Despite record-breaking hot weather, our two runners this year managed to complete the London Marathon and raise almost £4,000 for Children on the Edge.
 
We spoke to one of our champion fundraisers; 5-time marathon runner James Watkins this morning to catch up on the special (and sweltering) London Marathon. He said, “It was just brilliant, the crowds were cheering harder than ever, the atmosphere was incredible”. Having ran in marathon events before, James described this year as particularly spectacular, with the heat only encouraging the supporters who lined the race track.
 
While James had been battling freezing conditions through his snowy winter training, he admitted that Sunday was “not a day for running”. The heat left thousands of runners struggling to finish what was the hottest London Marathon day on record.  James said, “I saw people dropping from the heat, I thought today is not the day I’ll get my personal best, I just need to make it to the end”.
 
Keeping hydrated and persevering, James made it to the end where he was met by his wife and thousands of incredible supporters in an amazing time of 4hrs 27mins. Despite James not getting his ‘personal best’ time, he was overjoyed to have been part of a monumental day as part of the Children on the Edge team.
 
Fellow fundraiser Michael Pearce (Mikey), completed the course in an impressive 3hrs 45mins. Despite this being slower than his expected time, he had a great experience. Mikey described how “The crowds were amazing, the best in the world I’m told, and they helped me through the tough miles. My motivation in those miles came from the many generous people who have and continue to sponsor me. I also considered some of the tough lives that the children who Children on the Edge work with have”.
 
Children on the Edge want to say a massive thank you to all our marathon runners over the last few weeks, including those in who ran in Paris, Brighton and London. Together these runners have raised over £8,000 for the work we do with vulnerable and forgotten children across the world.
 
Mikey is hanging up his running trainers, but is recommending that others get involved. He said, “I would encourage everyone to take on a challenge that makes you focus on goal and to use that opportunity to raise money and awareness of charities like Children on the Edge”. You start out on this by clicking the buttons below.

Local Churches of Slindon, St Mary’s and St Richard’s have raised over £740 for Children on the Edge by holding lunches together at alternate churches over the Lent period.
 
Anne Jones from St Mary’s wanted to create a welcoming event which could bring together the whole community, and raise money for good cause. She decided a simple but delicious “Lent Lunch” would work and reached out to St Richard’s church to join in with the weekly gatherings.
 
The lunches were a huge success, bringing together over 30 people each week to share fresh homemade soup and a bread roll. The conversation and welcoming nature of the events has been a real highlight. Many people ventured out of their homes, despite the recent cold snap, to take part.  All food was provided and prepared between the churches and was free of charge, to ensure that anyone could attend.
 
The community of Slindon has also been incredibly generous in their donations to Children on the Edge, raising £740 over the 6 weeks. Members of the Children on the Edge staff team in Chichester were also invited to share in the lunches every week. Rachel Bentley, our International Director was particularly inspired by the event, saying, “It is fantastic that two different Churches have brought the community of Slindon out of their homes, to come together and to enjoy a simple lunch with conversation and inclusion”.
 
£740 will go a long way in our work with the vulnerable children, and we are always so grateful to be included in these kinds of events. If you think you could hold a similar fundraising event for Children on the Edge then please do get in touch by emailing fundraising@childrenontheedge.org or calling our office on 01243 538530.

​Despite the recent snowy weather, local scout group 1st Fetcham Scouts have been busy potting up plants for their ‘Bring and Buy’ sale fundraiser.
 
The Scout Group, who had undertaken the task of fundraising as part of their World Challenge Award, planned the event for the 9th March as part of their ‘Team Work and Team Leader awards’.
 
The event included the sale of delicious home-made cakes, lemonade, raffle tickets and potted plants. The plants had been kindly donated from Squires Garden Centre and decorated by the Scouts themselves.
 
Anita Chamberlain, Scout Leader to the young fundraisers said; ’The Leaders were very proud of the Scouts for taking matters into their own hands when they learned about the people who are supported by Children on the Edge projects. They chose to organise an event to raise money to help children less fortunate than themselves- we think they did fantastically!’
 
The Scouts raised an amazing £270 for Children on the Edge and really made the fundraiser a success.
 
If you would like to get your local club involved in a fundraising event or take on a challenge then send us an e-mail letting us know, and we'll be happy to help you with all your fundraising needs.  

​James Watkins is no stranger to supporting Children on the Edge. Last year he took on the 2017 Brighton Marathon to support our work and this year he’s taking on the world-renowned London Marathon. James is well experienced in marathons as this one will be his 5th, but it is still a huge challenge. Having completed the Los Angeles Marathon, the Brighton Marathon and most recently the Leicester Marathon with his son Sam, he’s making it his personal mission to take on the London marathon for the second time and achieve a personal best by completing it in under 4 hours.
 
As James is a bit of a regular at marathon running we asked him for some tips on what helps when taking on running challenges. His advice was to get a running partner, which he says keeps you honest and accountable for your training. Luckily for James this year, he is training with his son, Sam who is also using his place in the Paris Marathon this year to fundraise for Children on the Edge. The father-son duo are helping each another to stay motivated, even in the most difficult running conditions.
 
The recent snowy weather, though beautiful, has caused some of their training to be moved inside as James glumly admitted that he ran 19 miles on a treadmill last week to avoid the icy roads. A massive achievement to any runner, he still can’t wait to get back outdoors to train in the Spring weather. They’ve also been helping each other to stick with a healthy diet which, though difficult at times, is helping them stay in peak condition. They said that these health benefits are of the best bits of training.
 
For motivation, he finds it helpful to remember that his constant challenges are raising funds for a great cause. He says;  “Children on the Edge is a charity which supports children who are literally on the edge, with no other way to escape their situation. They operate by working with local partners on the ground which makes the work sustainable. It’s admirable and I’m very happy to support it.”
 
Their current total is already over £2,000 and they are hoping to get as close to £3,000 as possible. £3,000 can fund the costs of educating 15 Syrian refugee children in one of our tent schools for an entire year in Lebanon.
 
We hope that all James and Sam’s hard work in training and fundraising gets them to that £3,000 target and below their 4-hour time goal.
 
If you would like to support James and Sam in their London/Paris Marathon fundraising journey then you can donate to their JustGiving page. 
 
If you would like to find out how you can take on your own challenge then visit our challenges page.

​The wonderful The Body Shop At Home team and consultants have gone above and beyond with their fundraising for Children on the Edge each year, and 2017 was no different.

Smashing a fundraising target of £85,000, they raised a staggering £113,688 through their Body Shop parties, regular monthly donations, fashion shows, ball nights and by taking on a huge range of runs and cycles. 
 
On Saturday 3rd February Ben, Esther, Abigail and our amazing volunteers Helen and Jane, travelled from Chichester to Telford for their Spring Conference, armed with 1,700 goody bags generously donated by The Body Shop, raffle tickets and t-shirts. The team always look forward to the energy and generosity shown in the rapid fundraising for vulnerable children at this event.
 
The result was an incredible £21,099 raised in one day. This is a phenomenal record amount for a February conference, and we were blown away. 
 
Our Executive Director, Ben shared news from Uganda and described why we are beginning work in a new community called Wandago. We also celebrated consultants who rose to the challenge of raising more than £100 at their parties in the run up to Christmas.
 
Ben says “Our fundraising targets are always ambitious and once again you all smashed it! Your ongoing passion and support for Children on the Edge is helping us to create safer environments for more and more vulnerable children in Uganda each year”.
 
The Body Shop and Children on the Edge have worked together since Dame Anita Roddick founded the charity in 1990. Driven by her passion for sustainable and ethical products, Dame Anita hoped to provide a similar approach to charity work. After witnessing the atrocities befalling children in Romania following the war, she created Children on the Edge to create hope, life, colour and fun for some of the world’s most forgotten children.
 
Thank you to all those who are supporting us to continue this work. If you are a consultant from The Body Shop at Home and you'd like to find out how to get more involved, just e-mail tbsah@childrenontheedge.org.

2018 began with friends and celebrations for the Children on the Edge team as our lovely Ambassadors gathered for a fun filled Quiz night.  Over 120 people came together at Fittleworth Village Hall for 12 rounds of 2017 trivia and a delicious fish and chip supper.

Walter Jones (a long-standing member of the Children on the Edge volunteer team) and his appropriately named ‘Walter’s Winners’ team took the final prize at the end of night.

Whilst Walter and his team were gracious champions, it was the event and the people that made it such a memorable evening for Walter:

‘‘It was a super evening full of people who are committed to supporting Children on the Edge. People tonight were really keen to lend their support. They like the fact that Children on the Edge are a small, local charity, rather than a big bureaucracy. They are getting the job done well, helping children in serious need, and they keep donors in touch with the difference they are making”.

A glass was raised to everyone’s incredible generosity, support and hard work over 2017. The evening offered a moment to reflect on how much had been achieved by all involved with Children on the Edge in the last year, and their continuing work to restore the ingredients of a full and happy childhood to so many forgotten children.

The final total from the evening was an incredible £3,007.80.

​If you would like to be involved in our next fundraising event, or maybe you would like to organise one, then please get in touch!