Jamie's Fundraising Story: mix it up with big & small events

From the onset Jamie set himself some targets that he wanted to achieve. He did this by planning every few months some large events while completing smaller fundraising activities in between, carry on reading to find out the type of activities Jamie got up to…

Why I signed up…

I love travelling and when I went to the Camps presentation it looked really great. I love the idea of seeing new places and animals and meeting different people who can teach me more about their lives. ( Jamie is travelling to Borneo in 2022).

My Mum and Dad were really supportive and said they would help with my fundraising. I had some ideas of my own, on how to the raise the money and knew it wouldn’t be easy but I set myself some targets. I decided to do a few large scale events and some small things in between.

I started with Christmas Tree Decorations

One of the first things I did was to design and create some Christmas tree decorations. It was close to Christmas and  I know people like hand made things.  Being quite creative, I thought this would be something I could easily do.

I thought small round decorations would be good as they would be easy to make in a large amount. My Grandad is really good at woodwork so I asked him for advice. I wanted to paint directly onto the wood so I needed to know what type to use. He made me 50 round shapes and drilled holes in the top. I decided on three designs so I could sell sets of three to people if they wanted them. I sold them for £2.50 each which really set me towards my target.

Later in 2021 during the COVID pandemic, I used the same idea to make fridge magnets with a rainbow design on them. Again my Granddad cut out the shapes, I stuck magnets to the back of them and created a single design that I painted onto each fridge magnet. I sold them for £2.50 each.

Top Tip: It’s a really simple idea. If you don’t have a family member to provide the wood, you can ask your local wood merchant to cut some for you and you can get the magnets from Hobbycraft. They might even do it for free if you tell them what you’re raising money for.

I completed a double junior triathlon in 24 hours

I really enjoy sports and I thought this would be a good event to get other people to sponsor me outside my close family and friends. My mum set up a Just Giving page and advertised it on Facebook to promote it and to make it as easy as possible for people to sponsor me.

I asked different people to join me for each stage – my Aunty for the run, a family friend for the bike ride and my Mum for the swim. I also asked my local swimming pool if I could do the swim there. Even though it was lockdown, they opened it especially for me!

I also asked some family friends who have their own businesses to sponsor my T-shirt for the triathlon and we took loads of photos for social media to encourage more people to sponsor me.

In total I made £700 from the five companies sponsoring my T-shirt and I made about £350 from completing the triathlon.

Top Tip: Try to think of something that you really enjoy and see how you can raise money from it. It doesn’t have to be sports related – it could be a sponsored knit or playing a musical instrument.

I hosted an afternoon tea

I really enjoy baking and am doing cooking at school so I thought I could make money from selling my baking. Then my Mum suggested an afternoon tea at the house with prosecco.

I put a menu together that I knew I could make on my own. Some were recipes I’d learnt at school and some were new things that I wanted to try. I made an invite in Canva which is a free design package, and my Mum sent it to friends and family and advertised it on Facebook. We had two time slots so we could book people in – that way we could plan how much to cook, reduce waste and make sure we have enough room in the house!  I charged £10/person and made £250

Top Tip: You could do a bake sale if you don’t have the room in your home and even ask other family members to bake for you. You could sell them at school or local events and even link to festivals like Christmas. I’m planning to do another afternoon tea to raise the money for my kit. People enjoyed it so much the first time that I’m sure they’ll come again!

Getting sponsorship was my most successful activity

Getting businesses to sponsors me was the easiest and most successful. However, you need to think about who you are asking for sponsorship – as you don’t want to ask the same people all the time.

My advice if you are just starting on our fundraising journey

Use a calendar and plan out a big activity every few months, maybe filling the spaces with smaller things. Approach local businesses as soon as possible, as the more you get signed up the more money you will get. Also, it’s good to take part in group activities but I found I raised more money doing my own thing.

If you have a great idea or inspiring fundraising story, let us know by emailing submissions@campsinternational.co.uk and you could be featured in our next blog.