A Cumbrian festive fair with a difference has raised £500 in Leven’s Village to help raise funds for the NSPCC this Christmas.
Volunteers from South Cumbria hosted the Christmas fair at the Leven’s Village Institute Hall on the 7th December, to raise money for the children’s charity with a cake stall and raffle. But the volunteers also wanted to add a twist to the regular Cumbrian Christmas fair.
The new design featured games and competitions to get children more involved in fundraising. These included guessing the address of the Gingerbread house, and a Christmas card design competition judged by Santa himself!
Susan Beckwith, an organiser of the event, said “This year we wanted to get children excited about the idea of fundraising. It’s especially important that we get children involved, as the money goes towards helping people of their age across the country.”
Sandra Jones, Community Fundraising Manager for NSPCC Cumbria, said “It’s excellent to see the support of fundraisers across Cumbria in supporting the NSPCC. The money raised will go towards our Christmas campaign, where we want to ‘Light Up Every Childhood’
Our Childline volunteers will be working throughout Christmas, so that any child who feels alone or scared can access free, confidential counselling any time of day.”
The festive period can be a difficult time for children who are abused or neglected. Instead of being excited, young people can feel scared. This year, the NSPCC’s ‘Light for Every Childhood’ campaign wants to shine a light for every child feeling invisible, unloved or alone this Christmas.
1 in 5 children in the UK are affected by abuse, and every year specially-trained counsellors answer calls from children suffering their darkest hour. Sadly, 1 in 3 calls to Childline this Christmas will go unanswered, and only through generous fundraisers can our volunteers truly bring a light to every childhood.
Every 25 seconds a child calls one of our counsellors, feeling upset and alone. But our volunteers will be there, even on Christmas day, to answer those children. Just £20 means that we can answer another five calls to Childline.