Online Christmas Shoppers Raise Money for Alopecia UK

Give As You Live is an online shopping concept that has been up and running for more than five years, and one of the latest charities to benefit is Alopecia UK. This British charity supports people with hair loss that has been caused by any of the forms of the autoimmune disorder Alopecia Areata, as well as their friends and families.

The popular charity is hoping that Christmas shoppers will sign up for Give As You Live and nominate them as their chosen charity. At the time of writing, 28 shoppers had helped them to raise more than £500.

Give As You Live fundraising portal

Alopecia UK is encouraging its supporters to sign up as using the Give As You Live service costs customers nothing but means the charity of their choice will receive a small percentage of the cost price each time they make an online purchase from one of its partner stores. Thousands of retailers have signed up for the scheme, including Amazon, Tesco, John Lewis and M&S. Continues below

It works in a similar way to an affiliate marketing scheme, meaning shoppers must buy via the Give As You Live portal, which doubles up as a price comparison tool. In traditional affiliate marketing, the referring website takes all of the referral fee; with Give As You Live, half that money goes to charity. So far, more than £7m has been raised for a range of charities.

The website advises that it is free to open an account at giveasyoulive.com and, once signed up, you can start shopping via the site knowing that all of your purchases throughout Christmas and beyond will benefit your chosen charities.

Hair loss charities

Alopecia UK is one of a number of hair loss charities that do a magnificent job in helping people who are losing their hair. Whether this patchy hair loss due to alopecia areata or baldness from its more severe iterations, alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis, or even following cancer treatment, there are a number of organisations out there providing information and support. This can be especially beneficial to children and their families as both alopecia and cancer can strike at any age.

Whilst specialist alopecia areata treatment can often produce significant results for people aged 16 years and over, the more extreme forms of autoimmune hair loss are currently largely untreatable. The fact that there is still relatively little known about the reasons why some people are affected by autoimmune alopecia and why the hair may or may not grow back can be unsettling. There is a lack of certainty surrounding many of the processes involved in alopecia areata conditions which can be hard to come to terms with when people are diagnosed and want answers.

Researchers are working hard to establish the facts behind why some or all of the hair follicles suddenly enter the telogen (resting) phase of the growth cycle and suspend new hair production, sometimes indefinitely. An alopecia registry has been set up in the USA and, in the UK the first ever alopecia bio-bank was established recently in order to aid the study of these autoimmune conditions. The aim is to further understanding as to why they occur in order to develop treatments or even a cure for alopecia areata in all its forms.

These pernicious conditions can frequently have a negative effect on the self-confidence of those affected. Therefore, the assistance, practical help and guidance, as well as peer support that is provided by charities such as Alopecia UK and the Little Princess Trust can make a huge difference to the lives of those dealing with hair loss.