UN students raise £29,000 for children’s charity

Nineteen students from the University of Northampton have raised an impressive £29,960.72 for Child reach International.

The group, whose project was supported by the University of Northampton Students’ Union Raising and Giving (RAG), will be sending nine of its bravest fundraisers to take part in the ‘Kilimanjaro Challenge’, which is set to begin on the second of September.

“RAG was a support system for the whole thing and had involvement in a few events. But next year, the Child reach Challenge will have full involvement with RAG,” says Laura Pickering, Challenge Leader and future RAG Officer.

The lucky nine, who will be climbing the highest free-standing mountain in the world, will also have the opportunity to visit one of the projects run by Child reach International in the Kilimanjaro area. This will allow them to understand the work the charity does and meet the children whose lives they will be changing through their fundraising.

The charity has carried extensive research into the area to determine which factors were key to low attendance in schools. The conclusion was that the children lacked food, which affected both their attendance and concentration.

“They decided to supply the community with all the essentials needed for farming, such as seeds, machinery and training. The farm supplies a free school lunch for the children and the rest is sold to the community as a non-profit organisation to re-invest into the farm,” explained Laura.

Miss Pickering spoke to the University of Northampton Students’ Union about how the majority of the group found it quite hard to raise the money needed to take part in the challenge and how they still strived to reach their target through a number of creative fundraising activities, including throwing a 1920’s inspired party with fellow traveller Charlotte Brookes.

“Charlotte and I organised a Gatsby party, which was huge fun to both organise and attend. The night was a big success and definitely something I would like to do again. A little party never hurt nobody,” says the Fashion student.

​Acting student Matilda Hunt surely went the extra mile to raise the money: “By far the quirkiest fundraiser I did was a walk in London – I walked along all of the streets on the Monopoly board. It took me seven and a half hours and the last two were spent in the rain but I had loads of fun!”

Vice President of Student Experience for the Students’ Union, Liren Zhang, commented: ” This is a great example of student fundraising and it shows the potential our students at Northampton can unlock through their university experience. At the University of Northampton Students’ Union we wish our students taking part in the challenge best of luck and we look forward to offering wider support and advice through RAG in the years and adventures to come.”

Follow the team’s progress on Twitter on: @RareTracker

For more information on Child reach and their projects visit their website. Find out more regarding the Kilimanjaro farming project.​

—​

Pictured: Northampton’s Child reach representative Tara Murphy, with cheque, and students at the 1920’s party.