Notts dad created emotion posters and wrote book after son suffered mental health problems during pandemic

A father of three from Nottingham has set a goal of raising £ 10,000 this year to buy Christmas gifts for cared children.

David Rogers, 50, first started his charity mission when his son suffered from mental symptoms during the pandemic and felt he wanted to do something to help other children who have no one to talk to.

The designer, who lives near Newark and owns a shop in Nottingham city center, first set out to create emotional posters to help young people open up.

David Rogers has his own children’s book “Have You Heard of Jelly Bean Juice? to raise money for children in care

“During the pandemic, our son Milo, who is 10 years old, had some mental health problems,” explains David.

“He was able to open up to me and we got support, but I thought of other children who may not be able to speak easily, or their parents who, through no fault of their own, are not.” sure how to communicate about these things.

“We set out to research and design posters that would help children point to the faces that are sad or angry, that most reflect their feelings, just to start a conversation.

“We sold them to raise some money for charity, but we also gave them away to schools, parents, teachers and children.

“They have had a storm and we have had really great feedback on how they have helped kids get into conversation, even if it’s the smallest kind, it’s a start and hopefully it will make a difference.

“We have now also made posters for teenagers.”

David and his company created posters to help children identify their emotions and speak

David’s charity efforts began a few years ago when he decided to raise money for children in social institutions on Christmas Day. He would get their Christmas lists and go to work raising the money to fulfill them.

Last year he was able to help three homes, but this year he has bigger ambitions and has published his own children’s book to pay for Christmas gifts in 10 different children’s homes.

“For the past 4 years I have tried to give children a wonderful Christmas Day in social institutions. They are asked to give me a list of how lucky most children are, and then I use the money to buy gifts. We also use whatever is left to help blackboards, women’s shelters and gifts, toiletries and groceries in the run up to Christmas.

“I helped a children’s home for the first three years, last year I managed to help three, but this year my dream is to help ten.”

To achieve his goal, David needed a plan – and then he remembered a children’s story he had written that languished on his laptop.

“I wrote the story for my son for fun, but I’m a designer, not a writer, so I’ve never done anything with it,” says David, who is also the father of Lewis, 16, and Charlie, 6.

“But when I was thinking about how to raise money, the book seemed like a good idea because I knew I could have it designed and printed through my business, keep everything local, and not pass these costs on.

“It has been produced to a really high standard, is beautifully illustrated and printed in Nottingham, and every single penny that is raised goes straight to the charity campaign.”

The book, Have You Heard of Jelly Bean Juice? was inspired by bath times with his son when they mixed up different hand washes, resulting in strange and wonderful colors and a mixture that smelled like jelly beans.

Ever heard of Jelly Bean Juice? Is for sale to raise money for cared children this Christmas

“It’s a bit of fun with a group of animal lovers at the center of a party, including a Siberian moose named Bartholomew. At one point an accident happens and jelly bean juice is spilled all over the place. Then jelly bean juice is created and one of the guests decides Mindy, whose father’s name is Mr Big Shot, that they can market and sell it. “

David and his wife Annabelle have been selling the books through word of mouth and their Instagram accounts for two months and have already raised £ 6,500.

But David wants to hit his £ 10,000 goal by the end of November.

“I firmly believe that these children can have the same experiences at Christmas as other children and I want to help more,” he says, a crucial time for women fleeing their homes with children. We will also support boards and, if possible, charities for the homeless. “

David’s wife Annabelle, who is also a designer, has supported him with all aspects of publishing and selling the book through her popular Instagram account @designermumetc and David himself can be found at @shopperdave_.

The book costs 8 pounds including postage and packaging and is already on its way all over the world.

“We got two orders from Florida, that’s great, and we’ve now sold around 300 books in total.

“It was very important to me to create something good quality so that for a charity donation people would get a really nice product and so far the buyers seem to love the book which is a good feeling.

“But it will feel better when I reach my goal and can give these children a Merry Christmas in 10 social institutions. That is the most important thing.”

As part of their charity work, David and his company also produce luxury tea towels with maps of popular UK vacation destinations such as North Norfolk, and they also sell the Emotions posters for children and teenagers.

Have you heard of Jelly Bean Juice? Go to Instagram and send a message to @designermumetc or @shopperdave_

Or send an email to david@wearepure.net

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/25/notts-dad-created-emotion-posters-and-wrote-book-after-son-suffered-mental-health-problems-during-pandemic/