Red Cross Blogs

Homage to young (and aww-inspiring) fundraisers

By Victoria Watts
May 28, 2010 at 1:02 pm

I’ve noticed a lot of my posts are about young people and the brilliant things they do, so I wanted to share some of my favourites with you…

A couple of weeks ago I introduced you to Clare Jeffcock from America who came up with the idea of the Couch Potato Philanthropist’s Challenge – the lazy fundraiser’s dream. At 14, she’s an impressive example of what young people can do when it comes to fundraising – she’s even been selling booklets of poetry and artwork she collected about Haiti. You can find her at @ClareJulissa to keep track of the latest schemes she’s come up with.

We also have some fantastic young fundraisers this side of the pond. Take 13-year-old Ryan Griffiths from Newport in Wales. Ryan was so moved by the images he saw on television in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake that he decided to undertake a grueling two-hour sponsored swim, which has raised £500 so far.

And then there are the winners of our Hundred 2 Hundreds scheme from last year – groups of young people who managed to multiply a grant of £100 supplied by us. One group held a sponsored wheelchair push, another organized an art show, and there was even a Red Cross rave!

Dance for Life is another great example of the power of youth. When I visited one of the events, I was blown away by the dancers I met and their passion for our work. One little girl summed it up perfectly: “I’m doing something that I love and actually saving people’s lives.” You can’t really argue with that can you?! Listen to the podcast to find out more.

And even the teeny tiny ones are getting involved. Remember the cuter than cute kids who paraded the streets in a Hats for Haiti day? And look at this baby fundraiser – one to make you go awww.

So as volunteer week approaches, perhaps you can take some of these young stars as inspiration for what you can do to get involved. No matter how big or small, it will always make a difference.

---

Comment (1) »

---

Tags: Dance for life, fundraising, hundred2hundreds, volunteer week, young people

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 1:02 pm and is filed under Fundraising and events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---