August 2010 Newsletter

Welcome to the August edition of the makeabigdifference newsletter; Young Heroes’ one stop shop for all the latest charity and fundraising news.

In this edition we are specifically focusing on the fundraising aspect of the charity and are appealing for people up and down the country to help make a big difference to the lives of young people affected by cancer.

Like other charities, fundraising is the life blood of Young Heroes and we rely solely on the generosity and kindness of our friends and supporters to help make things happen.

For many, raising money for charity can seem like a daunting prospect, yet it needn’t be.

With a positive attitude, some imagination and a healthy dose of determination, the money will start mounting up in no time!

Every month in the newsletter I feature tried and tested fundraising ideas and tips to help kick start your Young Heroes campaign but you may wish to invent your own unique event.

Whatever you decide to do, Young Heroes will assist you in any way possible so you’re not on your own!

Newsletter columist Katie Brooman is taking a well deserved break this month but will be back next month with more interesting articles.

Enjoy this special edition fundraising newsletter and until next month,

Kim Tetlaw

Editor

Secured a place for the Great North Run 2010?

On 19 September 2010, a total of 54,000 runners will take to the streets of Newcastle in the world’s largest half marathon.

If you have been successful in securing your own place we would love you to run for Young Heroes on the day.  There is no minimum sponsorship target, but every penny counts and we would love to have your support!

What benefits do you get as a Young Heroes runner?

  • A Young Heroes T-Shirt to ensure you’re seen en route
  • Materials including leaflets, posters and balloons
  • Telephone advice and support
  • Thank you certificate for your achievement
  • A mention in our popular monthly charity e-newsletter

Get in touch today on 0870 055 43 13 to start raising funds for young people affected by cancer.

Unison helps makes a Big difference

Impact Young Heroes would like to thank Unison worker Mick Dougherty from Sunderland and all those who donated money at their recent annual Unison conference.

Here we speak to Mick about how he managed to raise a fantastic ?600 and why he chose to support Young Heroes.

“Unison held its National conference this year in Bournemouth, the conference is held in the beginning of June each year, this is held over four days from a Tuesday to a Friday.

Usually on the Wednesday as people leave the hall stewards hold buckets to collect money for a charity, nominations are sort by the Standing Orders Committee for suitable charities to be nominated, these have to be charities that are not currently in receipt of support from Unison.

The bucket collection raised approx £600, this is from the delegates in the conference hall putting loose change into the buckets as they leave the hall.

I put the nomination in for Impact Young Heroes with just 3 minutes before the closure of nominations; I chose this charity as I have been previously involved in raising money through the north east guitar club, by putting on a musical event with the club. My good friend is a trustee and his daughter works for Impact so I have a close connection.

I missed out the opportunity to do this last year and am pleased that not only did I manage to nominate Impact young Heroes this year, but also that it was chosen to receive the proceeds of the collection.

I know that any donation no matter how small makes a difference and will help someone to do something they may otherwise not get a chance to do.

It has been my pleasure in being able to do this for Impact”. Mick

Once again a big thank you for all your support.

Government find extra £50 million for cancer drugs.

Britain is providing an extra £50 million to pay for cancer medicines from October, bringing forward a government promise to give access to drugs even if they have not been approved by the NHS cost watchdog.

The new money will allow doctors to prescribe treatments on the state health service that may have been rejected or not yet assessed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

Doctors will decide locally how the funding is spent, based on the advice of cancer specialists, health minister Andrew Lansley said on Tuesday.

The country’s new coalition government had promised to set up a 200 million pounds cancer drugs fund from April 2011. Now the interim budget is being made available six months before this, and ahead of longer-term plans to change drug funding.

The government, however, did not confirm the final figure of £200 million on Tuesday, ahead of a review of public spending priorities in the autumn. Lansley said the interim move would help patients get cancer drugs that were widely available in other European countries.

Money for the interim fund will be found by savings elsewhere in the government’s healthcare budget.

Drugmakers have frequently complained about the rejection of some cancer medicines by NICE, including Roche’s blockbuster Avastin and GlaxoSmithKline’s Tyverb.

The government action coincides with the publication of a report from National Cancer Director Mike Richards on international variations in drug usage, showing British uptake of new drugs falls behind much of Europe.

Sourced from http://uk.news.yahoo.com

Just Giving

Just Giving is a great tool to use in your bid for successful fundraising.  Whether you are planning or supporting a fundraising event or just want to make a donation online; Just Giving provides a simple, convenient and secure way for you or people supporting or sponsoring you; to donate directly to Young Heroes from anywhere in the world. It’s that easy.

Additionally – if the donor is a UK taxpayer, ‘Gift Aid’ is automatically added, making the donation to our charity worth around 25% more!

At 8 million and counting, Just Giving users are the largest community of online charity supporters in the world.

There are no cheques, postage, administration or other complications. It really is that simple.

You will then have your own, FREE, personal ‘donation web page’ that can be accessed directly worldwide.

You don’t need to be a computer ‘wizard’ – if you can ‘click a mouse’ and type, even with one finger, you can set up your own page.

Existing Pages

Young Heroes currently have a number of people supporting us that are using Just Giving as an simple way of collecting donations from friends and family.

Follow the links below to sponsor them.

http://www.justgiving.com/Eddie-Robinson

http://www.justgiving.com/Katie-Brooman

http://www.justgiving.com/jayneturner5

Fundraising idea of the Month

Car Wash Fundraiser

Car wash fundraisers are a proven money-maker in. All you need are willing volunteers, a high-traffic location with good visibility, and some attention grabbing signs.

You can put a car wash fundraiser together on short notice, but they work best with a little planning.  Here’s how to get started…

Getting Ready To Wash Cars

  • Weather is everything when holding a car wash fundraiser.  Keep checking the forecast!
  • Line up a location with good main road frontage
  • Ensure it has suitable water access
  • Assemble supplies list – hoses, buckets, wash towels, dry towels, squeegees
  • Assign each volunteer an item from the supplies list
  • Make 8-10 poster board signs in high-contrast colors
  • Arrange your volunteers in 2-hour shifts
  • Get advance publicity, if possible

Car Washing Tips

  • Organize your group into teams – Promotion, Sales, Wash, Dry
  • Promotion team attracts new clients with signs
  • Sales team explains offers and up-sells (use flyer for quick info)
  • Wash team soaps, scrubs, and rinses each car
  • Dry team gets water residue off, vacuums, does tires, etc.
  • Use at least two lines and wash two or more cars at once
  • Wash cars for six to eight hours (Saturday 9:00 to 3:00 preferred)

Remember to put together a quick flyer that clearly states your fundraising for Young Heroes and states the price. You can even offer some extra services for an additional charge such as providing high-gloss tire treatment or vacuuming interiors.

You can advertise a free car wash and just ask for donations for your cause. Often, this can raise more cash than stating a specific price, because people will see a group of volunteers working hard and having a good time, and may actually donate more money than you would have charged.

Final Advice

Make sure to keep the event fun for all your participants and your customers. Play upbeat music. Provide soft drinks and snacks to keep the energy level up.

Keep safety in mind when trying to attract customers. Be sure to get volunteers to hold and wave signs toward passing traffic, not just volunteers to wash cars.

If you have time, increase your turnout by getting your car wash fundraiser some advance publicity coverage in the local newspaper, or by posting roadside signs a day or two ahead of time.

Thank you’s

Great Rail Journeys

Young Heroes would like to say a big thank you to the Reservation Team at Great Rail Journeys in York for raising a fantastic £235.91.  Many thanks for your kind donation and support.

Great Rail Journeys are specialists in escorted holidays by train and offer over 130 individual rail tours to over 40 countries.  For further information please visit http://www.greatrail.com

Rodgers of York

Young Heroes are most grateful to William Browne, CEO of Rodgers of York for their extremely kind donation of a double bed for one of our young heroes in currently undergoing a bedroom makeover (look out for the full story in the next couple of months)

It’s a wonderful and very kind gesture and we would like to thank you for your support.

For further information about Rodgers please visit http://www.rodgersofyork.co.uk/

Charlie Dowen

The wonderful Charlie Dowen has also kindly donated to the bedroom makeover project by purchasing a headboard for the donated double bed.  Big thanks to Charlie for your continued support and commitment to Young Heroes.

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