Students placed on national leaderboard while fundraising reaches £33,000 for the year

11 Sixth Form students were left buzzing with excitement after completing the London to Brighton cycle ride for charity. The £6,500 fundraising total for the challenge placed them second on British Heart Foundation’s national leaderboard.

This latest event concludes a successful year of student-led fundraising with a total of £33,000 raised. Over 50 students were involved in running events, coming together to form a competent and passionate team.

Students were invited to run their own charity event, and there was some weird and wonderful ideas. Some many highlights include: Joe and James’ 4-hour-Funkathon, Alice and Cara’s 100km walk, and Luke’s sponsored silence.

Good causes

Every student who led an event chose a charity they were passionate about to fundraise for. Make-A-Wish, British Heart Foundation, Hospice of St. Francis, MacMillan, St. Luke’s Hospice and YoungMinds were all supported in the year.

Congratulations to Imi, Year 13 for completing the Southampton Half Marathon. £796 raised for @YoungMindsUK and counting! https://t.co/UOzDaxIEvb pic.twitter.com/CTO6M3e8RS

— Berkhamsted Sixth (@berkhamsted6th) April 23, 2018

Sam Phillips, Year 12 said “For us, as students, fundraising is about much more than money. The amount we raised could fully fund a wish for a seriously ill child, a month’s worth of BHF’s lab equipment, 60 heart scans for BHF clinical trials, 6 months of care from a MacMillan nurse, support for 65 parents who call the YoungMinds help line, and training for 55 young teens suffering from mental health problems.

“Fundraising also gives us a unique opportunity to develop skills for later life. The organisation, communication and commitment learnt and shown by the team has been key to our success this year.”

Fundraising target – aiming high

The committee of students will be aiming even higher next year with an ambitious target of £100,000.

Ben Howell takes over in September as the new Head of Student Charity 2018 – 2019 and a new system has been put in place so all students from Year 7 and above have the chance to not only take part in, but also run their own events.

2018/19 will not doubt bring new and even more exciting fundraising ideas.

Report by Sam Phillips, Head of Student Charity 2017/18