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Schools' experiencesMany schools across the country have already made WaterAid their Charity of the Year. Read about their experiences here. Water Day at Garden Suburb Infant School
Pupils at Garden Suburb Infant School hosted a Water Day and raised a staggering £1,400 for our work! The children took part in a number of activities, including hand washing dirty socks and carrying water in spoons around the playground. The day was rounded up with a concert put on by the pupils for their parents. Annie Saunders told us, "The whole experience was so positive and educational in the broadest sense of the word." A great event that raised money and got people thinking about why water matters. Thanks to all of those that took part in the day!
A year of support in Abu Dhabi The children at The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, recently raised just short of £21,000 (AED 126,539) for WaterAid. This amazing achievement was a result of 12 months of fundraising activities during the 2008/2009 academic year. Each year, BSAK’s Primary School has a chosen charity, and last year it was WaterAid. Throughout the year, the children organised and took part in a myriad of fundraising activities to raise money for their charity. These included: filling bottles with dirham coins, raising AED 10,650 (£1,786); dressing all in blue for ‘Blue Day’, bringing in AED 14,400 (£2,415); and a sponsored swim event which drummed up a remarkable AED 65,128 (£10,930). “My favourite event was Blue Day because everyone made a real effort to dress up,” said Eddie Eglington, a Year 3 pupil. “We watched a film about how WaterAid helps people who don’t have clean water, and it made us all think how lucky we are, and made us work harder to raise money to help those people. I wore blue shorts and my favourite blue shirt with fish on it. It was nice not to wear uniform for a day, and we all brought in money for WaterAid.” The school presented the cheque for £20,870 to His Excellency Edward Oakden, British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, who received it on behalf of the charity at a special school assembly in November 2009. “This is a remarkable achievement by the pupils, parents and staff at BSAK,” he said. “Having access to clean water and adequate sanitation is a basic human need, and yet one in eight of the world’s population does not have this. The work that WaterAid does in some of the poorest countries of the world is extremely important, and I’m delighted that the pupils at BSAK have made such a wonderful contribution. I’m honoured to receive this gift on behalf of WaterAid.” Mr Mark Yeowell, Headteacher of the Primary School at BSAK believes that encouraging children to raise money for charity is a fundamental part of their education, and helps develop a philanthropic culture. “Raising money for good causes is an important part of life for the children at BSAK. Some of the fundraising events were led by the school and others were initiated by the pupils themselves. The students take ownership of their fundraising activities, and take pride in how much they can raise to help other people around the world. This not only teaches the children how to raise funds, but also encourages them to understand and care about the lives of other people in the world, and imbues them with a sense of responsibility to help. “We have great fun with our fundraising activities, but we never lose sight of the reason behind it: making a real difference to the lives of the world’s poorest people.”
Ripon Grammar SchoolRipon Grammar School were supporters of WaterAid as their Charity of the Year for 2008/9. Deputy Head Boy Tim Robinson tells us about some of their weird and wacky and very successful fundraising activities! "The week before half term was our annual charity week. WaterAid was selected by the sixth form through a series of nominations, presentations and a student vote. "The week was given a kick-start by a team of students raising over £1,000 by taking part in the 2008 Great North Run. During the week fundraising efforts included events, raffles and activities for both staff and the school's 800 students. "At break times we enjoyed some excellent musical performances by teachers, including an ABBA tribute from the male members of the science department! At lunch times we held a variety of shows including 'Super stars' which saw a students take on teachers in comical and physical challenges. "We were entertained by a Morris Dance and 'The Variety Show' by the Ripon Grammar Kazoo Orchestra. The staff pantomime brought a humorous end to a very enjoyable week and was much appreciated by the students. "In total we raised well over £7,000 for WaterAid. Money is still trickling in so a final amount has not yet been confirmed. We had great time raising money and are coming close to beating last year's record!" WaterAid would like to give a huge thank you to all at Ripon Grammar School for their hard work and dedication!
Making a splash for WaterAidThe New English School in Kuwait have been busy this year raising a total of £7,580 for WaterAid in all sorts of fun ways! Kenny Melvin, Head of Year 6, tells us how they did it: "As part of our topic on water, Year 6 watched a BBC series in which mention was made of WaterAid. As so many people live without safe water we felt inspired to support WaterAid leading up to United Nations World Water Day in March. "Each year group watched WaterAid's short film Water for Life. The Year 4 children were so moved by the scenes of poverty that they applauded at the end. In a country where bottled water is the norm it was hard for them to imagine children drinking from muddy pools. "Our first activity was to make use of the small water bottles most children bring to school each day filling them up with loose change. We had a 'Sponsored Spell' of watery words such as typhoid, cholera and desalination, a sponsored walk by the sea, and each year held cake sales at break time. We made WaterAid badges for a raffle and ended the events with a fun, water-related sports day, carrying water instead of eggs in the egg and spoon race! The children were genuinely enthused by the charity even popping their pocket money into the bottles. "We raised a grand total of £7,580, enough to enable over 500 people gain access to clean water and sanitation, helping them overcome poverty and look forward to a brighter future." WaterAid would like to thank all of the teachers and students of The New English School for all of their hard work and enthusiasm! Are you moved to action like the children of The New English School? You can make a difference too! Contact us to order your free Charity of the Year fundraising pack today or call 020 7793 4575. Have you already chosen WaterAid as your school's Charity of the Year? If so, send us your experiences and we'll put them up on this page!
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