At the beginning of December, youth organisation Woodcraft Folk ran a fundraising campaign to raise money for Residential Adventures, and successfully raised over £18,000!
The campaign was part of the Big Give’s “Christmas Challenge”, a match funded fundraising event. It ran for just one week, and with every donation doubled by their funders, Woodcraft Folk’s supporters raised a total of £18,164.32. The charity will now be giving hundreds of children residential adventures throughout 2023 – the donations will remove financial barriers to attending camps and residentials, by providing subsidies and bursaries, equipment, and training more volunteers.
The match funders, the Four Acre Trust, aim to support charity work that inspires young people to grasp opportunities and help them make the most of their lives – they specifically aim to fund youth clubs, projects and residential breaks, which they are now helping Woodcraft Folk to provide. The campaign was also supported by some of the Woodcraft Folk’s affiliated organisations, the Communication Workers Union, the Fire Brigade Union, and the National Education Union; and its working partner Free to be Kids. The charity is very grateful for the support of these organisations, and looks forward to working more with them in the future.
Over 2023, Woodcraft Folk will be hosting 30,000 night stays at their centres and campsites. These give opportunities for children and young people to have adventure, play and explore outdoors; work on their mental wellbeing; and learn about protecting the environment. Events include Camps for All, specifically aimed at reaching those without a local Woodcraft Folk group; VCamp, for 13-17 year olds; and many local groups’ camps throughout the year. The charity will also be updating their “Have a Good Weekend” guide and hosting two more volunteer residential training sessions.
Cici Carey-Stuart, Woodcraft Folk’s fundraiser, said:
“Thanks to your generosity and support from our funders at the Four Acre Trust, we’ll be giving tons of adventures to children and young people across the country, subsidies for those who need them, and training for volunteers to carry on residential adventures far into the future. Thank you for helping young adventurers’ dreams come true! We’ll keep you up to date with our planned residentials for next year.”
Because of the great success of this match fund campaign, Woodcraft Folk will be looking out for more match funded opportunities in the future. The charity will share news about new campaigns here and on its social media accounts, which you can follow to stay up to date. If you would like to continue to support Woodcraft Folk, you can sign up to be a Friend of the Folk to receive updates on their fundraising and the work your donations are supporting.