Rachel Weller, a first-year student studying Archaeology and Anthropology, walked us through her experience of raising funds for Hope for Children (registered charity number: 1161729).
Can you give us a description of what and how you are raising money for Hope for Children?
The first thing I did was I shared the giving page via social media, writing what the cause was for and my target of £695. I also shared my page to my friends and family. This raised roughly £400, but people are continuing to donate. I also sold my old clothes through the website Vinted. This raised about £50, but I still have more clothes to sell, so I am hoping this number will increase. Finally, today, I am hosting a bake sale at the UCL’s Student Centre in hopes of meeting my target. For this bake sale I had the support of the Volunteering Service at Students’ Union UCL.
I will also be doing the Three Peaks Challenge to support Hope for Children. Each participant of the challenge raises funds for the charity, and then take on the challenge of taking on the highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales, normally within 24 hours, covering a distance of 26 miles.
What are the skills you have gained along the way?
Organisational skills have been a big one – planning ahead, telling different people about the cause, and planning the days to raise the money. My confidence skills have developed, as I have needed to ask various people to donate money to my cause. So this goes hand in hand with advertising skills, as I have needed to persuade others to donate to the cause. Finally, my time management skills have developed significantly. This has been through managing when to have the bake sale, or when to prepare for the trip, I have noticed that I am much better at time management now.
Would you recommend fundraising to volunteer?
One hundred percent. I have learnt so much about fundraising already. The process of organizing a bake sale through the UCL volunteering service was super easy. I submitted the forms which took 2 hours maximum and did that just 3 weeks ago. It was very quick and easy!
How did you find out about the organization Hope for Children and this specific challenge?
I initially heard about the organization from a friend, and then the UCL volunteering pages and social media had posted about the fundraising. After reading the description they provided, I did a little further research and was convinced to join! To be able to support Hope for Children whilst also completing the national three peaks will be an exciting achievement!
Thank you to Rachel Weller for taking the time to share her exciting fundraising experience with us. If you are interested in finding out more about fundraising, reach out to us at [email protected]!