FANTASTIC fundraisers at King’s Ely Junior (KEJ) have raised more than £13,000 for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
KEJ chooses a different charity to support each year – and it is the pupils who decide which beneficiary they will be fundraising for. The children make their suggestions and then, in each house, elections are held, with the charity which receives the most votes becoming the school’s dedicated charity of the year.
A feast of fundraising activities over the last 12 months, including non-uniform days, scrumptious cake sales and colourful fancy dress events, raised an impressive £13,885 in total.
The money raised by KEJ pupils, parents and staff has also been match-funded by the Government, meaning the school community has effectively donated almost £28,000.
Over the last five years, KEJ has raised more than £60,000 for the school’s chosen charities, which include CLIC Sargent, WaterAid and the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Head of King’s Ely Junior, Richard Whymark, is delighted with the pupils’ willingness to embrace their fundraising as a part of their work at the school. He said: “The school community’s charitable work and the democratic process involved in it underline our commitment to education for social responsibility. The children deserve to be congratulated on their charitable work and the sense of fun they share as they think of others less fortunate than them.”
UNICEF is a United Nations programme headquartered in New York which provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. Most of the charity’s work is in the field, with staff in over 190 countries and territories across the world.
KEJ pupils are now nearing the final stages of voting for their charity of the year for 2016/17.
For more information about UNICEF, including how you can support the charity, visit www.unicef.org.