By Stacey Hailes

These last couple of weeks, all of us on Facebook have been greeted day and night by a selection of ‘no make-up selfies’ by many lovely women. The cause of this mass trend? To raise money for Cancer Research.

While many have bared all and posted their picture with a donation to charity, some have also groaned – wondering how such a small gesture can make a difference.

The truth is, it has made a difference. Many, who would not normally do so, have donated to the charity. So far a staggering £8million has been raised by this campaign.

I think there are a couple of valuable lessons we can learn from the ‘no make-up selfie’.

1) Everyone can do something to help a cause close to his or her heart. Whether posting a picture like the ladies (some guys have done a sellotape-face selfie – true story), running a marathon, raising awareness about the charity on social media, putting pennies in the box at the check-out or climbing Kilimanjaro like Steve Legg did (which you can read about in our next issue)… There is something everyone can do. What charity are you passionate about? How can you help?

2) Never underestimate the power of Facebook and Twitter etc. Yes, a lot of the time it distracts us from the real world, however when an idea spreads through cyber space, you can bet it can and will encourage people to do something, be it big or small, to help the real world. So many people use these mediums daily. News breaks out on Twitter before anywhere else nowadays. It is a great way to reach a mass amount of people quickly and efficiently. Therefore, while it can be a time-wasting tool, it can also be a powerful tool used for the good of mankind!