HCL October News Article 2024

Welcome to October! Where things are getting spooky around here…

Following on from our busy month of September, where we saw the start of the school year, the beginning of our countdown to Christmas and a very successful Macmillan Coffee morning, there’s loads to get eek-cited about in October!

Starting off on the 4th October we had a double whammy of World Animal Day and World Smile Day. What a great match, as seeing a cute animal never fails to make you smile! Check out our good cause Cecil’s Horse Sanctuary for more animal love, as they strive to protect and provide for neglected/abandoned horses in the local area. And if you’ve got no animals at home to celebrate, why not get out and about with our causes Green Connections CIC, Park Events, or Potters Bar Cycling Club and see them in the wild!

World Space Week is also taking place between the 4th and 10th of October! If any of our Community Lottery Family are getting involved, we would love to hear all about it! Remember to tag us on our socials so we don't miss it. If not, don’t worry, but this is a great opportunity for all our Good Causes to BOOST their fundraising and spread the word about their organisation. Click the link to find out more about World Space Week here.

It was also time to celebrate our teachers earlier this week on 5th October with World Teacher Day! Why not take this opportunity to thank all the dead-icated teachers in your life? And if you are a teacher yourself, good luck for the school year ahead! We have a few schools and parent associations on our community lottery, so make sure to check out their websites and support them if you can! Friends of Monksmead Parent Association, Friends of St. Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Mount Grace School and Hertswood Academy.

Carrying on the celebratory theme we have World Food Day, where we encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and experience food from cultures all across the world. Many of our Good Causes, such as Gratitude, Borehamwood Foodbank and Red Trust Bushey, are invested in providing much needed food support in the local boroughs, so please check them out and their commitment to good food and community service. Bone appetit!

Importantly, Thursday 10th October is World Mental Health Day, with this year’s theme being ‘Mental Health at Work.' It’s a day about raising awareness of mental health and encouraging positive change. Take this time to talk about mental health within your workplace and community and how to get support if someone is struggling. Citizens Advice Hertsmere and Herts School Outreach are two of our Good Causes who are helping make a positive difference in our community.

Next week we also see the advent of National Braille Week 2024 (14th-20th October), a reminder to celebrate and support those with visual impairments in the community. Our Good Cause the Visually Impaired Club provides a fortnightly session or games and activities for the physical and mental wellbeing for the visually impaired community – check them out and support them if you can here!

On October 18th we wear PINK!…in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer UK asks for you to ‘Get Active!’ this month to raise money and reduce your risk of breast cancer. Please support in whatever way you can and support all of those going through cancer. Start with Breast Cancer UK’s Prevention Quiz, and be an active part of Breast Cancer Prevention: https://breastcancerprevention.org.uk/start

World Online Networking Day is on the 30th October. Have you ever needed an excuse to connect and start expanding your social network, whether that's personally or professionally? This is your chance to make that step and get involved! Why not try reaching out to other local Good Causes and seeing if there's room for colla-boo-ration between you?

Remember to support a good cause on our lottery this October, and you'll be in with the chance to win a spook-tacular all-new iPhone 16 Pro! Trick-or-treat yourself to the perfect Christmas present or an upgrade for yourself! Get your tickets before 8pm on Saturday 26th October for your chance to win!

Enjoy the spookiest month of the year your way, bundled up under the covers with a pumpkin-spiced latte in hand, out trick-or-treating with the kids or telling ghost stories by the fire while munching on some ghoooouly smores! Have a fang-tastic Halloween!