Fund Raising for Nepal

[Deefersmum]

As one of our members, Chalet School Fan, is in Nepal helping the children there, I think we should all seriously think about trying to help her raise funds. As we all know, at present she makes cards herself to raise money to help the school and is doing a terrific job, but just stop and think what they could do if we all chipped in. Just a thought, but it would be wonderful to make a difference in the world and that is just what she is doing. If you read this CSF, please keep us updated.

[Julie]

I would certainly be up for helping.

[Summer]

I would like to try and help in someway too.

[suban]

Me too! I'll also raise awareness in our Methodist circuit.

[Dips]

I would but I'm not sure what I could do? I'll put my thinking hat on!

[sam]

If CSF has card sales regularly, we could all send her some Christmas (or other) cards to sell - it wouldn't matter how cheap she sold them for, so long as they all sold. If some of us don't feel up to making cards, we could just do gift tags, or perhaps calenders or bookmarks. Perhaps the jewellers amongst us could make those lovely little angel keyrings (if you know what I mean). Or failing that, we could just donate money.

[SooG]

I'm happy to help in some way too!! Lovely idea Deefersmum! :)

[Deefersmum]

If CSF has card sales regularly, we could all send her some Christmas (or other) cards to sell - it wouldn't matter how cheap she sold them for, so long as they all sold. If some of us don't feel up to making cards, we could just do gift tags, or perhaps calenders or bookmarks. Perhaps the jewellers amongst us could make those lovely little angel keyrings (if you know what I mean). Or failing that, we could just donate money.

My thinking exactly Sam. Does anyone know how long CSF is away for? I thought we could get some ideas together and then, upon her return, we could ask her what was best.

The good thing about giving (other to the obvious) would be the fact that we would have feedback as to how we are helping.

[Dips]

I have 5 weeks in my head but not sure if that is right.

[Muffintop]

What a lovely idea, I always feel better playing with card and pens if I know it is going to help someone raise money. Could this be something for next year i.e. all occasion cards as well?

[pyjama princess]

I have 5 weeks in my head but not sure if that is right.

I've just re read CSF's thread 'More Crafting' and she only mentions 'over half term'. So I don't think she's out there for very long as she works as a teacher.

[Muffintop]

Just to add, could it be other things to make to sell? I, like other peeps will have some spare fabric and a sewing machine. Perhaps we could make small items to sell like pot-holders or ipad covers?

Only a thought.

[suban]

She was asking for our prayers - well she got a church load this morning! People were really interested. I'll do anything now to help. Also need ideas for the church notice board.

[Deefersmum]

Going slightly off topic, did anyone else see the Bigfoot Findings on Channel 4 last night? Their search was based around Tibet/Nepal and Bhutan - it was really interesting to see the area that CSF is visiting - very beautiful with stunning scenery but where every day must be a struggle.

[suban]

Think that's one of the reasons they go out with a load of stuff for Nepal. From my prayer book it says that It suffers from major social problems, including corruption, lack of education, caste discrimination, unemployment and violence against women. The long term hope is to build a new "Nepal" by bridging the gap between Church, civil society and the Government of Nepal.

[Hotcrafter]

She is doing a wonderful job for the people and children of Nepal, it is such a stunning place but suffers tremendously from poverty. As some of you are aware I am one of the co founders of HOT and you send your lovely cards to me for our cause but I will put my thinking cap on to see how I can contribute something. Please keep me informed if one of you is going to hold an event or some sort of sale. As well as making cards myself I do a lot of knitting when I get the time and sell it for our funds but I could possible send a hand knitted item and maybe a few gift tags.
I hope this will be OK.

[Chalet School Fan]

Hi everyone. I got back yesterday evening after an amazing trip, especially for the 15 Sixth Form students who had worked hard to earn the money to pay for their travel. It was lovely for me to see the kids, staff and parents at the school 18 months on. Lots of hugs all round and wonderful singing and dancing in the evening. As a group we felt really part of the village community and are already making plans to return next year. There is no doubt that our support, both moral and financial, makes a big difference to these children, most of whom come from poor families of subsistence farmers. There are lots of bright children in the school who have high ambitions to train as doctors, teachers or social workers, but without our support to get through school and university they won't be able to pursue their dreams.

I've been really touched by the comments on this thread. I was able to read some of them when I was in Nepal, but Internet was a little intermittent and I couldn't manage to post a reply. Once I've had the opportunity to download my photos I'll post them on this thread for everyone to see. As a school we are going to be looking at new ways of helping the children, so I'm committed to raise funds for the long-term. Paying specialist staff for the older children is probably going to be a priority as the school continues to expand. This time we took out computers and sports gear as well as English books for their small library and other teaching resources. The things we took last year are still being used and are obviously valued by the teachers, which made me feel that this is a group of people well-worth helping.

Again, many thanks for all your support and good wishes. That meant a lot to me when I was in a very different environment - at the village we had to camp in a recently harvested paddy field and the loos were holes dug in the ground!

[Deefersmum]

Hi everyone. I got back yesterday evening after an amazing trip, especially for the 15 Sixth Form students who had worked hard to earn the money to pay for their travel. It was lovely for me to see the kids, staff and parents at the school 18 months on. Lots of hugs all round and wonderful singing and dancing in the evening. As a group we felt really part of the village community and are already making plans to return next year. There is no doubt that our support, both moral and financial, makes a big difference to these children, most of whom come from poor families of subsistence farmers. There are lots of bright children in the school who have high ambitions to train as doctors, teachers or social workers, but without our support to get through school and university they won't be able to pursue their dreams.

I've been really touched by the comments on this thread. I was able to read some of them when I was in Nepal, but Internet was a little intermittent and I couldn't manage to post a reply. Once I've had the opportunity to download my photos I'll post them on this thread for everyone to see. As a school we are going to be looking at new ways of helping the children, so I'm committed to raise funds for the long-term. Paying specialist staff for the older children is probably going to be a priority as the school continues to expand. This time we took out computers and sports gear as well as English books for their small library and other teaching resources. The things we took last year are still being used and are obviously valued by the teachers, which made me feel that this is a group of people well-worth helping.

Again, many thanks for all your support and good wishes. That meant a lot to me when I was in a very different environment - at the village we had to camp in a recently harvested paddy field and the loos were holes dug in the ground!

Really looking forward to seeing the photos CFS - you must feel so proud of the difference you have made for the children (with the help of others of course). We will allow you to unpack, get your washing done and then you must let us know what we can do to help.

[suban]

Hi CSF - glad you got home safely. I'll spread the word tomorrow at church that you're home safely. Then off to see what we can do to help. Busy crocheting bags for next year's Samaritan's Purse, but can easily fit some stuff in for you.

[Chalet School Fan]

I've downloaded some of my pictures to share with you - I'm not the best photographer in the world, so I hope these have come out clearly!

4746

This should show us being greeted at the school. We all received a red tikka on our foreheads, garlands of flowers and a silk scarf. All the children and teacher lined the path to meet us.


4747

This is sports day for the younger ones - egg and spoon, sack and beanbag races. Last time I was there I was kept busy painting the upstairs classrooms, which had just been built, and which are now in use by the older children.

4748



This is the classroom for the 7 year olds with one of my students helping the children with an activity. All the teaching is in English, but living in a remote area the children rarely get the chance to hear a native English speaker. They are good at written English but they were very eager to chat with us to improve their spoken English.

4749

This gives you some idea of the remoteness of the region. This is the main road to the village which runs past the school. It is not a pleasant experience to travel on it by car or bus as it is unmade with lots of potholes and muddy stretches. Lots of the children and staff walk for at least an hour to get to the school. The women of the area have to fetch greenery from the woodlands to feed their animals. They carry it back home in the baskets which they carry from a band across their foreheads. This is the kind of job the children have to do as well before they leave for school in the morning, which is why lessons don't start until 10am. The snow covered mountain in the background is Annapurna 1, which is over 7,000m. The school is at about 1,000m.

4750

These are some of the older girls. They take their schoolwork very seriously.

Hope this has given you a flavour of the place - I'll add some more pictures at a later date.

[Jacksmissis]

So pleased you're back safely, aren't the children bonny? The paddy field ablutions sound fun!!

[suban]

To think, you hear the kids here whinging cos they haven't got the latest "must have". These children have so little by comparison and yet are so aspirational for something that is worth more than the latest computer game. Our priorities are now just so wrong.

[Jacksmissis]

To think, you hear the kids here whinging cos they haven't got the latest "must have". These children have so little by comparison and yet are so aspirational for something that is worth more than the latest computer game. Our priorities are now just so wrong.

Yes they are Suban. And the very very saddest thing is its our own doing, trying to better what we had (as our parents did for us too). I bet CSF will even see this when she goes there, that the Mums and Dads poor as they are, are trying so hard to give their kids what they don't have. Bless 'em.

[suban]

Well CSF - can I print copies of your photos off for our church notice board?

The craft ladies were very interested in your latest report, and would also be wiling to help. We're going to put info about your Nepal trip in our weekly notice sheet as well. Please let us know what you would like making.

[Deefersmum]

What can we do to help CSF? I imagine it would be best to raise money here due to the cost of sending items to them? We could become the Crafty Friends of the school:mysmilie_844:

[Chalet School Fan]

Thank you all so much for your support. As I took the photos and asked the people if it was OK to do so I have no problem about you sharing them Suban.

At the moment we are considering the best way to move forward with supporting the school. They need £10,000 to build new classrooms for the youngest children so they can keep the older ones on at the school until they are 16 (2 more years). That money we have raised by a whole school sponsored walk each year in September. The money I raised by my cards etc. I spent on materials for the lessons the girls taught - they got every child in the school to paint something special to them on a square of felt. The squares were then sewn together by the local tailor to make a 'love blanket' which now hangs in the library room. So I had bought lots of basic packs of felt to take out, face paints ( which the kids loved) plus as many English books as I could squeeze into my case. However, the school is keen to develop its ability to teach computing, so that is an area we are looking to spend money next time. We are investigating cheap, sturdy laptops, but there is no Internet connection except over the mobile phone network. So we are looking at funding airtime via dongles, but no idea how much that is likely to cost at present.

So if you are interested in helping I will make sure any money is put to good use, but there is no urgency as the school is going to look at their needs, particularly for the older pupils and let us know what their priorities are. But I am really touched about the interest so many people on this forum have shown.

[Hotcrafter]

Thank you for sharing those photo's they look as they are doing the best they can with what they have got. I am constantly fund raising and doing all I can to help my cause but I am more than willing to donate a couple of items as and when you need them for raffle/tombola prizes or simply to sell. I think what you are doing is wonderful and if I was so not involved with what I do then I would offer my help.

[Dips]

I've had an idea for this that we could all participate in, so would like to know what folk think about (although I think that we might want to actually do it in the New Year, given CSF's comments on timings and with Christmas approaching).

If you are anything like me, I'm sure you've got unused stash in your craft room, excellent quality, but it just doesn't float your boat anymore? What about holding a silent auction on Craft Telly? I think the exact details, if this was of interest, would need to be ironed out, but I think it could work something like this.
1. We set up a dedicated area in the non-VIP area for listing items and we set up a Just Giving Page for CSF
2. If you have something to auction, you photograph and list it on Craft Telly, inviting "bids" by Private Message, with a clear cut off date.
3. Once closed, the winner bidder would be notified and they would need to make their bid-donation on the dedicated Just Giving page, providing a message that would include some identifying message that linked the donation to bid (needn't mean anything to anyone else, could just mean something between the winning bidder and the person providing the auction item)
4. Address details etc would be exchanged by PM, and goods sent once donation had been made on Just Giving Page.
5. In the example I've given, the person donating the item would also be paying the postage, but I'm sure that each individual listing could work out a way around this if a direct contribution to postage was required.

What do folks think, would this be of interest? I've been racking my brains trying to think of a way that we could get involved collectively, not just individually :)

[Deefersmum]

I had thought about something on the same lines, but wondered how things stood as far as gaming was concerned i.e. you have to obtain something or other to be able to run a raffle etc. I would be interested in joining in, but I'm not sure how much I've got going spare because I gave a ton of stuff to adults with learning disabilities and to the little girl over the road.

I would also be interested if some peeps decided to offer die cuts for sale because after all we can't afford every die that comes out. I would rather buy them with the revenue going to Nepal rather than on Ebug. Of course it would have to be the ones that you can sell (i.e. not Silhouette).

As to postage, when some items are heavy I think the postage should be split between the seller and buyer.

[Shoequeen]

Well I would definitely be interested in doing something along these lines. I have too much stuff and it would be good to downsize a bit and for a very worthwhile cause. I would like to wait until after Christmas as there's just too much going on at the moment but in the meantime I can be sorting and looking out stuff to put into the auction. keep me posted!

[SooG]

Wow - some great ideas! Agree with the overall theme and I'm sure I've got stuff I could include - and I like Deefersmum's idea of diecuts etc. I'd be happy to do custom cuts and titles as well.

[Summer]

Great ideas - I would be happy to take part - I agree after Christmas would be better I think.

[Deefersmum]

I also think it would be best left until after Christmas - with the amount of post whizzing everywhere there is a higher chance of it going missing and that could then become embarrassing for seller and buyer.

[Julie]

I would be more than happy to help too with excess stash/die cuts.

For some of the larger items I am willing to part with though, I would prefer to offer them for sale through the VIP section but I can't see that being a problem.

[Jacksmissis]

I think its a good idea too but I do have a concern - in that can we be sure that ChaletSchoolFan will get the money to use as best needed? In my ignorance, I don't know how JG really works, and I'm really not being funny but so many times, Aid in its many forms doesn't always get to where its donors have intended and it would be such a shame if a chunk of it went in admin if you see what I mean?

[suban]

Got this from the Just Giving website:

JustGiving is the world’s leading platform for charity giving.

Since our launch in 2001, we’ve enabled over 21 million people to raise £1.5 billion for over 13,000 charities and causes in radically new ways. Our job is to make giving and raising money for charity simple, social and rewarding. Through online and mobile we bring the best that technology has to offer to charities worldwide - which explains why more charities recommend JustGiving than any other online fundraising platform.

We run our business by charging charities a small fee on donations. In the UK we reclaim an extra 25% for the charity in Gift Aid – see an example of how this works for a typical donation.

We re-invest any surplus cash into developing our innovative world-class technology to make giving to charity easier and quicker. From text donations to company fundraising, we create more ways for more people to give.

[Dips]

I think its a good idea too but I do have a concern - in that can we be sure that ChaletSchoolFan will get the money to use as best needed? In my ignorance, I don't know how JG really works, and I'm really not being funny but so many times, Aid in its many forms doesn't always get to where its donors have intended and it would be such a shame if a chunk of it went in admin if you see what I mean?

Good question, JM, but as Susan has highlighted, JustGiving is a platform to transfer money (sort of like Paypal but without their fees and with the ability to Gift aid the donation). It also has the advantage of being transparent, so we could all see how much in total Craft Telly has raised to support CSF. However, I only suggested JustGiving, if CSF or anyone else for that matter, thinks that there is a better platform for the actual process of transferring the cash then let's put it forward. Ultimately, I think it should be CSF who decides what fund-raising process we follow, but the idea itself seems to have legs so I will certainly have some goodies ready for the New Year.

[Muffintop]

I think there are probably other sites as well as Just Giving but think that is the main one.

After Christmas is much better especially on the parcel front.

Could we include stamps as well?

[Jacksmissis]

Thanks Suban and Dips, that's good, I had heard of them but had no idea how it worked! I really don't mind how its done so long as CSF gets it. I agree too about leaving it till after Christmas, with post and deliveries being extra busy - not forgetting peeps too! think it would give us something to look forward to as well!

[Deefersmum]

You never know perhaps some of our lovely sponsors for the forum might put the odd little item up for grabs??????????????????????????:mysmilie_481::mysm ilie_50::mysmilie_11:

[Chalet School Fan]

I really am touched by all these suggestions. As I have already said there is no urgency. We are collecting in the money from our school sponsored walk at the moment and we now have enough to build 4 more classrooms, which will be used by the youngest children. That means that the older children will be able to stay at the school until they are 16, so we will be talking to the teachers in Nepal to find out what they will need to teach them for those two extra years once they have the classrooms.

We prefer to take things out to Nepal ourselves or buy them when we are there, to make sure money which has been donated does benefit the children directly. At the moment the next trip is planned for next October, so after Christmas would be great. I can guarantee that the money will be spent wisely and I know it makes a difference to the kids - the pleasure they get from simple things like balloons, bubbles and felt tip pens is a joy to behold!

At the moment I am focusing on sleeping rough next week with my year 10 pupils - we spend a night sleeping out in the school grounds to raise money for Crisis. Just hope it doesn't rain next Thursday night - they sleep under porches or in the tennis pavilion, but I have to patrol round a couple of times to check they're OK and it is a big site! Still it's only for one night - must be so much worse for the homeless who have no choice.

[suban]

I remember you doing that last year and the weather was horrendous! Hope the weather is better for you this year.

[Chalet School Fan]

Yes - I did get a bit damp. And I have a full teaching day on Friday so no recovery time.

But I think having a caring attitude towards other people is caught, not taught. So taking an active part in school events to raise money is an important part of the subjects I teach, even if DH thinks I'm insane!

[Jacksmissis]

But that's because he's a fella CSF !!

[suban]

Get him to sleep out as well! :mysmilie_19:

[Deefersmum]

Get him to sleep out as well! :mysmilie_19:

Yes and make sure you have the brolly :mysmilie_454:

[Chalet School Fan]

In all fairness, he did used to run a hostel and soup kitchen for single homeless people so I think he's done his share of roughing it! But he was much younger then. Must admit that I couldn't have done that job - I'd rather do the fund-raising stunts.