We’re No.1 in The Independent’s 2013 Best Charity Christmas Cards!

 

 

What an endorsement! Our Christmas card of Julie-Ann Gylaitis’ winning photo, from the recent ‘Let’s Get Snapping for ME!’ 2013 competition, pipped Number 1 slot in The Independent newspaper’s IndyBest 10 Best Charity Christmas Cards. Coming in above cards by professional designers, artists and the well-known cartoonist Giles for RNLI! It’s fantastic recognition of ‘Let’s do it for ME!’ team’s hard work running the photo competition and the high standard of entries.

 

Understandably, the team and HQ (Invest in ME) are ecstatic, as well as Julie-Ann who is completely overwhelmed. We did say our photo competition was a chance to shine, and having this photo take pride of place on a national newspaper’s website certainly does just that!  But there’s more! The newspaper states, "We think this vibrant entry by Julie-Ann Gylaitis is a festive triumph." You can’t get better than that!

 

Julie-Ann, who was diagnosed with ME 25 years ago after suddenly falling ill, had to give up the job she loved and many other activities. But one thing she can still indulge in is her passion for photography, taking photos when able to. On learning that the card with her photo on was chosen as No. 1 by The Independent, Julie-Ann said, "It’s completely crazy! I’m especially thrilled for our charity. It’s fantastic news!"

HQ also said of our triumph, "This has given everyone a lift at the charity also. A lovely card, well deserved selection by The Independent, and a wonderful comment on the efforts made by all running and participating in the competition. All of the cards are winners and we are very proud to be able to distribute these in the name of the charity whilst raising much-needed awareness of ME. Everyone is a winner."

The ‘Candle House’ card stands as a shining beacon of hope for ME. Powerfully and positively raising awareness beyond the ME community and, at the same time, helping to raise essential funds towards Invest in ME’s biomedical research fund. You can buy it, along with our other cards featuring winners of the ‘Let’s Get Snapping for ME!’ competition, from Invest in ME by clicking here.

Huge congratulations from all the team and HQ to Julie-Ann, and our other entrants and participants in the ‘Let’s Get Snapping for ME!’ competition. We couldn’t have done it without you! So let’s get celebrating, let’s do it for ME!



Christmas Cards and 2014 Calendar now available!

With Christmas fast approaching it’s time to start stocking up on those Christmas cards and calendars. This year, thanks to the ‘Let’s do it for ME!’ team and Invest in ME working busily behind the scenes, you’ll be spoilt for choice! Not only are there Christmas cards featuring the fourteen winners’ photos of this year’s ‘Let’s Get Snapping for ME!’ photo competition at a competitive price that includes p&p, you can also grab an extra bargain as the remaining Christmas cards from last year’s competition are available at a reduced price. Our fabulous 2014 Calendar featuring stunning photos of places all around the UK is also available to buy. All items are sold in aid of Invest in ME’s biomedical research fund and can be ordered through their website by clicking here. What’s more, they’ll all be delivered directly to your door: that’s the sort of Christmas shopping we like!

***** Watermarks are to protect copyright only and are not printed on cards or calendars. *****

Cards:
 
2013 Christmas cards are all 7" x 5" (17.8cm by 12.7cm) and have the message Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year inside. They are sold in packs of 10 of individual designs and a mixed pack (featuring the first ten shown below). All prices include postage and packaging.
 
UK £4.25
Europe £6.50
Rest of world £7.50

 
2012 Christmas cards are all A5 and have the message With Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year inside. They are sold in packs of 10 of individual designs. All prices include postage and packaging:
 
UK £3.00
Europe £5.00
Rest of world £6.00

 

 

 

2014 Calendar
 
Our 2014 A4 calendar features 12 stunning photos, one for each month, of places all around the UK. All photos are taken by those with ME or supporters of our campaign. There’s a generous grid for each month, handy for writing in those forthcoming appointments and events; making it not only perfect for yourself but a great gift too. Prices per calendar, inclusive of postage and packaging, are:
 
UK £7.00
Europe £8.00
Rest of world £10.00

  

 

Happy Shopping!

Click here to order



‘Let’s Get Snapping for M.E!’ 2013 Christmas Cards Photo Competition Extra Winners!

The ‘Let’s do it for ME!’ team love going that extra mile and this competition is no exception! We’ve been busy coming up with lots of ideas and liaising with the lovely folk at Invest in ME since the competition closed to see what ‘extras’ we could rustle up.

Given the high standard of shortlisted entries, Invest in ME said, "It was difficult to choose this year as the photos were really good." So much so, they were keen to have some more photos printed up as Christmas cards! In the end four more photos were chosen, from the twenty most voted for in the online vote. 

But before we announce the extra four winners, we’d like to let you in on another treat we have in store for you all in the run up to Christmas. The team were discussing that it would be nice to do something Christmassy to get into the festive spirit this year, particularly given the isolation many people with ME experience which is all the more apparent at this time of year. We also wanted to give, especially since the standard of entries has been so high, those who didn’t win or make it to the online vote a chance to shine. We decided a great way to encompass all this would be to have an online advent calendar featuring photos entered into the competition, with a different photo for each day. Some will be from those shortlisted, others you will have never seen before, unless of course it happens to be your photo! We’re finalising the details at the moment but once we have further news we’ll let you all know, so keep an eye out for updates on Facebook, Twitter and our blog.

You’ll also be pleased to know that the 2013 Christmas cards featuring the winning photos from this competition, including those featured below, are now available to buy.   You can also purchase our fabulous 2014 Calendar.  The remaining stock of Christmas cards from last year’s competition is available at reduced prices. All of which are sold in aid of Invest in ME’s biomedical research fund and which you can order from Invest in ME - click here. 

Finally, we can now proudly announce the four extra winners in our 'Let’s Get Snapping for ME!' 2013 Competition. It’s like Christmas has come early! (Entries appear in the order they featured in the Online Vote.)

 

Congratulations and well done!

 

 

 

 

 

‘Let’s Get Snapping for M.E!’ 2013 Photo Competition Winners Announced!

The ‘Let’s Do it for ME’ team came up with the idea of the ‘Let’s Get Snapping for M.E!’ last year when we were discussing plans to sell Christmas cards for the very first time. We wanted to go that extra mile and do something a little bit special and more relevant to ME than simply buying in stock images. In the end, we decided that it would be a really good idea to run this competition whereby those, particularly within the ME community, could make a contribution by sending in photos and have winning entries printed on our cards. We realised that this would be a great opportunity for ME sufferers in particular, whose talent often remains behind closed doors, to have the chance to be acknowledged and celebrated. There couldn’t be a more powerful and positive way to increase ME awareness whilst raising vital funds towards biomedical research into the disease.

The response to the competition has been simply amazing, with 215 photos entered and a staggering 2864 votes cast in our online poll; we couldn’t have asked or wished for more. The great success of the ‘Let’s Get Snapping for M.E.’ simply wouldn’t have been possible without your support and we would like to say a very big thank to everyone who got involved. We would also like to thank those that sent in and posted up messages of support and thanks. This means a great deal to us and makes all the hard work the team, many of whom have ME themselves, have put in behind the scenes worth it.

The standard of entries was particularly high again this year. This has made it difficult for everyone to choose which to vote for, but particularly so for Invest in ME, who had the unenviable task of judging the final stage by choosing ten winning photos from the twenty most voted in our Online Vote.

Each winner, to remind those that haven’t read our earlier posts, will have their photos printed up on our 2013 Christmas cards and receive a free mixed pack of cards featuring their photo. The cards will be sold in aid of Invest in ME’s biomedical research fund. We hope to have these available to purchase around mid October.

For those shortlisted entrants that missed out and to those who didn’t make the online vote don’t be disappointed. The team, as ever, has been coming up with lots of ideas and we have something very special lined up in the run up to Christmas. We’re keeping that strictly under wraps for the time being! We may be possibly branching out into other products too, so keep an eye out for updates!

We hope our competition inspires you in the coming months to dust off your cameras ready for next year’s competition. And with the continuing success of this competition it will definitely be a regular feature in our calendar and hopefully yours too! Here’s to an even bigger and better Let’s Get Snapping for M.E! in 2014. Let’s do it for ME!

So without further ado, as this the moment you’ve all been waiting for, ‘Let’s do it for ME’ can proudly announce the ten winners of ‘Let’s Snapping for M.E! 2013 Competition. (Entries appear in the order they featured in the Online Vote.)

Congratulations and well done!

‘Let’s get Snapping for M.E!’ 2013 Christmas Cards Photo Competition

5th September update - 10 days til competition ends!
Following the phenomenal success of last year’s competition it’s back - ‘Let’s get Snapping for M.E!’ 2013 is here! This is a fantastic opportunity to get your photos printed on Let’s Do it for ME’s 2013 Christmas cards. The cards will be sold to help raise money towards Invest in ME’s Biomedical Research Fund, which includes the Rituximab Research Fund for a UK research trial of this promising drug. We know there are many budding and talented photographers out there and we want to give you a chance to shine. The competition is open to anyone of any age. It really is that inclusive!

Photos can be of anything you like but must have a Christmassy feel such as traditional snowy scenes, snowmen, Christmas decorations, or something a little more inventive. It’s entirely up to you! You can have a look at last year’s shortlisted entries for ideas. All photos must be good quality images in digital format (JPEG, PNG or TIFF). Please email your photos to fundraising4me@gmail.com by 15th September 2013 and clearly state your name and email address. Those under 16 must have the permission of their parents/guardians. And for those that have never entered a photo competition before don’t be put off entering, the majority of those who entered last year’s competition had never done anything like this previously.

The Let’s Do it for ME team will judge the first stage, with the shortlisted photos being posted on this blog and on the Competition’s Event page on 20th September. The second stage, the exciting bit, is where you get to vote for your favourite ones. You can vote either by emailing us or casting votes on the Competition Event's Page. Voting will close at midnight on 22nd September. Those with the most votes will be sent onto Invest in ME, who will then judge the final stage by choosing from these the winning photographs that will go onto be printed. We aim to print ten photos and will officially announce the winners on 27th September. We hope to have the cards ready for sale by mid-October.

Winners will not only get their photos printed up on our cards but also receive a mixed pack of our Christmas cards featuring their winning photo. So let’s get snapping - because there’s never been a better way to share your talent and do something positive for ME!

Competition Rules:

1) Entrants agree that Let’s Do it for ME and Invest in ME are allowed to print winning photos for fundraising and awareness purposes.
2) Entrants agree that any photos sent in can be used for awareness purposes by Let’s Do it for ME and Invest in ME.
3) Entrants agree that their full names can be used in association with their photos.
4) Only five photos per person are allowed to be submitted into the competition.
5) The winners will be notified by email.
6) The results of the competition will be posted on this blog as well as on our Competition’s Facebook Event page.
7) Invest in ME reserve the right to replace winning photos if, when going to print, they are unable to reproduce a high quality image from them.
8) Let’s Do it for ME and Invest in ME’s decision is final.

If you have any questions regarding the competition please email us at fundraising4me@gmail.com or leave a post on our Competition Event page.

Good luck everyone!

To help you get a head start here’s a few tips and tricks

Create your own mini home studio

• Find a naturally well lit spot in your home. A conservatory is particular good. Alternatively, a shady spot in the garden will do.
• If the natural light isn’t very good indoors put the light on in the room, even use a lamp to help light what you are photographing. Try to avoid using a flash if you can, it tends to spoil photos.
• To make a backdrop use fabric, card or material and drape it or lay it on a bed, chair or floor. In picture 1 we’ve used tinsel.

Other useful tips

• Gather together objects you want to photo, material etc. and anything you think may be useful.  This means you have everything to hand, making it easier to experiment and less time and energy consuming.
• Play around with your shorts taking them, for instance, from different angles and different perspectives.  You'll be surprised just what a difference this can make.  (see 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Make sure you don’t overtire yourself. Take rests.
• If you find holding a camera difficult use something to rest it on when taking photos.
• If taking photos outside a lightweight camping/fishing fold-out stool is very handy.
• And most importantly have fun!



* All photos that feature have been taken with an 8MP point and shoot camera.