Open Day – Sunday 24 November

Organizing a fundraising event may seem a little daunting but we promise it’s easier than you think and Children First Foundation can provide you with lots of ideas, tools and support to help you organise and maximise the potential of your fundraising. Check out these inspirational fundraisers for ideas on how you could get involved.

Serenades at Sunset – Alison from WA

With the help of friends and family Alison hosts a small charity concert in her garden every year. Alison says “It is a lovely evening, and everyone looks forward to it each year.” Organizing an event like this may seem like a lot of work but Alison assures us it’s not “We send out invitations to all our friends, inviting them to come along. We ask them to bring any friends, family or anyone else they would like to. Everyone is welcome including children, who run around, dance or sing along with the music on stage, climb trees, sit on the wall or in the treehouse, and generally have a great time! Everyone brings their own chairs/picnic rugs/snacks and drinks, so it’s not labour-intensive for us.”

Think you’ll be uncomfortable asking your friends and family for donations? Again Alison has advice that could help “We start by telling everyone a little about the charity we are fundraising for. We have posters and a collection box available and people are free to donate if they want to. We don’t put any pressure on, but people are very generous.”

Now we know not everyone has a stunning garden like Alison, or is friends with a singer like Courtney Murphy who is handily happy to serenade everyone!  However, if you think you could put on an event like this you can still go for it. Why not use a local park or public space if you don’t have the big backyard. No singing friend? Drop a sheet down the side of your house, borrow a projector and create an open air cinema or just stay simple and host a good old fashioned BBQ. Need an excuse for the party? Why not have a theme like Christmas in July, an Easter Egg hunt or a Spring fling!

A bake sale with a sweet addition – Erin and the Medibank Retention Team

Erin and the team cooked up a storm and invited all their colleagues to enjoy delicious baked goodies for a donation. Although they look a bit scary with that big knife we are assured that was just for cake cutting and not for getting donations! She tells us “We had a really great day, with lots of success and NO food left which was amazing! People were more than willing to be generous for such a great cause (and some delicious treats!)”.

The even more amazing thing that Erin did was ask her employer if they would match the donation that her and the team had raised through the bake sale. Medibank were amazingly generous in saying yes to this request and that doubled the donation that was sent to CFF. What an amazing way to increase your donation. Whilst not all employers will do this many will offer to support their staff in charitable giving, so why not take a leaf out of Erin’s (cook) book and ask your bosses if they would support you in an event like this. 

Not keen on baking? The workplace is still a great place to fundraise. Maybe you could organise a “frock swap”, ride to work day, or get your colleagues involved in a lunchtime quiz (handily available in most daily newspapers). The great thing about fundraising at work is that you can involve your colleagues and have fun as a team whilst supporting a great cause.

Kids Helping Kids – IQRA College and Emmaus College

Since 2013 Emmaus College has been conducting a cross campus fundraising campaign to support a specific Children First child.  This year they raised funds to support Alma an 11 year old from PNG who had severe bowing in both her legs caused by rickets. The College Captains, Vice Captains and the Social Justice committee organise the events with the support of their teachers. They hold a  ‘Day of Action’ where all the students wear casual clothes for a fee and they set up food stalls on their campuses. One of the Emmaus students Bronte, had a great message which really sums up what it means to fundraise – “to us $5 doesn’t seem much but added together it can change a life.”

We also have reciprocal visits where the CFF kids come down to the school to say thank you and attend an assembly and in turn we host the  Social Justice committee at the Retreat so they can see their donation put to good use. “Once you see the kids and how excited they are and happy to be here, you become aware what your money is doing and that it makes a difference”. Since 2013 Emmaus College students have raised in excess of $26,000 for children in the care of Children First.

 IQRA College were new supporters to Children First this year but we sincerely hope they will continue to engage with us. After seeing the story of Nima and Dawa in the paper the students wanted to do something to help. Dawood Perrotta, a teacher from the year 3 class, got in touch with Children First Foundation to ask how they could help.  She said it was “great to see students passionate about a cause to help others”, which is in line with the teachings of the school. They organized and held a bake sale to raise funds for the twins. The project was also tied into the curriculum as students were learning about news and information reports. Dawood told us that “Students developed life skills such as confidence, teamwork, organisation, critical thinking, communication, customer service and more.”

It’s always particularly special to us when we see Australian kids wanting to help other kids. We work with young people every day so we know that they can be motivated, compassionate and inspiring. Why not spark the passion for giving back in the young people in your life by fundraising for Children First Foundation?

We hope these stories inspire you get involved and help make a life changing difference to disadvantaged children by fundraising for us.

If you don’t want to organise something of your own there are lots of existing fundraising events that you can join in with and select us as your chosen charity. If you like to run, hike, swim or paddle you can find one that suits you. We can help you set up an on-line fundraising page to make it easy for people to support you to support us.

Contact us today to get all the support you need to make your fundraising a success.