Let's Save CLAPA!

Hello there!

I wanted to touch base with you all about something that is deeply concerning and I want to help in any way I can with your support.

The Cleft Warrior Woman is built on the very foundation of kindness, love, celebration and acceptance, so naturally there is a lot I can say about kindness! But…. today, I want to focus on the incredible UK charity, CLAPA. If you’re based in the UK, then you’ll know that @clapacommunity is the only UK based charity supporting cleft-affected families and individuals. I regularly witness the support they provide and see how valuable it is for the UK based Cleft Community.

For those who don't know about CLAPA, The Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) is a small charity supporting people born with a cleft and their families in the UK.

They bring together people affected by cleft to help them connect with others who share their experiences, welcoming them into a supportive community for life.

Their services include:

• Vibrant social Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles which promote positivity, bust myths and celebrate differences with regular content created by and for the cleft community.

• Online support groups moderated by trained volunteers provide an instant connection for those looking for an informal support network.

• Regular events give people the chance to talk about their experiences and worries and hear from others at all stages of the cleft journey.

• Confidential one-to-one support provided by trained volunteer patients and parents who reassure those most in need that they can cope with whatever lies ahead.

• Accredited information on cleft led by our community, reflecting their experiences and emotional needs as well as medical facts.

• An Advocacy Service that provides tailored information and signposting to those with complex enquiries.

• A Children and Young People’s Council made up of 9-17-year-olds who meet to share their thoughts and experiences, helping to improve our support services as well as cleft research and NHS care.

• A consultancy service for researchers which connects their work with our community.

• A feeding service that supplies 15,000 subsidised items of specialist equipment for babies born with a cleft each year, including free of charge items for new and vulnerable families. Sadly, the affects of COVID has put the organisation in serious danger, as they aren’t government funded and COVID and other global situations has meant that they can’t continue as they are; they need help. So, in light of World Kindness Day I’m running a competition to help raise money for CLAPA and I’m going to be giving away a FREE portrait to the winner😍🙌🏼 I’m excited to be offering this and hopefully together with all the fundraising so many are doing we can help CLAPA! I know many of you may have already donated or set up regular debits… but…. with this donation, someone will win a place in the 100 cleft collection⭐️ To be in with a chance of winning a FREE portrait, you need to…

💫make a donation to CLAPA (of any amount, every little helps) via the Just Giving page

JUST GIVING

💫I will pick a winner for the FREE portrait in a few weeks, keep your eyes open and remember to leave your email address so I can let the winner know👍🏻

💫you need to follow both the page @thecleftwarriorwoman and @clapacommunity Happy World Kindness Day, my beautiful followers and fellow cleft parents.

💫This competition is open to EVERYONE! For non cleft affected donations you will be giving a cleft affected family a chance to be part of the 100 cleft portraits!

Let’s spread the word and help CLAPA, who have helped so many thousands of us over the years in the UK❤️

With love as always

Katie xx