenders tend to target cycles in public settings; particularly schools, university campuses and transport hubs as they have a regular supply of unguarded bicycles.

My role:

My role in mainly dealing with the PR/media side of it such as writing press releases, news articles and features for the local newspaper and magazines. I can’t wait to get started!

Anyway I’ll update again on this as the campaign moves into its next phase, however at the moment it’s just getting in contact with the right people who can help get the message across.

So until next time, adiós!

Najmah

If you want more on the charity Crimestoppers, visit: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Follow them on Twitter: @CrimestoppersUK

Crimestoppers, Job hunt, University, Work experience

On completing uni and more…

June 29, 2013October 31, 2017 Najmah

Hey hey! 🙂

Summer is finally here! But if the British weather is anything to go by, I’d enjoy it while it lasts!

I hope you’re all are fine and well! I am still alive and kicking and it’s nice to be back on the blogging scene. The reason I’ve been missing is that after writing a 10,000 word dissertation, I’ve lacked motivation to write anything at all and with uni ending I wanted to take a break which went on longer than I expected.

I had planned to write this post last week, however with me being on work experience at Rutland and Stamford Mercury newspaper it got delayed, anyway better late than never.

So now after four years of stressing out over exams and essays, I’ve completed uni and now I can finally say I’m a qualified journalist with Bachelor of Arts (Hons) with a 2:1 in Journalism.

Now that uni has end what’s next?

Rutland and Stamford Mercury Newspaper

In terms of work experience, as mentioned before I was at Rutland and Stamford Mercury newspaper last week where I had a great time, I remember arriving at the office feeling nervous and excited at the same time. However, the best thing was I wasn’t sitting there fiddling my thumbs for long – I was immediately given work, so in no time I was questioning people over the phone for quotes and comments. I even got a chance to interview people face-to-face regarding the National Care Home Open Day which was rather cool if I say so myself – I felt like a actual news reporter then. In the end, I was fortunate to write several articles even though only two made it into the actual newspaper – I believe it is the experience that counts.

While I was on work experience, I also received my result for my dissertation and it turned out I got 68%, which is a B. I admit I was a little disappointed at first because I was only two marks off a first and I had put so much hard work into it. This only lasted a few minutes because I was way too happy with finishing uni. YAY!!

The Job Hunt

To be honest, over the past few weeks I have been quite lost and alittle worried about the future, as the dreaded job search has begun and so has the process of staying up till 2AM to fill in endless applications, but I don’t mind it as I know it’ll be all worth it in end. While I have been job searching, some websites have been useful, some more than others – Twitter has been really useful for me and I totally recommend anyone on the job hunt to make use of it! Now my everyday routine includes looking for journalism jobs on the internet in either newspapers, magazines or online – I don’t want to be picky at the moment although I’m still trying to steer clear of some editorial assistant jobs as I have heard they’ll have you do all admin duties except writing. I’m still staying positive because it’s easy to give up when you get demotivated, say I can’t do it, I’ll never get a job in journalism – but you got to keep trying. That’s my motto anyway.

Crimestoppers

Moving on to a different note, I’m currently writing press releases for the charity Crimestoppers to raise awareness for specific crimes in the Cambridgeshire area which should help in getting people to report on crimes and in return catch more offenders. Apart from that, I’m going to be working on a Cycle Theft Campaign with them and other students – but that’s all I know at the moment, however I have a meeting on July 5 where everything should be explained. I think I’ll write another post about that.

Finally on a general note, I’m thinking about changing my blog title to make it more journalism orientated, currently it’s just faltering with History Starts Now so need a more permanent title. Any suggestions are welcome – so go on, leave a comment and I’ll meet you guys in my next post!

Najmah

Old News, Uncategorized

Gamer on Hunger Strike to Save the Children

August 27, 2012October 9, 2012 Najmah

I wrote this news article for my European/International Journalism module, it’s old news but it showcases my writing skills.

A famous professional gamer in Belgium has gone on a hunger strike to raise awareness about the worst hunger crisis in The Horn of Africa and raise $1 million for charity.

He is working with his friends to live-stream 24/7 daily to get people donating.

The ShareCraft 2012—Save the Children Challenge is a Facebook fundraising campaign which started on March 25 and will run for 100 days.

Currently the campaign has raised $377,062 with 73 days remaining, largely due to contributions from gamers.

The idea of Operation ShareCraft was born after he watched the Kony 2012 video and felt really inspired by it.

“I decided to start by focusing on Save the Childrens’ work in The Horn of Africa. It has not been covered much by mainstream media and this is where millions of people are struggling to survive the worse hunger crisis in 60 years,” said Athene.

Athene began water fasting on April 14 and will continue until the media sheds more light on to the hunger crisis in Africa.

According to a fitness website, water fasting is a natural way to help you lose weight and cleanse your body of toxins and disease.

Athene has consulted doctors and experts to make sure he is fasting responsibly and healthily.

He has cameras live streaming 24/7 through his channel, so everyone can keep a track of his hunger strike although he is only there for a few hours.

In 2001, Athene started off his career in the Belgian version of Big Brother in which he was evicted after three days.

Today, he is an extravagant Internet celebrity to many gamers, holding a record in the online game World of Warcraft and in online poker.

A spokesperson from Save the Children said, “Athene is just acting as the fundraiser, kind of like the mouth to the campaign, but the money comes through PayPal directly to us.”

As an incentive, gamers who donate enter in to the ShareCraft 2012 “Fundrazr” challenge, in which they are able to win gaming equipment from leading brand Razer.

Athene said, “The Internet has come to a point where when we simply collectively reach out for what we think is right. Real change often follows.”

The Save the Children spokesman said, “Social Media technology such as live streaming enabled this to occur when it couldn’t occur before. We see this as a dawn of new era in fundraising.”

Athene stated, “I can’t raise one million dollars on my own, but together we can.”

Question was put forward via e-mail with regards to how he makes a living out of this but received no answer.

The Belgium based Operation ShareCraft is a project focused on charities that have been thoroughly researched and proven to be efficient and effective.

For more info check out website:

http://www.opsharecraft.com/ and http://www.athenelive.com/.

Follow Athene on Twitter: @AtheneLOL