Welcome to this resources list! If you want to help fundraise for the Champions for Children campaign in June, you’re in the right place. This document has information for people who are running events, but also for groups who aren’t able to run an event but still want to help (for instance, telling members’ families about the campaign, and sending us photos of group events). Here’s a list of what you’ll find:
- Campaign page and donations
- How to share/publicity
- Tell your story
- Group fundraising ideas
- Woodcraft Folk resources
- PTA fundraising website
- Information for parents/carers
- Webinar notes from 25.05.22
Campaign page and donations
https://bit.ly/WoodcraftChampions
This is where you donate, and has all the information about the campaign and the Play Out sessions we’re going to run. Once we’ve posted them, there will be images there that you can share.
Once your fundraising event has ended, collect and count all donations received. One person needs to donate the total amount raised on behalf of the group. Donations are made online here https://bit.ly/WoodcraftChampions by credit/debit card. Please don’t GiftAid your donation, as the money has come from many different sources, not just you.
How to share/publicity
Let your group members know what the campaign is about, and why we’re fundraising for it. Tell their parents/carers, ask them to pass on the message to any family members or friends who know about Woodcraft – families of young members are our biggest supporters! Find out if your work will do charity donations, or if they’ll match your donation. Ask your union to affiliate with Woodcraft Folk. If your job/union has questions about the campaign and how they can support us, tell them they can get in touch with cici.carey-stuart@woodcraft.org.uk.
This is the easiest page to share to let people know about the campaign: https://woodcraft.org.uk/projects-campaigns/champions-for-children/
If you are on social media, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. We will be posting images, text and videos on our pages that you can share with your social network. We’ll be posting all of this just before the campaign starts, so sometime in early June. Make sure you’ve “followed” our Facebook page as well as “liked” it, because that means you’ll see the posts without having to check our page!
We have made lots of posters and pictures you can use for your event! Look through them below. The “poster template” is for you to add the details of your event – you can also find it as a PDF, Word Document, or Canva edit, whichever is easiest for you. If you use the Canva link PLEASE copy and make a new one! Don’t edit the master template.
Tell your story
Let people know you’re donating, or why this campaign is important to you. Share it on social media (see “how to share”), tell your friends, let your work and your union know why this campaign matters.
Also: tell us your Woodcraft stories so we can let other people know why Woodcraft Folk is great for young people! Get quotes from young members; photos from your group nights; videos if you can. Why do they like Woodcraft? What have they got from it? Make sure you have permission recorded, from parents/carers or young people aged over 13. We can use these quotes to let members of the public know what the benefits of Woodcraft are, and why they should help more young people attend.
Group fundraising ideas
https://wcf.gn.apc.org/local-fundraising-ideas
Ideas and case studies for fundraising events for local Woodcraft groups, written by local Woodcraft groups.
Woodcraft Folk resources
Ask our fundraiser Cici if you need any more help! cici.carey-stuart@woodcraft.org.uk
PTA fundraising website
https://www.pta.co.uk/fundraising/ideas/
This site has a lot of event ideas, case studies and advice. If you can’t find it on that page, try googling “PTA raffle” or whatever event you’d like advice on.
Information for parents/carers
We’ve written out a paragraph for you to easily copy and paste to let your young members’ families know about the campaign.
For parents/carers of children in a Woodcraft group putting on a fundraising event:
- Let them know the details of the event – date, time, location, anything you need to bring – especially if it’s different from your normal group night!
- “We’re fundraising for Woodcraft Folk’s Champions for Children campaign – a campaign to help disadvantaged children across London have playtime and outdoor adventures. With Woodcraft Folk, your child gets to take part in co-operative play and environmental education with their peers every week, but since the pandemic, many children and young people have been deprived of opportunities for play and the great outdoors, resulting in a huge rise in the number of children seeking mental health support. We are striving to support and engage those children across London through Play Out sessions and residential experiences. With your help we can bring the Woodcraft Folk activities that your child enjoys to more people.”
For parents/carers of children in a Woodcraft group which isn’t putting on an event:
- “Can you help Woodcraft Folk be a Champion for Children? It’s a campaign to help disadvantaged children across London have playtime and outdoor adventures. With Woodcraft Folk, your child gets to take part in co-operative play and environmental education with their peers every week, but since the pandemic, many children and young people have been deprived of opportunities for play and the great outdoors, resulting in a huge rise in the number of children seeking mental health support. We are striving to support and engage those children across London through Play Out sessions and residential experiences. With your help we can bring the Woodcraft Folk activities that the children in your life enjoy to more people. If you donate here https://bit.ly/WoodcraftChampions between 14th-21st June, your donation will be doubled by match funders at the Childhood Trust!”
For parents/carers of children in a school putting on an event:
- Let them know the details of the event – date, time, and what they have to do for their child to participate.
- “We’re fundraising for Woodcraft Folk’s Champions for Children campaign – a campaign to help disadvantaged children across London have playtime and outdoor adventures. Woodcraft Folk have worked with our school and introduced our students to co-operative play and environmental education, and now they need our help to offer these experiences to more children. Since the pandemic, and especially the cost of living crisis, many children and young people have been deprived of opportunities for play and the great outdoors, resulting in a huge rise in the number of children seeking mental health support. Woodcraft Folk are striving to support and engage those children across London through Play Out sessions and residential experiences. With your help they can bring the activities that your child has enjoyed at school to more people.”
Webinar notes from 25.05.22
Watch the presentation here: https://youtu.be/wfHhoLZ-4Cw
Champions for Children
Co-operative play and outdoors adventures.
We’re raising money to support children and young people to participate in Woodcraft Folk activities and residential experiences; enjoying co-operative play, social action, environmental and peace education. We want to give 125 children a residential experience, developing their independence and life skills. To deliver holiday activities to children in the London Boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Southwark, Merton, Wandsworth and Lambeth. Find out more here: https://bit.ly/WoodcraftChampions
The Champions for Children is a match-funded, online donation campaign between 14th-21st June. We’re aiming to raise £6,000. All donations on our campaign page are match-funded by our funders at the Childhood Trust, meaning that every donation we receive is doubled up to £6,000 – a possible total impact of £12,000! This is the best time to donate to Woodcraft Folk, as every donation actually gives us twice as much.
We need to take advantage of this, and use as much of it as we can – running events and sharing the campaign lets our supporters know about this opportunity. Many of your groups’ contacts (family, friends, colleagues) might be persuaded to donate to Woodcraft Folk for the first time because their donation will be doubled.
Fundraising for Champions
Events can be held at any time before 19th June – so that we can all get bulk donations in by 20th June, to allow some buffer space.
Once the event has ended, collect and count all donations received. One person needs to donate the total amount raised on behalf of the group. Donations are made online here https://bit.ly/WoodcraftChampions by credit/debit card. Please don’t GiftAid your donation, as the money has come from many different sources, not just you.
If you have any questions, email cici.carey-stuart@woodcraft.org.uk There are some frequently asked questions about donating here https://www.thebiggive.org.uk/s/individuals
Let Cici know you’re running an event, and he’ll email you and share the donation link with you again so don’t worry about losing it.
Helpful hints
Campaign resources, Woodcraft resources and others (all listed on this document).
Email cici.carey-stuart@woodcraft.org.uk for questions or advice.
How else can you help?
Share the campaign. Let your group members know what the campaign is about, and why they’re fundraising for it. Tell their parents/carers, ask them to pass on the message to any family members or friends who know about Woodcraft – families of young members are our biggest supporters! We will have lots of different ways to share the campaign, via social media/emails/flyers.
Find out if your work will do charity donations, or if they’ll match your donation. Ask your union to affiliate with Woodcraft Folk. If your job/union has questions about the campaign and how they can support us, tell them they can get in touch with cici.carey-stuart@woodcraft.org.uk.
Tell us your Woodcraft stories so we can let people know why Woodcraft Folk is great for young people. Get quotes from young members; photos from your group nights; videos if you can. Why do they like Woodcraft? What have they got from it? Make sure you have permission recorded, from parents/carers or young people aged over 13. We can use these quotes to let members of the public know what the benefits of Woodcraft are, and why they should help more young people attend.