Published on 18 December 2017
Sunderland students have risen to the business challenge, taking £25 and turning it into thousands of pounds for a local charity, using their entrepreneurial skills.
Thirty-three teams in the first year of their studies at the Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism took up the Take 25 Challenge. Sponsored by intu Eldon Square each team was given £25 and had to use this to raise as much money as possible in just a month.
The teams raised an amazing total of £5,597.77 for The Children’s Foundation (TCF). The North East charity raises money and runs projects that directly benefit children and young people in the region, including vital medical and lifestyle research.
The money raised by our students will help cure sick children and prevent them becoming physically or mentally ill.
The teams had four weeks to turn their starting budget of £25 into a winning amount. The range of fundraising activities they took on was as eye-popping as the amount raised. They held music nights and pub quizzes; they planned a Greek party; they made pancakes and baked cakes; they went on charity walks and took part in TCF’s annual abseil last month; one student even had a sponsored hair dyeing - and there was almost a sponsored tattoo!
All teams were invited to a special Prize Night held in Revolution in Sunderland on 22 November, where prizes were awarded to the winning team, runners-up and Outstanding Individuals. The winning team was Heroes for Children, who raised £564.31 from the initial £25. Runner-ups were William’s Warriors, raising £537.81.
Module leader Joel Arnott said: “This challenge provided students with a fantastic opportunity to develop, learn, and give back to their community. Overall, the students enthusiastically embraced the opportunity. There were a good number exceptional team performances, and the overall result was amazing, surpassing the expected outcome by some margin and contributing to such a worthy cause.”
The Children’s Foundation singled out a number of individuals, who they felt had gone above and beyond:
- Bethany Taylor, who took part in the TCF abseil (cracking a rib in the process!)
- Chris Davison, who dyed his hair pink
- Megan Ford, who stood out week on week for being motivated, assertive and passionate to make things work, always looking for solutions where problems had arisen
- Joana Gaia Crua, who washed dishes for a month at her halls of residence
- Kamila Kapron, who performed strongly in her own team, and was “super supportive of others”
- Sarah Rowen, for her perseverance and supporting other teams
The charity’s Community Fundraising & Event Manager, Laura McVeigh, said: “The brilliant thing about ‘Take 25' is that students taking part develop their team-work and entrepreneurial skills while supporting the work of The Children’s Foundation across the North East. So everyone benefits.”
The Children’s Foundation was set up in 1990 with the vision of giving children and young people in the North East and North Cumbria the best health and wellbeing services in the UK. Twenty seven years on, the charity has raised funds to build a specialist children’s hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, installed 11 3-D pain distraction units in the region’s hospitals, and awarded hundreds of small grants to community groups and organisations across the NE and North Cumbria.
In 2017, the charity is still focussing on the relief of distress, disability and disadvantage for children in this region, but especially the challenges associated with child mental health. Visit www.thechildrensfoundation.co.uk/about for more information and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.