The other day I met two women working in a kitchen on Oldham Street in Manchester. I was greeted by the warmth of steam coming from a huge pan of chopped up meat and vegetables and  the warmth of two women who had a genuine love for what they were doing. On the menu that day was shepherd’s pie and pasta. The women were volunteers, preparing lunch for 60 people on a budget of just £16.  The kitchen, located in an old converted warehouse, is the home of The Mustard Tree.

I also met a guy called Graham. A gentle guy with a far from gentle past. A man who had caused harm and misery as a member of a notorious family at the heart of Manchester’s gangland, had been in and out of prison, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, and battled with depression. And who, through an opportunity presented by The Mustard Tree,  has found a new passion for life through art – a passion that he now passes on to the students in his classes as he teaches them to draw, paint and sculpt.

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Last night I caught the back end of Russell Howard’s BBC show ‘Good News’ where after some quite amusing attempts at humor, he introduced viewers of his show to Post Pals. After watching a short film he showed at the end of the show, I thought that as well as posting something to one of the children on the site, I’d also write a ‘We Like’ article about it in the hope that someone reading this might also be compelled to ‘post a smile on a sick child’s face’.

Post Pals is the brainchild of Vikki, who for the past seven years has been bed bound with severe ME. Like so many people with chronic illnesses all her friends lost touch and she became isolated. When she first became bed bound she was sent  many cards which soon became her reason to wake up every day.

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Monday at the Red C began like any other. Employees were pulling themselves into the office for yet another busy week, priority for most of course being a beverage before the start of their working day.

This particular morning was different though. The kitchen was brimming with a variety of delicious cakes that staff at Red C had spent their weekend baking. This change in morning ritual came about in support of ‘Time for a Cuppa’, an event that raises awareness for those affected by dementia which was organised by ‘for dementia’.

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As the end of year approaches everyone takes the opportunity to look back before we look forward into 2009. So I thought I’d take some time to highlight several key achievements made by Red C this year in the world of Direct Marketing and Advertising. Here’s just five reasons why this has been a vintage year for Red C.

1. An award winning direct marketing and advertising agency

This year Red C achieved something that we have never done before. We became finalists at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Awards in two categories. An achievement not matched by any other Direct Marketing or Advertising agency outside of London this year.

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