FUNDRAISING
MATTERS
Spring 2011
A different kind of University Challenge
World Orphan Week 2011
Pupil power - young people making a difference
In this issue
5
2Welcome - Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children
6University Challenge with a difference
3Aldbury village supports SOS
7
Children’s Villages
4New beginning
Partnership news
Fundraising awareness events
8-10Fundraising activities
11Remembering SOS Children in your will
2
WELCOME
from Meryl Davies, Director of
Fundraising, SOS Children UK
In this latest issue of
Fundraising Matters we tell
stories of our committed and
creative supporters who give
their time and energy to help
the children in our care.
I know I speak for everyone
here at SOS Children when I
say thank you from us all.
At SOS Children we don’t often talk
publicly about where our children
come from and what their lives
were really like before they came
to live in our Children’s Villages.
Last year, a BBC documentary,
Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children
told the story of Esther, a little
girl living with nothing, distraught
with the pain of hunger, caring for
her baby sister Tino and nursing
her dying mother. Earlier this
year, the film makers went back
to Zimbabwe to see the girls’
remarkable transformation: from
orphans surviving in desperate
poverty to laughing girls with an
SOS Mother, living in the safety
Esther and Tino
of our Children’s Village in Bindura
and happily going to school.
We have an 18-minute version of
Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children
which puts the immense impact
of our work on our screens. This
version includes new footage of
Esther and Tino and an interview
with the SOS Village Director
Harold Chabayanzara. If you would
like a copy of the film to show to
friends - or to any other group then we can send one to you.
Let us know if you would like to
organise an event, large or small, to
tell others about the charity that you
support by calling Mary Pountain on
01223 222961 or emailing
[email protected]
Communities in action
a village
full of
support
for SOS
Children’s
Villages
Aldbury in Hertfordshire is a small
village with a big heart: a remarkable
number of people there are
supporting SOS Children’s Villages.
The connection started when
local resident Jane Brown visited the
SOS Children’s Village in Daegu,
Korea. Inspired by her trip her local
Church, St. John the Baptist Church
in Aldbury decided to sponsor our
Village in Tlokweng, Botswana.
Aldbury’s fundraising has gone
from strength to strength. To mark
the end of World Orphan Week in
February, the Aldbury Junior Church
choir sold WOW cupcakes raising more than £100 for Chipata
in Zambia. The Aldbury Women’s
Discussion Group are regular
donors, and the Aldbury District
Church Council and Tring Team
Parish Committee have also been
inspired to support SOS Children.
Children at SOS Children’s Village,
Tlokweng, Botswana
Giving and
receiving
Youngsters Amel, Imogen and
Kirsty celebrated their 12th
birthdays with a disco in July
last year. They asked their
friends to make donations rather
than give presents - raising a
very generous £400. Amel said
“We are really happy and proud
that this money has gone to
such a worthy cause”.
Meanwhile John and Rosemary
Kearsey raised £2,345 for our
Children’s Village in Awassa,
Ethiopia, which was celebrating
the 25th anniversary of its
school. They asked friends
to give donations rather than
presents to celebrate their 25th
wedding anniversary.
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4
New beginning
A new SOS Children’s
Village
The new SOS Children’s
Village in Chipata, in Zambia’s
Eastern Province, is currently
taking shape and will include
family homes, a nursery school,
a medical centre, a mobile
medical unit and an extension
to the community school.
It will help alleviate the huge
problems of family breakdown
and child abandonment: in
Chipata around 1 in 6 of all
children are orphans.
It’s a really exciting new project
- and one which wouldn’t be
possible without the amazing
determination and generosity of
people like you raising funds to
support our work. This Village
will be constructed by funds
raised entirely by the UK office.
Would you like to get involved?
By becoming a Village Sponsor
you can be part of this project
from the very beginning,
following progress as the
Village is built, the staff are
hired, and finally, as the children
arrive in their new home.
Building work began in October
2010. We expect to be finished
towards the end of 2012.
Support for Chipata
project from Nutricia
The employees at the Liverpool
branch of Nutricia, a provider of
advanced medical nutrition, know
how to go the extra mile when
it comes to fundraising for our
Chipata project.
Alongside raising funds through
an annual recycling scheme, book
clubs, and summer challenges,
employees took part in a
sponsored run in the Netherlands
last September. Later this year, a
group will take part in a sponsored
45 mile bike ride between
Chester and Manchester.
Building work in progress, Chipata
Corporate support for our Villages
News from our
partnerships
SOS Children’s Village, Kaifeng, China
When we began working with
international law firm Pinsent
Masons, the brief was clear - to find
flexible ways that the firm could
support a number of specific projects.
Since 2007 Pinsent Masons has
made valuable contributions to
our Children’s Villages in Kaifeng,
China; Greenfields in India and
towards the construction of
our new Children’s Village in
Chipata, Zambia.
Phil Peters, Director at
eco-investment specialist
Greenleaf Global, visited our
Children’s Village in Lomé on a
business trip to Togo. He was
profoundly moved by what he saw.
That’s why Greenleaf Global chose
to partner with SOS Children’s
Villages and direct funds to our
work there, sponsoring six children
at the Village. As a sponsor,
Greenleaf Global receives annual
updates and photographs on the
children’s progress.
For Jonathan Fortnam, CSR
Partner at Pinsent Masons the
appeal of working with SOS
Children is the breadth of our
work which means the firm can
support us in a range of ways:
“Our Manchester office sponsors
two children whereas on a
corporate level we’ve provided
school fees for the last two years
for the children in the Children’s
Village in Kaifeng, China.”
SOS Children’s Village Lomé, Togo
5
6
University challenge
A Different
kind of
University
Challenge
Students across the country are
some of our keenest supporters.
Our newest Supporters’ Group is at
the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Committee member Sarah Ellero
said: “We chose to sponsor SOS
Children’s Village Pushkin near St
Petersburg, because we felt the needs
of orphaned children in Russia were
less well known than in other places.”
They’ve already raised more
than enough money for a year’s
sponsorship of the Village and
through a variety of campus
activities they are generating much
needed awareness of the vital work
SOS Children is doing.
UEA Supporters’ Group
Meanwhile, students at the London
School of Economics (LSE)
have literally gone sky high in
their fundraising efforts for SOS
Children’s Villages - brave RAG
members took part in a sponsored
sky dive in February.
Other fundraising events have
included a Freshers’ Ball, a Romans
and Greeks party and a Winter Ball.
Sophie Count, the LSE RAG
Charities Officer, said: “The LSE
RAG is proud to have named
SOS Children’s Villages as one
of its charities. We have had an
amazing start to the year and know
the money raised is going to a
great cause.”
If you feel inspired to set up a
Supporters’ Group at your university
or college, please contact
Lottie Riddle, on 01223 222977
or [email protected]
LSE RAG Skydive
Fundraising awareness events
Inca Ball at the
Royal Opera House
Last winter’s Peruvian-inspired
Inca Ball was held in the fantastic
setting of the Flower Hall at the
Royal Opera House in London. The
event raised a splendid £150,000
to support the new SOS Children’s
Village in Juliaca, Peru, which
ABC Dinner:
our international
Ambassadors bring
their support to the UK
Another star-studded event:
Aimee, Bouchra, and Carla (ABC),
otherwise known as the wives
and girlfriends of the Arsenal
players Thomas Vermaelen, Robin
van Persie, and Cesc Fabregas,
hosted a night to remember at
Claridge’s in London - featuring
comedy stars Dara O’Briain and
James Corden and music from
The ABC organisers
will provide a family home and
education for 108 orphans now,
and for generations to come.
The Inca Ball was directed by
Beatriz Barclay who, along with
the Inca Ball Committee, put on a
magnificent event for 400 guests.
the Noisettes - and raised an
incredible £172,216 to support
our new SOS Children’s Village
in Chipata, Zambia including,
of course, the football pitch and
sports kits for the children.
Cesc Fabregas and Robin van
Persie are SOS Ambassadors in
their home countries of Spain and
the Netherlands. SOS Children is
now extending its network of UK
Ambassadors - of whom there
will be more news in forthcoming
editions of Fundraising Matters.
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8
World Orphan Week
World
Orphan
Week 2011
In 2011 World Orphan
Week once more
raised valuable
awareness and funds to
help vulnerable children.
Katie Dudley, founder of World Orphan Week
Organisations near to our offices
were particularly active this year:
Cambridge warmed to the idea
of being part of our campaign for
the new Village in Chipata. The
Cambridge Academy of English staff
and students organised games to
raise money and pupils from The
Perse School for Girls did the same.
A local restaurant raised over £200
and the 12th Cambridge Scouts
Bucket collection by 12th
Cambridge Scouts
joined us at the local football club,
Cambridge United, to help collect
from fans at a match.
World Orphan Week was started
by SOS supporter Katie Dudley in
2005 after she saw at first hand the
devastating loss caused by HIV/
AIDS and malaria in South Africa.
Katie said “I returned determined
to do something, however big or
small, to help the huge number of
children who had been left alone”.
The annual event has since raised
more than half a million pounds for
SOS Children’s Villages and we
want World Orphan Week 2012
to be even more exciting. Please
contact Mary Pountain if you have
a suggestion for an event in your
community - she will be glad to
send out information and ideas:
01223 222961 or
[email protected]
Pupil power
Pupil
power
our Schools
Coordinator, Helen
Elmerstig, is impressed
at the way young
people want to make
a difference
Habs boys dancing with Village children
We love our younger supporters:
ably supported by their teachers
and parents they contribute a huge
amount and inspire us all with their
imagination and energy.
Astor College - money for
Malawi. Students at Astor College in
Dover took part in an anti-smoking
project looking at the health risks for
vulnerable children in Malawi who
are forced to pick tobacco. Students
and staff worked together to raise
money to support our work for
orphans in Malawi, where we have
three Children’s Villages and homes
for 500 children.
Trinity School - from
Croydon to Beijing. Students
at Trinity School in Croydon,
who have the option to study
Chinese, were fascinated to
hear about our work in China
when a representative from SOS
Children’s Villages visited them
in June last year. Inspired by
the talk, the school raised nearly
£3,000 for our Children’s Village
in Beijing.
The Boys at
Haberdasher Askes
A group of boys from
Haberdasher Askes
experienced a cricket tour
and a life-changing visit
to SOS Children’s Village
in Pietermaritzburg, South
Africa. The trip was part of a
new programme developed by
the Longbridge Foundation,
promoting the development of
a social curriculum in schools
through sport of which this trip
was part. During their cricket
tour, the boys visited the Village
and challenged the SOS children
to a game of... football. As part
of the project, SOS supporter
Dakshesh Patel organised a
cricket-themed fundraising
dinner in London and raised
£26,000 for SOS Children.
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10
Fundraising activities
Up for a
challenge?
2011 could be the year for you to
set yourself a once-in-a-lifetime
challenge and raise vital funds for
SOS Children’s Villages.
We’ve got some great organised
challenges lined up for our supporters
this year, or maybe you’ve got your
own idea for a unique activity?
Last year Jeanett Zammit raised
money for SOS Children’s
Villages by completing the Malta
International Challenge Marathon.
She said: “It was hard to fit my
training in regularly since I work
full time and have two children.
However, the marathon was an
experience I’ll never forget.”
July 10th
– The British 10K
London Run:
Run in the capital past some
of London’s most iconic sights
- and raise money for us too.
October 9th
– Chester Marathon:
We’re proud to be an Associate
Charity of the 2011 MBNA
Chester Marathon.
To guarantee your SOS Children
place, please call Lottie Riddle
on 01223 222977 or email her
at [email protected]. And
if running is not for you, then
perhaps you would consider
being an event volunteer for the
day - please get in touch.
Join us on Facebook
We’ve just launched
‘Team SOS Children UK’
on Facebook - a fantastic
place for our fundraisers to
pass on their top tips, post
their challenge blogs, and
event details, and meet
other members of the SOS
community. Visit and join
in at www.facebook.com/
teamSOSChildren
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Remembering SOS
Children in your will
You won’t be surprised to hear that
legacies are a vital part of the funds
we raise for our projects. Generous
donors left us a total of nearly one
million pounds in their wills last
year. The individual bequests varied
in size, of course, and as with
all donations we receive, we are
deeply grateful.
Leaving legacies is often the
one opportunity we get to give
away a large amount - to our
loved ones and to the charities
we care about. Adding a legacy
to SOS Children may not mean
redrafting your whole will
and may be simpler than you
think. There are considerable
tax advantages which have
recently been further extended.
Our Individual Giving
Coordinator, Sarah Street, is
here to help people who want to
remember SOS Children in their
wills. You can call her on
01223 222962 or email her at
[email protected]
if you have any questions.
Deciding how to leave your
money is an important decision
and we are very grateful to
everyone who chooses to
support SOS Children in this
way.
Sisters at SOS Children’s Village, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia. Photograph by Dominic Sansoni
GET INVOLVED:
www.soschildren.org
Photograph by
Dominic Sansoni
Terrington House, 13-15 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1NL.
T: 01223 365589 F: 01223 222960 [email protected]
www.soschildren.org Reg. charity number 1069204