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FUNDRAISING – Sponsored events
Literacy l Read-a-thon Make the activity
accessible by encouraging children to read in a way that suits them, whether independently or aloud. Pupils are sponsored for either the number of minutes/hours they read for, or the number of books they read over a set amount of time. l Spell-a-thon Ask each teacher to prepare a spelling test for their class. Children practise the words and seek sponsorship for every correct word. l Word-a-thon Ask the children to find as many words as they can within your school name. See how many words the whole school can discover! Give prizes for the most words, longest word, most unusual word and best anagram.
Sporty l Bounce-a-thon Use bouncing
equipment such as pogo sticks, space hoppers, bouncy castles and trampolines. Otherwise, get participants to jump, hop or star
jump in a set amount of time. l Bike-a-thon Whether it’s on balance bikes, tricycles, scooters or a classic bicycle, challenge participants to cycle as far as they can in a set time. Even those with
stationary bikes can get involved. l Dance-a-thon Try to keep the dancing going for 12 hours, with at least one person dancing at all times. Families can film videos and send them in to be uploaded on your PTA social media channel, with a
compilation video made at the end. l Gallop-a-thon Encourage families to set up their own obstacle course, with children being sponsored to ‘gallop’ around it! Encourage creativity – can they create a water jump with a paddling pool, or maybe hurdles? Keep safety in mind. Award
prizes for the best courses. l Keepy-uppy-athon Get children burning off energy seeing how many football ‘keepy-uppys’ then can do
in a set amount of time. l Score-a-thon Participants have to try to score as many times as possible in whatever activity they choose. It may be football goals, basketball hoops, or throwing bean bags into a bucket.
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the children come up with ideas of
Tips for a-thon success l Make it clear what you are asking pupils to do, and the ways in which they can participate.
l Always set a clear deadline by which pupils need to return their entries.
l Encourage healthy competition by offering prizes, including awards for the most sponsorship money raised and the most sponsors, plus specific awards depending on the challenge.
l Adapt the event according to the activity and the age of your pupils.
l Avoid handling cash by collecting donations through an online platform. Options include Give as you Live Donate, JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving. Each platform offers different fees and features – see page 37 for more details.
l Claim Gift Aid to raise an extra 25p for every £1 donated. Many online platforms can take care of this for you. Say why you’re raising money. People will be more willing to donate if they know the impact their donation will have.
l Walk-a-thon/run-a-thon A sponsored walk or run is a fantastic way to promote exercise and can be done anywhere. Try laps of the garden, circuits around the park, or hiking up and down the stairs.
Community l Care-a-thon Encourage pupils
to fundraise by aiding others. It could be helping a sibling with their homework, weeding the garden, volunteering, or making a gift. Let
how they can make people happier. l Pick-a-thon Not as rude as it sounds – encourage families to go out and pick up litter in their local area. It’s a great way to get donations from the public too, as they will also benefit. Ensure health and safety guidelines are followed.
Everything else l Give-up-a-thon Ask your pupils
(and their families) to give up something they love for a month. It might be sweet treats, their games console, or even leaving lights on! Alternatively, they could take something up, such as eating an extra portion of fruit, drinking more water, or helping others. l Nature-a-thon Sponsor pupils to explore outdoors. They could take bark rubbings from lots of different trees, draw all the flowers they can find, or count the birds in an open space. Or how about a camp-a-thon where participants pledge to camp out overnight in the garden? l Quiz-a-thon Challenge participants to answer as many questions correctly as they can in a set period. It could be something specific and curriculum-linked, such as times tables, or a pop quiz
covering a range of topics. l Silence-a-thon Homeschooling parents may be thankful for this one! Fifteen minutes is enough for younger children, but secondary school pupils should manage a whole day. If children are in school, provide paper so they can still communicate with their teachers and each other.
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