dedication (n.)  1. complete and wholehearted devotion; 2. an inscription or announcement.

1. complete and wholehearted devotion 

I don’t think there’s a doubt in a mind that the athletes competing in the XX Commonwealth Games show complete and wholehearted devotion to their sport, their fitness and their carb-intake as they train for four years and more for their chance of podium joy. Their bodies aren’t just temples, they’re Valhallas and the motivation it must take to keep them as such during, what must be very disciplined and quite frustrating, teens and twenties is impressive in itself.

But the definition of dedication doesn’t extend only to athletes. The development of the Games and all its surrounding hoopla demonstrates the enthusiasm and labour of a myriad of workers and volunteers, carrying out the, often unreported, chores that it takes to plan and implement such a large-scale event.

And then there’s UNICEF. Nope, I don’t think I need an actual segue here since, if you’ve been anywhere on this beautiful but somewhat troubled planet of ours for the last sixty years, you’ll appreciate that the link between the United Nations Children’s Fund and dedication goes without saying, or even alluding to. The work they do to ensure that children across the globe have access to even the most basic of life’s essentials is extraordinary, supported entirely by donations, and, I’m afraid, still necessary.

As the official charity partner of Glasgow 2014, UNICEF will be reaching out to some of the Commonwealth’s poorest children – ensuring the Games’ legacy resonates worldwide, and demonstrating the charity’s famous dedication to the preservation of children’s rights.

And maybe that’s where the story should end. But then, dedication is a twofold concept, right?

2. an inscription or announcement

Glasgow is a beautiful, if slightly edge-rough, city, home to many joyful attractions – may I draw your attention to the Shandwick Centre or that gravity-defying cider bottle sitting atop just about every fence in eye-shot? So, now you’ve seen what our glorious city has to offer, wouldn’t it be cool to have one of those epically old, sparklingly original, or just slightly bizarre monuments to Glasgow’s unique personality dedicated to you?

Yes, that’s correct, it would.

Now, I can’t offer you a hospital wing built in your honour or a tasteful blue plaque on the side of the pub in which you tasted your first pint – or the toilet in which you tasted it for the second time – but I live in the host city and it is therefore my Glaswegian privilege to dedicate some of our finest wonders to you and yours by way of the questionable permanence – but sheer jauntiness – of a well-placed day-glo Post-It. (This paragraph is sponsored by hyphens.)

For only a pound (or more!) donated on my Just Giving page, you can send me to the top of the Titan crane or the bottom of the Clyde, and send UNICEF a statement of your commitment to the children they support.

Okay, so a sticky note on a tower-block isn’t exactly name-in-lights stuff but you’re not doing it for the Hollywood moment, you’re doing it to show your dedication to impoverished children, and for the mischievous pleasure of sending me all over town with a stack of neon notes and a shoe-full of blisters.

In July, millions of us will witness the spectacle of the Commonwealth’s finest athletes in action, and praise them for their skill and dedication. And rightly so. Dedication is a wonderful thing, it’s a powerful thing, and it’s ours to donate. So please, donate yours today, claim your own little piece of Glasgow, and help this dedicated fool to raise £2014 for UNICEF before the Games finally calls the city its own.

Paula.