Supporting Charities 2007-2008
At The Abbey Junior School we aim to support local, national and international charities throughout the year. We also try to support children's charities and charities which have a personal significance for members of our school. Above all we try to make our fundraising fun and to be aware of how lucky we are!
Productions
On Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 June, the LIIIs performed 'Ocean World', raising £160.00 for the World Wide Fund for Nature UK.
The LIIIs aslo celebrated the end of their exams with a disco in the hall. This gave them a great opportunity to let their hair down (literally!) and dance the night away, raising £185.00 in aid of two of the Senior School’s chosen international charities.
On Thursday 22 May Preparatory and Reception girls proudly presented their production 'Toby's Ark' raising £103.00 for the girls' chosen charity - The British Community Trust in aid of Peruvian Street Children.
Other productions this year raised £115.00 for The Dingley Specialist Childrens' Centre, £133.00 for the RNLI and £199.00 for Cancer Research.
Our Christmas performances give further opportunities to remember those for whom Christmas may not be the joyful time that most of our girls enjoy and to make collections for them with money being raised for a Children's Village in South Africa, a School for Blind Children in Bethlehem, Action Medical Research, The Berkshire Air Ambulance, Christ Church, Reading, where our Carol Service was held and for The Avenue School, for the refurbishment of their garden which was vandalised.
Fair Trade Assembly
LIII pupil Hannah Tointon recently led an assembly on Fair Trade. This linked in with the school's value for the month, Responsibility, and covered the need to make responsible choices when shopping.
It was wonderful to see one of our pupils taking the initiative and educating her peers about something which is obviously very important to her, showing enormous commitment and enterprise.
The Great Balloon Race
The end of the Junior School Fourth Annual Fun Run was marked with a Great Balloon Race in aid of WaterAid, raising £700.00 for this worthy cause.
* All balloons and tickets are 100% biodegradable.
Charity Afternoon
In the afternoon girls ran different stalls to raise money for their chosen house charities. The charities are democratically chosen by the houses after presentations from the older girls.
Carrington raised £138.39 for Starlight Children's Foundation brightening the lives of seriously and terminally ill children by granting their wishes and providing hospital entertainment to help take their minds off the pain, fear and isolation of their illness.
Ducat raised £215.45 for the Alexander Devine Children's Cancer Trust set in the Berkshire area and for Diabetes UK to support children and their families who suffer from diabetes.
Kensington raised £229.86 for Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity to help seriously and terminally ill children between the ages of 3-18 across the UK.
Paget raised £161.11 for Treloar Trust providing education, care, therapy, medical support and independence training to young people with physical disabilities from all over the UK and overseas to prepare them for adult life giving them the confidence and skills to achieve their full potential.
World Book Day
On 6 March as part of our World Book Day Assembly, the girls raised £159.00 for Chitepani in Nepal.
A Day for Change
The leap year day became a special time at The Abbey Junior School with a number of charity events.
Girls were invited to come to school wearing their own clothes as part of UNICEF’s Day for Change campaign. £333.00 was raised to support the charity’s programme to provide clean water in Gambia. Girls were shocked to see a presentation showing the very different conditions for children who live there during the morning assembly. £150.00 was raised for Asthma.
At the same assembly, Mrs Annabel Hill from the NSPCC said an enormous thank you to the girls who had raised a staggering £6,827.36 through their sponsored spellathon, stating ‘Clearly this is an outstanding amount’.
In the afternoon, Lower I and Upper I organised a ‘Bring and Buy’ sale in aid of the Dingley Children’s Ward at the local Royal Berkshire Hospital. The girls had collected an amazing amount of toys, books and videos. By the end of the day not a single carrier bag remained and girls throughout the school returned home proud with their new purchases. Added to money raised earlier in the year for this, their chosen charity, the Lower Junior girls are sending a cheque for £402.00 to support the work of the ward.
We have held a number of charitable events suggested by the pupils themselves. These include a 'Christmas Stocking Day' in support of Cancer Research, a 'Maskeraid' in which the girls wore masks to school raising funds for The British Lung Foundation, and events in support of Comic Relief and UNICEF Day for Change.
In May, LI and LIII girls ran stalls, just like a village fete, raising money for charities chosen by their houses, from cake stalls to hair treatmets to 'Soak the Teacher'!
Ducat House raised £175 for Starlight, the charity which grants wishes to seriously or terminally ill children, Paget raised £104 for Macmillan Cancer Care, Carrington raised £84 for Kidney Research and Kensington raised £103 for Daisy’s Dream, a charity supporting bereaved children.
In September, a special assembly about The Brydges Centre, a home for orphaned children in Nairobi, made us feel very humble when we realised how happy these children are when they have so little compared to us. Following the assembly the girls covered a special message in coins raising £300.00 for this good cause.
October saw our Harvest celebration. Pupils and families donated food which was collected by FAITH, a local Christian charity which helps to support needy families and homeless people in Reading.
In the run-up to Christmas we collect shoeboxes of gifts for 'Operation Christmas Child', an initiative of Samaritan’s Purse. Last year we sent 140 shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts to children in Bosnia.
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Chitepani Nepal |
Charity Pyjama Day |
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Red Nose Day |
UNICEF Day for Change |
