St James’ Primary School's Enterprise Day Success for Children on the Edge

During Refugee Week 2024, St James' Primary School in Emsworth hosted an inspiring Enterprise Day to support Children on the Edge, raising nearly £400. Each class, from the youngest Puffins to the oldest Orcas, created and managed stalls from homemade crafts to games and refreshments. The day showcased the students' creativity and generosity, embodying the school's ethos that small acts of kindness can make a big difference.

During Refugee Week 2024, Annie from our Fundraising Team was delighted to visit St James’ Primary School in Emsworth to talk about how Children on the Edge support Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh.

She showed how Rohingya refugees are able to learn, play and have fun with their friends at our learning centres.

Alongside their learning during Refugee Week, the children and staff at St James' were also busy preparing for their ‘Enterprise Day’ on Friday 21st June.

They had chosen to donate half the profits from the day to Children on the Edge and impressively, they managed to turn a £5 starting budget per class into a total donation of £398.22!

Fundraising Officer, Annie speaking to the whole school during Refguee Week

​Each class was given £5 to try and turn into a profit, with everyone, right from the four and five year olds in ‘Puffins’ class to the Year 6 ‘Orcas’ getting involved. The children created an amazing array of stalls and activities in their classrooms and out in the playground, and invited each other to come and spend their pennies throughout the afternoon.

​‘Penguins’ class wanted their friends to ‘show us your muney’ and had made loom band bracelets and bookmarks to sell. The youngest students in ‘Puffins’ had decorated biscuits with icing and sweet treats and were selling Disney cards to raise some cash.

​‘Jellyfish’ class had a nerf gun game and archery challenge on offer out on the playground.

"Show us your muney"

‘Turtles’ and ‘Stingrays’ had made delicious cakes, homemade popcorn cones and drawn some great artwork to sell. They had also created a ‘blast the teacher’ station outside, encouraging their friends to fill a water pistol and aim it at photos of the school staff! A photo booth, filled with props was also on offer, with photos printed out for the children to take home. ​

Trying to get customers along for glitter tatoos

'Name the teddy bear' in Year 1

Deputy Head Mr Hall helped to coordinate the event

The older children in Year 5 and 6 were working hard making milkshakes and smoothies, which were hot in demand! 

The school was filled with so many stalls and creations. Glitter tattoos and ice pops were a popular money spinner, especially on a lovely hot day. Outside, penalty shoot outs and throwing games filled the playing field.

The school was buzzing with activity and the children were having a great time; excited to be able to support Children on the Edge with their fundraising. 

Mrs Love, who helped to organised the day, praised the children's efforts and the remarkable impact of their collective fundraising.

​"In school, we often talk about how small acts of kindness can make a big difference. Enterprise Day was definitely an example of this. It was really exciting to see the many different stalls that the children had set up, with so many creative ideas! Almost £400 is a really great amount to be able to give Children on the Edge as a result”.

Miles from 'Puffins' class and teacher, Mrs Love enjoying some popcorn

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Annie Whillians, Fundraising Officer at Children on the Edge said:

"It was a total pleasure to come along and chat to the students of St James' Primary, they listened beautifully and clearly put their all into Enterprise Day! What a great result. We were so impressed with the creativity and enthusiasm shown by the children. Their efforts have helped to raise an incredible amount of money for our work with refugee children. Thank you so much to everyone involved". 

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We love to visit local schools to talk about our work to support some of the worlds' most marginalised children. If your school would like to support Children on the Edge, we'd love to chat!

Please take a look at our Schools page for more information or contact our Fundraising Team: [email protected].

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