TODAY the time has come to start planning our Christmas appeal 2007 - and your favourite cause could benefit. Features editor TRACEY SPARLING issues a very special invitation for you to nominate the appeal's recipient.

TODAY the time has come to start planning our Christmas appeal 2007 - and your favourite cause could benefit. Features editor TRACEY SPARLING issues a very special invitation for you to nominate the appeal's recipient.

DOES your favourite cause need a cash boost to take away the sharpness of their razor edge budget?

Can you recommend a group doing sterling work which makes dreams come true? Or a new community project which needs funds to launch? Or an individual who has an unusual project?

The time has come to decide who should be the recipient of our 2007 Christmas fund-raising appeal and there are so many good causes out there across Suffolk that the choice is always a challenge.

In the past ten years Evening Star Christmas appeals alone have raised nearly £500,000 for local causes - that's not counting other appeals like the Terri Calvesbert Appeal standing at £475,000 or annual Ipswich and Suffolk Press Ball proceeds.

Above all we want this year's Christmas appeal to reflect what you want, so for the first time ever we are throwing an open invitation. You can nominate the cause you want to benefit.

We want to hear about a wide range of ideas.

Health causes have dominated the fundraising in recent years, so could this be the year to help a school or a community centre instead?

Or maybe you feel the feel the NHS needs more support than ever at this difficult time in the service's finances?

Could we fund a nurse for a year or a role which the NHS would never do?

At the opposite end of the age scale, there are many elderly people living in our community who will need extra help in the coming winter months. Would you like the appeal to sponsor a carer to look after our senior citizens?

Is there a special project in your area which needs money to launch or survive?

Another idea is to put the money raised towards a new building or facility from which a whole community can benefit.

We would also like to hear about unusual causes which might not otherwise get a look in.

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Send details of the cause you would like to see benefit, to Tracey Sparling, features editor, Evening Star, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail tracey.sparling@eveningstar.co.uk.

1997: Mission Possible, a £20,000 appeal to buy Suffolk children mobility aids through the charity Disability Car Enterprise.

1998: Beacon of Hope to raise £20,000 to add to Beacon Hill School's fundraising for 38 computer work stations.

1999: Hospice 2000 was our Millennium appeal which raised a staggering £95,000 to get a new children's hospice in Ipswich fully open.

2000: Suffolk Superheroes, a £25,000 appeal to buy lifesaving equipment for Suffolk Accident Rescue Service.

2001: Vicky Hall Memorial Hall Appeal was running -at Christmas we set out to break the £100,000 landmark to build a hall in memory of the Trimley teenager who was murdered.

2002: Save A Life, to raise £20,000 for Suffolk Accident Rescue Service which sends doctors to emergencies.

2003: Raise The Roof to help the Cancer Campaign in Suffolk raise the final £100,000 for a new cancer centre at Ipswich Hospital.

2004: Helping the Children a £18,000 appeal to create a children's area in minor injuries unit at Felixstowe General Hospital.

2005: Let Them Play raised £30,000 in just 50 days to resurface the outdoor play area at Ipswich Hospital's children's wards.

2006: Lifesaver raised £22,000 to buy a cardiac ultrasound machine for Ipswich Hospital's A&E department.