Those of us panicking that our Christmas shopping is not yet complete will be only too well aware that there’s barely two weeks left to get it done. But fear not! Shopping on the internet has never been as easy as it is now, meaning you can dodge those awful queues and shop in the comfort of your own home or on your lunch break at work. Indeed, it’s estimated that upwards of £17bn will be spent online this Christmas in the UK alone. Now just imagine if some of that could be turned into a charitable donation to Hestercombe, at no extra cost to you… ‘Give as you Live’ is a revolutionary new form of fundraising that sees online retailers such as Amazon, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s and over 3,000 others donate between 1% and 6% of whatever you spend with them to a charity of your choosing. A completed grocery order on sainsburys.co.uk, for instance, could raise 50p for Hestercombe, while £100 spent with amazon.co.uk would see Amazon give us £1.50. Donations like these are made at the company’s expense, not yours – all you need to do is shop online as you normally would and watch with satisfaction as the donations to Hestercombe roll in. The sums may be small, but signing up to ‘Give as you Live’ has the potential to make a huge contribution to the continuing restoration and conservation work here at Hestercombe – a challenge made all the more urgent by the recently completed acquisition of Hestercombe House from the Somerset County Council. All you have to do is complete a 30 second registration process and nominate Hestercombe as your chosen charity. ‘Give as you Live’ is not too good to be true – online retailers will donate a percentage of whatever you spend directly to us. It is 100% safe and secure – you don’t have to divulge any personal information beyond your name and email address, and you won’t get sent any junk mail either. Visit www.giveasyoulive.com to find out more about ‘Give as you Live’, where you’ll also be able to watch a video about the scheme, see for yourself how much money can be raised and, most importantly, sign up to start raising money for Hestercombe at no extra cost to you whatsoever.