On Saturday 6th February, staff members Ben and Eloise travelled up to Telford, with two amazing volunteers, Jill and Helen, for The Body Shop At Home™️  February Conference. Here we raised a record breaking £16,000 in just one day!

Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this happen; this money will go such a long way to help support our work in Uganda and beyond. 

The Body Shop®️ are a big part of Children on the Edge's history. The late Dame Anita Roddick founded Children on the Edge in 1990, after witnessing the appalling conditions in Romanian orphanages. Today, more than 25 years later, we are proud and humbled by the continual support from The Body Shop®️ around the world. 

The Body Shop At Home™️  are a huge part of that support, and their incredible consultants and staff do not stop in their efforts to support Children on the Edge. Twice a year, we get to meet these wonderful fundraisers in Telford, at their bi-annual Conference. This February was no different, and our team from Chichester went up to sell Goody Bags with products generously donated by Revolution in Kindness (formerly The Body Shop Foundation), and raffle tickets with the help of our 'Champions' for Children on the Edge. As a result, we raised a whopping £16,000 for our work with vulnerable children around the world.

This total is more than we have ever raised at one if these Conference's before, and all the team at Children on the Edge are completely blown away by the generosity and support of The Body Shop At Home™️  staff and consultants, plus those at The Body Shop®️ UK and Revolution in Kindness (formerly The Body Shop Foundation). Thank you so much.

Not only that, Consultants broke records too! Through raffles, party sales, challenge events and countless other fundraising ideas; regional The Body Shop At Home™️ ​ teams fundraise throughout the year for Children on the Edge. This year 7 out of 10 regions hit their fundraising targets, and overall, the teams from across the UK raised a phenomenal £83,898.....£13 898 above their target! Our Executive Director, Ben was thrilled to announce this incredible achievement to the teams on the day. We can't wait to see what the Consultants can do in 2017 and we've set an ambitious fundraising target of £85, 000. We're confident they can reach it!

​Supporting our work in Uganda

A popular part of the Conference is when Children on the Edge get to update on our work and how all the money raised through The Body Shop At Home™️  goes to help our work with vulnerable children abroad. 

Just a year ago, Ben had just returned from Uganda, where he visited Loco slum. He saw the desperate conditions and spoke to the people who lived there; who had no hope for a better future. Domestic violence was rife, and conditions, especially for children, were appalling. Last February, we asked the Body Shop At Home™️  to help us do something about it. 

What a difference a year makes

Just a year later, thanks to their support, so much has changed in Loco for the better. Our Child Protection Teams have been training people on abuse, parenting, crime, human rights and many other issues. Domestic violence has now dropped dramatically.

Bikes and loudspeakers have been distributed to enable the Child Protection Teams reach help quickly, report emergencies to the police and alert the community of anyone posing a threat to children. In September, we opened a new Early Childhood Development Centre to help educate some of the most vulnerable young children. This has proved a huge success in just a few months of opening.

We told the conference about Daniel and his mother Annet. A year ago, Daniel and his siblings couldn't go to school. They had to go 'picking' for scraps and plastic everyday to try and find enough to sell. But after Children on the Edge gave his mother Annet, a loan of around £20, she has been able to set up a business selling fish; earning her and her family around £2 a day. Daniel and his siblings no longer have to go 'picking' and can go to school. He says "I am happy as a child and for that, I thank everyone". His mother Annet says "What gives me hope is that the community children are going to school. They are the next generation so at the end of it all their foundation will be a firm one".  

With the support, kindness and generosity of The Body Shop At Home™️ , we have been able to do so much to transform the lives of the people living in Loco over the past year. But there is so much more we want to do. Our focus for the next year will be on education. Will you help us? 

If you're a The Body Shop At Home™️ ​ Consultant and want some help with fundraising ideas, please get in touch with us: [email protected] or call 01243 538530.

If you'd like to make a one-off or regular donation to support our work, please donate here. ​