Burgess Hill Girls exceed fundraising target to raise over £5,000 for St. Catherine’s Hospice. Winning two awards as a result of their fantastic efforts was the icing on the cake!
This years Youth Enterprise Project Team, raised a whopping £5,064 for St. Catherine’s Hospice as part of a project where eight schools in the local area were given the challenge of turning £50 into at least £1,500 in just 10 weeks. Together, the eight school teams raised £28,215 all of which will go to supporting the amazing work they do at St. Catherine’s.
Last week, the schools came together for an awards evening which was a glorious celebration of the innovation, resilience and hard work from all the students involved. Burgess Hill Girls were delighted to receive two awards on the night, the first for Best Marketing Strategy for their fundraising campaign and a special award for one of their students Mia Ogden. Teachers were invited to nominate a student who embodies the values of St Catherine’s Hospice in both character and actions. Mia’s genuine warmth, respectful nature, and boundless optimism made her a clear and deserving recipient of this special award.
The Burgess Hill Girls team was made up of five students studying Business A level; Val Olayinka, Mia Ogden, Malika Sobirova, Laura Gallitz and Nina Wang, who did an excellent job bringing the whole school community together to raise the funds. This entrepreneurial team created a variety of fundraising events from scrunchy making that needed to be crowd sourced because demand was so high, to a Colour Run that had everyone out exercising and having fun. No charity effort, particularly in a school, would be complete without a non-uniform day where the school turned orange to raise awareness of the hospice and its brand. Over the ten weeks there were numerous other smaller activities from an online clothing sale, to a £50 note serial number challenge!
Dionne Flatman, who teaches the girls said, “Thanks to the generosity of students, parents and staff and the tenacity and creativity of the team, we were able to exceed the £3,000 target we set ourselves, raise awareness of the work of St Catherine’s and build lasting relationships with the hospice which relies so much on donations and fundraising. This group of enterprising young women have learnt some valuable skills that will help them with their A level Business course and more importantly, have used their knowledge and skills to improve the lives of those who need the hospice when life comes full circle”.
