Category: Fundraising

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The ‘Saplings’ pre-school in Sri Lanka

Our work continues in Sri Lanka and we have pleasure in sharing news about a SERVE project for pre-school children called ‘Saplings’. Currently, there are 38 students aged between 3 – 4 years old from low income families in the Tamil community of  Ratmalana.

This pre-school is housed within the premises of the Hindu College Ratmalana. Our contact at SERVE was asked by the school to start this project because there were no pre-schools catering for low income children studying in Tamil in the area. The pupils will start Grade 1 of primary school when they are five years old and be entitled to free education.

Adithi is currently attending Saplings pre-school. She is five years old and joined the school in May 2018. Sadly, her father passed away in 2016. Her mother is a seamstress and she is the one taking care of Adithi and her elder brother.

When Adithi joined the pre-school she was shy and lacked confidence but now she is actively participating in school work. She is very good at drawing and is learning and using a wide range of numbers and letters in English and Tamil. We are happy to report that she is progressing to primary school at the Hindu College in January 2020. 

This SERVE pre-school project is the only opportunity for these children to develop their literacy, numeracy and social skills in order to be ready to start primary school at five years of age and help them to achieve their potential in the future.

Every gift, of any amount, helps to keep us close to these children so that they have a better chance of overcoming barriers to learning and the right to fulfil their dreams. So please help us to continue to be there for them. Donate now.

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A warm-hearted gift from King Henry VIII School

A huge thank you to the sixth formers of King Henry VIII School in Coventry for their warm-hearted donation.

Milla and Daya presented our CEO, Wahiba Kiared, with an unexpected gift during a lunch hosted by the Rotary Club of Coventry. They both explained how with their fellow students they came together and organised an especially successful bake sale. In just one day these young people have raised an impressive £1,400. Thanks to their generosity £700 of the money raised has been donated to ICT to support the education of orphaned children living in Harare, Zimbabwe.

We love hearing about what young people do to support causes that matter to them. Milla and Daya’s initiative was inspired and praised by their assistant head of sixth form and cooking teacher Anna Heathcote. Fundraising is a great opportunity to get creative and do good but also to develop social awareness and emotional skills. Thank you Anna, Milla and Daya for your gift. This will go a long way to support the out-of-school programme in Zimbabwe.

You can join King Henry VIII School today and start raising money for children living in the most challenging environments in the world. Please get in contact if you need resources or if you want to know how your donation can make a difference.

THANK YOU

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Running again around London

Our seven runners in the British 10k London Run prior to the race.

Forget Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon triumph. Forget Lewis Hamilton’s prowess around Silverstone. There was only one monumental British sports event on Sunday, 10th July. Yes, seven runners stormed around the streets of London raising funds for the International Children’s Trust, battling with 11,285 other finishing runners at the British 10K London Run.

For a second year in a row, the clouds were gathering overhead for the race. Thankfully the rain stayed away until everyone was finished and stretching their legs. The crowds cheered and the bands played as the runners around the course that took in Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and the Embankment.

Monumental may be an exaggeration and the names Alice, Claudia, Lucy, Lydia, Olivia, David and Jeremy may not be on the tip of your tongues, but we are proud and thankful for their enthusiasm in running the 10km course around central London fundraising on our behalf.

While July 2017 may seem a long way away, if you are interested in running in next year’s race please get in contact with us.

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Pounding the Streets of London

Photo of the runners for the International Children's Trust at the London 10k run

The British 10k London Run has become an annual fundraising event for the International Children’s Trust and this year we had four new runners out pounding the streets of London on the 12th July.  Dave (Charity Secretary), Xavier, Amy and Bethan were all ready and raring to go early on the Sunday morning.

London, of course, is full of iconic streets and monuments. The runners are still treated to views of St. James’ Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament… the list goes on!  And yet there was little time to be a tourist!

With over 13,600 runners starting the 15th anniversary race, there was a real mix of age, experience and motivation.  Perhaps the most striking runner was the one making his way around the course with a fridge strapped to his back!  This was not something that any of our four runners are planning for the future.  Instead, they were all quite content with running their first every 10km races, with some particularly good times.  For Dave, it was simply the sense of achievement having not done any running (or training for a race) in over 2 years.  Maybe his time of 56 minutes, 22 seconds could be beaten if he would get out of the office and into his running shoes more often!

Thankfully the weather was pretty perfect for our novices.  The sun was behind the clouds, but the rain stayed off until the end.  Not only did this make the day easier for the runners, but it helped everyone supporting (including Programmes Director Alison Sanderson and trustee Wahiba Kiared) to enjoy the achievements of everyone making their way around the course.  The crowds were phenomenal as always and encouraged everyone along. Maybe the most fun part of the race is the reaction of children all along the route who try to get as many runners to Hi 5 them as possible!

A special mention should go to Xavier who was our star fundraiser this year.  In total, our four runners managed to raise £2,071.25 for the International Children’s Trust.  As always, this money will go towards ensuring that our work continues with all of the children in programming.  Every pound and every running step continues to make a difference!

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Tough Mudder 2015

Photo of Jack and Richard crawling in the mud under barbed wire at Tough Mudder

We all know how much children enjoy playing.  When that play involves water, mud, swings and tyres, suddenly that play becomes more fun!  Tough Mudder can only be described as a big playground for adults – except that the results are probably wetter, muddier and more like torture at times!  In May, we had two volunteers running around the 12 mile Tough Mudder course near Kettering raising money for the ICT.  Richard and Jack were subjected to the Funky Monkeys, Arctic Enema, Cry Baby and Skidmark… to name but a few!

The aim of the game is not to get around the course in a quick time.  It is simply to survive!  Many runners find the obstacles a struggle but both Richard and Jack did the ICT proud by completing all 15 of them – and in some style!

For Alison and Dave watching from the side, it was hard to pick out a favourite moment.  There was the passion shown at the beginning as all runners in their clean clothes pledged their allegiance to the Tough Mudder.  There was the moment when Richard was too good running over floats across the river that he splashed into the water instead of crashing into Jack in front of him.  There was the heart-stopping moment that Jack fell off the rings on to his back, only to get straight back up in determination to complete the last of the obstacles. There was inevitably the proud moment when they crossed the finish line!

Both boys did an incredible job that we hope will inspire others to do the Tough Mudder in 2016.  Raising £938.75, Richard’s fundraising achievements matched his athletic achievements on the day!  Thanks to them both for an incredible effort!

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London to Brighton with Mark Foster

Photo of the riders in the London to Brighton Bike Ride taking a well earned break

Former athlete Mark Foster may have been a swimmer during his Olympic career, but in May it was his bicycle legs and those of 8 other cyclists that were put to the test.  With the sun shining and everyone ‘geared’ up for a great day, our team of 9 cyclists took to the streets of London to cycle down to Brighton raising money for the International Children’s Trust.

This is not your typical Sunday cycle with 60 miles of country roads and hills to deal with (not to mention the Sunday morning London traffic).  Unlike the last ride in 2014 though, no one took a wrong turn this year and managed to navigate their way safely to Brighton.

Of course, this was not a race, but it doesn’t stop a little bit of competition. A two mile steep hill at Ditchling was the undoing of all of our cyclists last year, apart from one.  By sharp contrast of our 9 cyclists in May, every single one made it up to the top without stopping.  Sally and Libby need a special mention for kicking hard up the hardest hill and beating all of the boys to the top. Based on the climb, this was an incredible achievement!

Many thanks to John, Mark, Danny, Disco Dave, Stephen, Sheldon, Libby, Nick and Sally for all of their effort on the day and in fundraising for the International Children’s Trust!   Between them, they managed to raise £8,452.25.  This ride could, of course, not take place without hard work and dedication with special thanks goes to John who, as one of our trustees, is also the brains behind the cycle.