Children's inspired fund-raiser

[The Patriot]

Children's inspired fund-raiser

10-20-2010 07:06 AM

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Wed, 2010-10-20 15:04


Children's inspired fund-raiser


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One of the children's fund-raising ideas was to sell TCT wristbands. BBC News photo






Children's inspired fund-raiser

Source:BBC News

An enterprise scheme set up by a Cambridge school to support the Teenage Cancer Trust is so successful it could be rolled out around the UK.
The children and staff of Sancton Wood Junior School wanted to do more after hearing a talk on the charity's work.
The other inspiration was one of the pupils, Evan Landini, who had been diagnosed with cancer, aged nine.
"You felt quite scared to know you had something like that inside you," said Evan, who is now 12.
Keyhole
Evan discovered he had a tumour in his bladder: "My mum went to Addenbrooke's Hospital with me, with my dad.
"He [the consultant] told us what it was about because we had no idea at that time. It hurt a lot."
Three years on, Evan has keyhole check-ups every six months, because this is the only way his doctors can be sure that he is still well.
As a result of his illness and the procedures he has to undergo, Carol Bardoli, headteacher of Sancton Wood's junior school, invited the Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) to the school to give a talk on its work.
The children decided they wanted to help with its fund-raising for a new unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, which is due to open in November 2010.
Education and Enterprise Trust
Carol Bardoli realised she could use this enthusiasm to turn their fund-raising into an enterprise activity, which would interweave with the school curriculum.
The Sancton Wood Education and Enterprise Trust was set up.
The children joined teams and developed all sorts of fund-raising ideas, from selling homemade cakes to making TCT wrist bands.
Parents got involved too, with one teaching accountancy skills and another craft workshops.
Susie Rice, the education and advocacy manager for TCT in the south, was delighted with the way the school embraced the project.
"The ideas that they're coming up with, most adults wouldn't come up with," she said.
"The children are part of developing this, the teachers are, the parents are. We want to have a business enterprise package by the end of the year to then push this project out to as many schools in the UK as we can."
The pupils' next project is to sell their own handmade silk paintings, and they hope people will be prepared to donate picture frames to them so they can frame their artwork.
As Evan Landini explained: "It's just good to help other people, even if something's happened to you.
"You shouldn't just be scared for the rest of your life. Think about other people at the same time and about how you can help them."







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