Luxury chocolates are about indulgence. They give us little moments of excess in which we allow ourselves a brief bite of lavishness in an otherwise sensible and responsible day.

However the complete lack of any need for such expensive treats can lead to unfortunate traces of guilt when we buy them and this, annoyingly, will usually put us off. In these situations I often think to myself “If only there was a way that I could be helping homeless people to a new chance in life whilst spoiling myself to a face full of chocolate”.

Beyond Boyle has given me a solution, and it’s their new range of Beyond Chocolate Luxury Truffles.

Founded by chef, charity worker and all round lovely man Simon Boyle, Beyond Boyle is a hospitality company that has evolved into a social enterprise. After working with tsunami victims in 2004 Simon returned home and set up the Beyond Boyle Foundation to give greater focus to his charity efforts, and by working in partnership with several homeless charities he has developed a program to give those who have experienced homelessness the chance to start a career in cooking.

Participants begin the two year apprenticeship by learning basic cooking techniques and kitchen regulations, and as they progress to more advance skills they work alongside professional chefs at Beyond Boyles’ own hospitality events. The training is complimented with personal development coaching to rebuild their confidence, the aim being that participants not only achieve paid employment, but are motivated in starting a career. By the end of the program they have all the necessary expertise to cook fine cuisine, with many of those who make the grade going on to work for Beyond Boyle professionally.

If all this behind the scenes stuff isn’t enough then you might like to know that the chocolates themselves are made from ethically sourced, home grown ingredients, and are free of nuts, egg and gluten. They are suitable for vegetarians and are available in dark chocolate, peppermint tea and caramelised orange flavours. You can find them on the Beyond Boyle website or at Waitrose for the special introductory price of £6.49. They taste lovely as well!

So if your looking for a way to be indulgent and responsible then look no further, and if you just want to treat yourself then why not help out the homeless while your at it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BeyondBoyle

http://www.beyondboyle.com/shop/

Here’s a winning idea: a fund-raising football tournament.  Sue Ryder Care (the UK based healthcare charity) seeks lovely companies to participate.

Anyone can play.  All you need is a five-a-side team with the fitness and skill desire to challenge ex-Premiership legends for the Sue Ryder Cup.

Entry to the tournament and exclusive after-party costs £1200 for eight players plus guests.  In many cases, lovely companies are sponsoring their staff to take part.

Teams from Coutts, Polar Capital and Microsoft have already signed up but players don’t have to be from huge corporations.

32 teams will be involved in the play-offs, with the winners playing a team of Premiership All Stars in the final.  Last year’s all-star team included Ray Parlour (Arsenal), Kerry Dixon (Chelsea) and Paul Parker (Manchester United).

There is a chance to mingle with the Premiership legends at the after- party at the Indigo Club in the O2 Centre.  The event will be hosted by 1966 World Cup winner Martin Peters MBE and other confirmed guests include Martina Czeh, wife of Chelsea footballer Petr Czeh.

Even if you can’t beat the all-stars, you can have fun trying. And because proceeds go towards Sue Ryder’s care work in Malawi and Eastern Europe, you can’t really lose!

The tournament will take place on December 2nd at the David Beckham Academy, Greenwich.  For more information, contact Louise on 0207 4920 746 or email InternationalCup@suerydercare.org

Rachel Pattisson is a freelance copy writer. She writes a blog called Really Rachel and you can hire her here: ThoughtTrains.co.uk.

In the video below, the founding partners explain more:

If you know of a charity or non-profit that needs help with fundraising, marketing or communications then point them towards Beautiful World. There’s nothing to lose as the first hour’s consultation is free!

Beautiful World are also a sponsor of the upcoming NFPtweetup event.

“What’s that?” I hear you cry.

I’m glad you asked. It’s a Lovebox: the digital equivalent of a charity wristband, spreading charitability (and a warm, fuzzy feeling) all over the internet.

Lovebox.org.uk is a new venture, developed to promote charities via online social networks. Lovebox allows people to show their support for different charities each month. There is also a donations facility, with all contributions going directly to charity.

The Lovebox is free to download. There are no demands for money. All you have to do is display your Lovebox. Imagine swapping your profile picture for a Lovebox on your favourite social network. Everyone will notice. Lovebox works on the principle that raising awareness will raise donations. And you get to enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling for free.

The Lovebox team are also responsible for the trending topic #charitytuesday on Twitter, encouraging everyone to make Tuesdays a day for displaying their Lovebox and discussing charitable activities: warm, fuzzy feelings all round.

Spread the Lovebox!

Rachel Pattisson is a freelance copy writer. She writes a blog called Really Rachel and you can hire her here: ThoughtTrains.co.uk.

Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of the Acumen Fund and author of The Blue Sweater, shares stories of how “patient capital” can bring sustainable jobs, goods, services – and dignity – to the world’s poorest.

Last week was TED week in Long Beach, California. The conference (which we’ve written about before) gives the stage to some of the most fascinating people from around the world to talk for twenty minutes about any topic close to their heart. The talks are then published online, free for all to watch.

The first talks from TED 2009 are beginning to be released on the TED website and on YouTube and I’ve embedded the first couple below. First up is Elizabeth Gilbert sharing her thoughts on a different way to think about creative genius:

Next, Bill Gates discussing his latest endeavours in venture philanthropy:

Tonight something extraordinary is happening right around the world. In 200 cities across the globe, people will be getting together to raise money for charity.

The event is called Twestival and has been organised almost entirely using Twitter. The event organisers reckon they could raise $1m for charity:water which will help bring clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

The has been a crescendo of buzz about Twestival: check out the plug on Techfluff.tv and the amusing image conjured up by Telegraph blogger Milo Yiannopoulos.

Click here to find a Twestival near you. I urge you to go along if you can, although some have already sold out. If you’re coming along to the one in Newcastle (UK) then see you there!

Check out the video below to find out more:

charity: water for Twestival from charity: water on Vimeo.

Rumour has it that sometimes when you buy charity Christmas cards, the charity can sometimes receive as little as 4% of the sale price.

Earlier in the week we wrote about Touchnote who are running an offer that gives 100% of the proceeds from Christmas card sales to one of four charities.

Yesterday, the folks at Everyclick got in touch to tell us about the charity Christmas e-cards that they are doing this year. E-cards are a great way to reduce the environmental impact of sending Christmas cards as they don’t use any paper and you they are customisable with pictures, videos and messages. Plus 121% of the sale price goes to the charity of your choice and you can choose any of the 200,000 charities in the UK! They use Gift Aid to bump up your contribution. There’s even the option to allow the recipient to choose which charity gets the money!

Check out their offer here:
http://www.everyclick.com/charity-christmas

We also love Everyclick’s Christmas tagline:
“Christmas? Considerate done.”
Magnificent!

Touchnote.com is a digital printing company founded to help people become better friends. They make it easy to send cards, made from FSC certified card and featuring your own photos, to your friends and family.

They got in touch with us recently to tell us about the charity offer they are promoting. If you buy cards using their special promotional codes then 100% of the sale price goes to the charity you choose. This is the perfect way to send Christmas cards to your friends and simultaneously raise money for charity!

Click here to check out the Touchnotes.com Charity Offer.

Don’t hang about – the offer expires on the 9th of January 2009.

“Hello, I’m Ewan McGregor, a UNICEF Ambassador, and I’m donating my Moto Guzzi motorcycle to UNICEF for auction on eBay. It’s the first of its kind in this colour and one of my favourite bikes. I collected this bike from the Moto Guzzi factory in Italy and rode it back to London. I’ve loved riding it ever since and I know that you will too.”

The money raised from this auction will go to the Children’s Emergency Fund, which enables Unicef to launch a response for children the moment a disaster strikes.

Click here to see the item listing on eBay.