Established in 2017, each year students at Ely College set themselves the challenge of raising as much money as they can for their House Charities. This year with a change to the proceedings and an equal split of all the money raised, students set their eyes on the inaugural ‘Charities Day Cup’, with House pride & bragging rights up for grabs.

On Wednesday 20th December, every student contributed to this massive fundraising effort. Not just a 'normal non-school uniform day', this festive fun day is only possible because of the generosity of parents and carers who donated raffle prizes and resources, as well as money. Raising £5700 so far in online donations, meant that every student could spend cashless vouchers on the day at a huge range of stalls set up by their peers.  

  

In the lead up to the big day, students voted for their House charity for the year. It was a difficult process as so many worthy causes were on the table, but overall each House leaned towards a charity that help children. Students shared their thoughts and empathised with young people their age who face difficult challenges or life threating conditions. This year, Ely College will be supporting the following six charities, with an equal split of the funds raised:

• · Arthur Rank Hospice - Scott House

• · Spectrum Cambridge- Etheldreda House

• · C9 Cancer Ward at Addenbrookes - Franklin House

• · East Anglian Air Ambulance - Turing House

• · Ely Food Bank – Seacole House

• · Addenbrooke Charity Trust (ACT) - Bishop Laney Sixth Form

Students brainstormed fundraising ideas, planned and prepared their activities and stalls and the culmination of their hard work came together as they celebrated the end of term! The school was divided into event areas with tuck shops, a sports zone, a ping pong disco and even the return of the ever popular ‘stage door haunted house’! The Sumo Obstacle run was a big hit, as were glitter hair extensions, face paints and various delicious hot chocolate and cake sales.  As well as the traditional lucky dips and tombolas, we had some new ideas; the penalty shoot out against Mr H the T-rex was great fun!

    

Congratulations go to Seacole House, who earned the most vouchers and won the new Charities Day trophy! Charities Day is not just about the end of term celebration. Offering students the opportunity to earn their ‘Giving Pledge’, this day is one of the Meridian Trust’s well-established ‘PLEDGES and Future Days’, where students work towards their PLEDGES programme, broadening their skills and experiences that will aid them in the future.

   

College Principal Simon Warburton thanked everyone who supported the event, especially staff and form tutors. He said: “PLEDGES and Futures Days are so important because they play a vital part in helping our students to develop empathy as well as more tangible skills such as teamwork and the responsibility that comes with event planning.”

“We are delighted with how the students have embraced their House Charities this year and look forward to running more fundraisers throughout the year. We want to thank our families for their support also. Given the current economic climate, the total raised is a testament to our wider community. We’ve always aimed to be ‘an exceptional College for an exceptional community’ and moments like these show we are hitting that target. We wish you all a restful festive break.”

The WisePay link is still OPEN if anyone would still like to make a donation.