James Rose

My name is James (some people call me J) and I have recently graduated with a First Class degree with Honours in Broadcasting and subsequently looking to work in television production.

I have a lovely assistance dog called Nemo (provided by Canine Partners) who helps me open doors and pick things up. I have had Nemo since 2001 and obviously he's changed my life. Nemo literally opens doors for me and pulls my socks off (on command obviously!)  Nemo is also a good conversation topic helping people who may be "nervous" of me (as I'm quite ugly!) and eases their apprehensions about approaching me.  I want to give something back in return. I want to pay Canine Partners back for giving me this fluffy bundle of joy and I thought it would be good if I did something big.

Also, after watching Comic Relief, I can't get the image of the dying Shaila out of my head. I feel it is ridiculous that in this day & age, we still live in a world where people are dying from easily curable diseases and situations. I wanted to do something about this.

Michelle has done a lot of fundraising for charities helping to abolish poverty - a social issue close to both of our hearts.  We both thought this cause would be a fantastic cause to support.  The decision to support Comic Relief's Red Nose Day '09 campaign also relates to the message we want convey about how some of our ideologies sometimes stop us from achieving.  This view is applicable to every aspect of life - from poverty, money (itself, an ideology), to our daily routine.  g

It has been an education organising this project as it has shown me how ideas can get in the way of us doing what is right. This has also made me realise that anything can be possible as long as we don't create ideological barriers to stop us. For example, I am afraid of heights which had stopped me from doing a skydive before. Fear is only an ideological position which can sometimes protect you, but can also hold your back.

For me, this project is about promoting both charities but also to try to get people to look at life from an objective point-of-view and notice the barriers in our way which we create. This concept can be applied to every aspect of life - from our personal routines to the global community.