But there are other ways to donate other than financial.

You could donate your time to a local good cause and have an instant direct benefit in your community.

And if you don’t have the time to volunteer you could donate your blood which could save someone’s life. Not only can you lie back for 30 minutes or so satisfied you are doing something worthwhile, you also get a free cup of tea and biscuits once you are done! So not one to turn down a free cup of tea that’s exactly what I did today (and have done every 6 months or so).

Now if you are thinking “I should give blood one day” please can I urge you to find a local session now because as the chart below shows blood stocks are currently exceptionally low as colds and flu have led to 6000 fewer donors donating blood each week.

This chart got me thinking…. levels have remained fairly constant up until early September when they fall significantly. Sound familiar?

A quick check of what the FTSE has done over the same time period and the two charts are strangely familiar. Could this mean there was some truth in the saying bankers were full of hot air as they regularly donated blood whilst in employment? Has there been increased demand for blood as bankers jump from the nearest roof upon discovering the size of next years bonus cheque?

In reality this is purely coincidental but I had to find a way of linking this story to finance somehow! The serious point is please go and donate blood now, don’t leave it to someone else.

You may be able to give blood if you are aged between 17-65, weigh over 7st 12lb (50kg) and are in good health. There is no upper age limit for blood donation if you have donated over the last two years.

If you already have an appointment to give blood, please keep this if you can. If not, please contact the National Blood Service on 08457 711 711 or visit www.blood.co.uk for details of your local blood session or to make an appointment.

The numbers are frightening. But people are not numbers. They are children, brothers, sisters, neighbours, friends. And millions of them are parents facing choices they shouldn’t have to make. Like whether to feed themselves or their families, whether to give their sick child food or medicine.

The impact of all these causes is compounded by the global financial crisis. While food prices have dropped slightly below the height of summer 2008 prices, they remain 13 per cent higher than two years ago and the continuing volatility of prices places people living in poverty at constant risk.

World recession means less trade, less aid and less money for poor countries to help their people react to the food crisis.The financial crisis in itself means a further 40 million people will be pushed into poverty in 2009.

I hate to use a cliche when writing about something so serious but every little helps which is why I have donated £100 to Oxfam to support their work in addressing this issue, and I urge you to give what ever you can.

And if you are wondering why this post does not have a negative impact on my total that’s because I budget my charity donations every year. Otherwise it would be tempting to cut back on being charitable because of overspends elsewhere, and as ridiculous as that may sound I’m sure millions of people do exactly that.

It also ensures I stick to my commitment to charity and don’t fool myself into thinking I am charitable just because I donate a few pounds into collection tins every now and then. Plus it ensures that all my donations are gift aided which allows the charities to reclaim the tax.

Having done the mile last time out I thought I had better move up to 3 miles this year which I successfully completed in the rain earlier today. If you don’t know what Sport Relief is about then head over to their website to find out why it makes such a difference.

The total amount raised this year looks like it will be over £20m, which includes a single donation of £5.5m from a mystery donor during the live TV show on Friday.