Staff at Marks & Spencers will be doing their bit for the homeless by wearing orange wristbands this Sunday.

Workers at the store in the Harlequin centre are joining forces with the Watford New Hope Trust, to raise public awareness of the growing number of people sleeping rough in the area.

Sunday will see the start of Poverty and Homelessness Action Week, with people being encouraged to wear bright wristbands, which read Hope for the Homeless.

Fundraiser Nathan Ray said: “Being homeless is a big deal at this time of year, and we’re delighted that M&S have chosen to support us so visually for this national day.”

Watford New Hope Trust runs 11 projects across Watford, including the Haven Day Centre with its grass roof, and the largest charity shop in Hertfordshire on Queens Road.

In total, the charity provides accommodation for 49 homeless people every night.

After taking part in the first ever Poverty and Homelessness Action Week last year, charity organisers are delighted to secure a partnership with Marks & Spencers for 2009.

There are a range of events taking place across the country, including sleepouts and concerts.

Nathan added: “Poverty and homelessness isn’t just a problem affecting the poorer countries of the world. The current economic climate brings the whole issue right to our doorstep.”

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The fund set up to help the search for Madeleine McCann received almost £2m from well-wishers in the first 10 months after she went missing.

Official accounts, made public for the first time, show just over £815,000 was spent on the search.

Madeleine’s Fund was launched a fortnight after the child vanished from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, on 3 May 2007.

One of the fund’s directors said donations have since dropped off.

Money flooded in from around the world when the story dominated the headlines in the summer of 2007.

But despite a massive police operation and a huge publicity campaign led by her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, their daughter has not been found.

The couple insist they will continue to believe Madeleine, who was nearly four when she disappeared, is still alive until presented with firm evidence to the contrary.

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Starting next month, if you have a seizure requiring emergency treatment, you could be enrolled in a research trial without your permission.

While subjects in most medical studies must sign lengthy forms to participate, unconscious, convulsing patients can’t give consent. So paramedics will enroll seizure victims in the new study automatically, unless they’re wearing a red “opt-out” bracelet.

The unusual approach has been carefully reviewed by medical and ethics experts, and researchers say most people at high-risk for seizures have been supportive.

Stanford and the University of California-San Francisco are two of 17 research centers nationwide that will be studying the best way to give anti-seizure medications. Patients being transported to hospitals in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties will be subject to the new study.

It’s the only way to learn about life-saving treatments in an emergency, said Dr. James Quinn, associate professor of emergency medicine at Stanford and a lead researcher on the Rapid Anticonvulsant Medication Prior to Arrival Trial (RAMPART). (more…)

They were expecting to serve 300 at the Pink Ribbon Charity Spaghetti Dinner for Erin Alston Thursday night. They served 550.

The outpouring of love and support for the Jefferson High School graduate was amazing.

“I’m overwhelmed,” said Mrs. Alston, choking back tears. “Most people don’t get something like this unless they die, and then they don’t get to see it.”

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in September, and the dinner was organized as a fundraiser to help pay her mounting medical bills.

The former Erin Wiley is a 1994 Jefferson graduate and was a member of the basketball team. Her former coach, Jim Lemerand, learned of her illness and set the wheels in motion for Thursday’s dinner. (more…)